Audience Member
A strange film, and by that, I mean one about a thief and a nutcase who fall into a spiral of perversion while flirting with Japanese nationalism. While that summary may seem too on the nose, the film is extremely subtle in both its intention and the fact that many cultural points will be lost on Westerners who are not familiar with the nuances of the collective Japanese identity. While clearly inspired by Godard, Oshima gives a fresh perspective that manages to capture the essence of Japanese youth activism and rage in the 1960s.
Though the film is dark and cerebral, it is occasionally punctured by moments of genuine hilarity. It will spoil nothing to tell you the protagonist operates under the false name "Birdman Hilltop", which sounds as ridiculous in Japanese as it does in English. There are enough antics and silly moments to keep the movie from being too emotionally draining.
Psychoanalysis, particularly related to sexuality, is a pervasive theme throughout the film. The two main characters are psychologically broken, and it may help to explain their journey by quoting the line, "Japan is a woman with her legs closed." As the film progresses and the mentalities of the characters are revealed, several satisfying revelations will come to light.
At times, the film may seem repetitive and aimless, but it is ultimately carried by the portrayal of two outsiders who manage to self-destruct in interesting ways. Literary fans will be pleased by the numerous references to great writers, both western and Japanese, that drive the narrative. If at any time you feel confused, don't think too hard about it and just enjoy the beauty of this film.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
One of Oshima's most teasing and provocative collages, inspired by the student riots of '68 which involved a Korean scholar that murdered 3 female students.
That episode was the foundation of a movement of xenophobia in Japan which is deeply revisited in his next movie "The Man who left his will on film (1970)"
Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (Shinjuku dorobô nikki) is Japanese new wave cinema influenced by French and Italian new wave, in fact it has a feeling of a European film.
The story evolves around a female character Suzuki Umeko and male character Birdy Hilltop.
Hilltop who uses this name to disguise his identity is a book thief who finds pleasure in stealing them from a famous book store in Tokyo, he is repeatedly stopped and reported to the boss by Umeko who also seems to fake her identity pretending to work in the store.
This story evolves around identity disguise peeling off elements in relation to ones sexuality and what it means to be a man or a woman in that respect. What sex is and how do man and women relate to the topic.
The characters go through changes of sexuality to broadly describe the different facets (well the one explored in the 70s) of how we search pleasure and if pleasure is the ultimate freedom.
The movie is beautifully and boldly shot with "real" people that play themselves in the movie.
Best peace of dialogue is when Hilltop and Umeko are brought in front of a "real life" sex councillor, who tries to define their sexual issues.
Later on in the movie we are involved in a 'fringe' of performances of a neo-primitive kabuki show connecting to a wide anthropological view of being humans, blurring the lines of sexes and performances for one another or for a present or absent audience.
The movie deliberately submerged contrasting moods, styles and lines of thoughts.
A movie that for its nature will not work for a wide range of audience, but film buffs will find this picture quite refreshing and "new" from any films that have been around in the last 15 years.
Thank God for classics.
By Stifani
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/16/23
Full Review
eric b
"Diary of a Shinjuku Thief" may require two viewings. Revel in the jarring twists and tangents of Nagisa Oshima's direction on the first try, and then backtrack to get a better handle on the plot. And yes, the persistent comparisons of Oshima and Jean-Luc Godard are warranted.
The story is not so complicated -- only the way it is told. A furtive young man gets a charge out of repeatedly stealing from a certain bookstore, and the attractive clerk who keeps catching him is drawn into his game. (Or are things not what they seem?)
The two become a thrill-seeking couple who pursue risky activities throughout the city as a mode of foreplay. Voyeurism, rape, exhibitionism, seppuku, gender switching, submission...it's all here. The girl even flaunts her flowing menstrual blood. Eventually, they join an underground theater company, which I suppose is the ultimate extension of their playacting.
The story's odd details, peripheral set pieces and assaultive editing are what make the film so distinctive and unsettling. The occasional switches from black-and-white to color are just the beginning.
There's a minstrel of sorts who recurrently pops in to strum guitar and sing about "Ali Baba, town of mystery." The same performer is also part of a guerrilla group that stages street muggings, ending with the victim's reveal of an ominous belly tattoo that apparently is a sign of power or holiness. The startled attackers then stand on their heads as a show of respect.
There's a hotel that wickedly helps men with their sexual conquests by showering fake rain outside the rooms during crucial moments, making it inconvenient for the women to leave.
The couple visits an unconventional psychologist who shows them pornographic drawings, pressures them to disrobe and recklessly declares that the girl is a closet lesbian.
There's a motif of wall clocks and international time zones which remains largely a mystery. And a memorable scene in the bookstore after hours, where the girl artfully builds a pile of books while the soundtrack layers a din of all those texts being murmured.
Strangest of all, there's a 10-minute sequence that drops the narrative altogether and depicts a real-life conversation about sex between a pack of older actors (apparently borrowed from Oshima's concurrent "Death by Hanging").
The film is loaded with such quirky diversions, suggesting a personal work driven by Oshima's own spontaneous whims and impulses. It ends with what appears to be legitimate riot footage -- yet another random insertion that is left unexplained. There are no concessions made to people less familiar with Japanese culture, and this lack of compromise is both frustrating and intriguing. "Diary of a Shinjuku Thief" may be disorienting, but it's an exciting challenge.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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