Profound Desires of the Gods (1968) ( Kamigami no Fukaki Yokubo ) ( Deep Desire of Gods (Kuragejima - Legends from a Southern Island) )

Profound Desires of the Gods (1968) (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Kamigami no Fukaki Yokubo
Alternate Title: Deep Desire of Gods (Kuragejima - Legends from a Southern Island)
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Japanese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
173 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Booklet

Movie filmed in 1968 and produced in:
Japan ( India, Eastern Asia )

Directed By:
Shôhei Imamura

Written By:
Keiji Hasebe
Shôhei Imamura

Actors:
Rentarô Mikuni ..... Nekichi Futori, the chained son
Chôichirô Kawarazaki ..... Kametaro Futori, the backward son
Kazuo Kitamura ..... Engineer Kariya
Hideko Okiyama ..... Toriko Futori, the retarded daughter
Yoshi Katô ..... Ritsugen Ryu
Yasuko Matsui ..... Uma Futori, the priestess daughter
Kanjûrô Arashi ..... Yamamori Futori, the patriarch
Jun Hamamura ..... Unari Ryu
Sen Hara
Chikako Hosokawa
Hôsei Komatsu
Chikage Ogi
Taiji Tonoyama

Synopsis:

The culmination of Shohei Imamura's extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary - albeit least seen - Japanese films of recent decades.
Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island, the film centres on the disgraced, superstitious, interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well - an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways. A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce, Imamura's merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour 'Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses. From the director of Vengeance is Mine and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge, the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present this unforgettable work, for the first time in the UK on DVD, in an exclusively restored high-definition transfer released on 21 February 2011.

In this film, director Shohei Imamura collides traditional Japanese myth with Japan's current modernized incarnation. The result is a surreal biting commentary on Japanese society. A family living alone on an isolated island begins developing unique cultural norms concerning sexual behavior. The family father views incest as acceptable and practical behavior. He is simultaneously a father and grandfather to his boy who is involved with one of his sisters. Another sister is mentally retarded and addicted to sexual pleasure. A stranger comes to the island with the hopes of building a sugar refinery there. He is soon seduced by the retarded sister. He also begins to rather like their customs. In the end, the other brother and sister are morally chastised for their love. As punishment, the brother must dig a giant hole to bury a large boulder brought in by a tsunami.

The Tokyo engineer Kariya arrives on a primitive tropical island to drill a well to provide water for the sugar mill. He is assisted on the island by Kametaro, from the inbred Futori family. Nekichi Futori is chained in a pit that he has to dig, in order to appease the gods for breaking island customs. Nekichi is in love with his sister Uma, who is a shaman priestess at the sacred shrine, that contains the only good water close to the mill. She is also the mistress of Ryu, the manager of the mill. The patriarch of the Futori family tries to get the engineer to marry his retarded daughter Toriko.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 19 April, 2011.

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