Audience Member
The title refers to the Rising Sun's funeral - in other words, the demise of Japan as a place of dignity. In his third film (after the success of Cruel Story of Youth, also 1960), director Nagisa Oshima shows us the degradation and depravity of Osaka's post-war slums, the epitome of the fallen nation. We first become acquainted with Hanako who is collecting blood and selling it at a profit by day and prostituting herself by night. She works with the two local gangs, the main one led by Ohama and an up-and-coming new gang led by Shin that has to keep on the move to prevent being wiped out by Ohama. She runs the blood business on the side but is soon joined by an older homeless man known only as "The Agitator" who constantly voices his concerns about the fall of the Japanese Empire (but later buys ID cards to sell to incoming illegal immigrants). Two young kids join Shin's gang only to find themselves increasingly in trouble; the quiet and naïve one, Takeshi, eventually falls in with Hanako. Violence, and sexual violence, are part of the way of life here and Oshima doesn't shy away from depicting this everyday brutality (verbal or physical). It must have been very shocking at the time. However, there are far too many characters to keep track of and their sad fates barely register in the midst of the squalor and despair. Oshima may have wanted us to take in the forest without caring too much for the individual trees. Even so, his stylish cinematographic eye makes itself known through ugly but perfectly composed shots, good use of colour (that blood!), and an unflinching willingness to show us the underbelly.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Oshima shows again that he can make average films though the film has some redeeming qualities. Gang violence is shown as a way of life and a means for survival with all the nasty warts and all detail that would put off any youngsters who may have any such ideas. Relatively watchable.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
La cinta es un desmadrito muy caótico al inicio, habrá quienes quieran verlo como una virtud, a mi me parece una flaqueza de un Ooshima muchos años antes de "Mr. Lawrence", crece mucho porque nos deja ver una Osaka que con el crecimiento economico de Japón fue haciéndose menos presente y ahora a 50 años parece otro mundo
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
Full Review
eric b
"The Sun's Burial" is a difficult film to like. Its locations are squalid. The actors need a shower, and are sweaty almost to the point of self-parody. Every character (except one, arguably) is corrupt or violent, and only out for personal gain. And that one exception commits some heinous acts when not questioning himself.
The setting is an Osaka slum, where crime is a routine certainty. The action includes murder, suicide, rape, beatings, prostitution, robbery, arson, adultery, animal cruelty, identity fraud and more. A father isn't even above peeking up his daughter's skirt for a thrill. No one is redeemable.
The biggest problem with this early Nagisa Oshima film is that there's no one with whom to identify. No real protagonist. Most characters are weakly distinguished from each other, and there's no central person to follow through the story. A young, beautiful woman who sells her body at night and operates a shady blood bank during the day eventually becomes the focus, but since the plot opens with two lads who join a gang together, it's awkward to switch our empathy from them to the girl.
"The Sun's Burial" seems ahead of its time, considering that the French New Wave was barely underway in 1960, and that America's own take on moral depravity was offered in glossy flicks such as "Ocean's 11," "Butterfield 8" and "Elmer Gantry." Oshima's direction is typically fearless, and an attractive cast and vivid color palette help balance the ugly scenario. But the film is still a dour, tiring journey.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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