REVIEW : "Pigs & Battleships" (1961) - A movie by Shohei Imamura

Imamura was a "pupil" of the famed director Ozu, not least on the acclaimed "Tokyo Story". But Imamura was of a new generation and looking for, if not neo-realism, then at least, a focus on social aspects that were largely ignored in the mainstream movies of the 40's and 50's.

Imamura became a central figure in the emerging new waves of movie directors. I can see an attempt at joining the playfulness of Godard and the social realist commentary of Truffaut, in an auteur like cinemascope traditional big budget Hollywood-like format. For that reason alone, "Pigs & Battleships" is an interesting watch as it also adds the exotic traits of asian cinema. I will add that this one must be watched in its complete 21:9? format as the director goes to great lengths to use the whole canvas. The Eureka edition is a good bet and the one I am using for the screen dumps here.

The plot is pretty silly. A young man Kinta wants to impress a young and beautiful girl with the money he can make. She is interested but she is also aware that the "line of work" he is in is not exactly mainstream and steady. He works for a petty gangster in a larger harbour city which is the main port of the American military, still present in Japan 15 years after the end of the war.

In fact he is in charge of the pork business and sees a great investment there. At the same time his girlfriend is mingling with girls of ill repute and flirting more than good is with the American soldiers, from battleships, to stay afloat. Or at least this is much hinted at.

But things do not really go as expected for Kinta and he seems to get involved in all sorts of uncontrollable situations that are more or less humorous. One weird situation after the other occur until a climactic scene that - lets say it this way - involves a lot of pigs.

My first impression was to be surprised by the quality level of the cinematography. The blocking and the framing is in complete control and takes full advantage of the wide possibilities. The scenery of the town, the harbour and huge views over the bay and so on are quite astounding and something I am not that familiar with in Japanese movies.

At the same time, he is not afraid of bringing the characters in very close in the still "wide" shot and give the viewer a wide feel of being present at a table or in a chaotic situation. While this is still a traditional trait, staying within an almost silent era, slapstick plot that is in contrast to the "beauty" of the cinematography is quite unique, and I am pretty sure this is a deliberate choice as a parallel to the superficial beauty of the "lovely tourist Japan", (to some extend) exploited by American soldiers, while it is based on a harsher truth underneath.

my problem with it though is that the plot does not hold the whole nine yards, as it becomes pretty ridiculous after more than an hour of this one-dimensional flimsy structure, before anything like a climax of it can set in. When you wipe the comical side away there is only a paper thin story of a clash of ambitions between a young couple. And since the movie cannot focus on either in particular, it never becomes a satisfactorily engaging experience.

And the franticness of the youths in the story becomes a bit of a nuisance as it never rests so I can feel a part in the story. I will add though that many scenes are very fresh and "modern" in their expression. It is clear that the director does what he can to make sure that the actors behave, if not natural, at least against common conventions of how an actor should act. This is refreshing.

Overall this movie is mostly interesting for its historical context and its surprisingly good cinematography. Watch this to enjoy a well crafted pretty early new wave Japanese movie that is full of contrasts both in its themes and in its form of presenting the story. The way the story blends American plot structure and film format with a hidden Japanese reality, a parallel to the mix of American and Japanese culture in reality, is a real contra-point. From an emotional standpoint it will probably not engage you that much, and that is a central aspect of a quality movie. It gets my recommendations.

7/11