VIOLENCE AT NOON
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1991 Thomas E. Billings
Synopsis: After the collapse of a collective farm in Japan in the 1960s, one of the collective members becomes a thief, murderer, and serial rapist who terrorizes the nation. He is protected from the police by two women, who have complex relationships with the rapist and each other. An interesting psychological crime story.
Japan (English subtitles), black-and-white, 1966, 100 minutes. Director: Nagisa Oshima.
This is a stylish film from Nagisa Oshima, who later became famous (or should I say infamous?) for the films IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES and EMPIRE OF PASSION. The story concerns Eisuke, a member of a farming collective that went bankrupt. It begins when he visits a young woman, another former collective member, who is working in a city. He rapes her, and kills her employer (also a woman). The police arrive and interrogate the surviving woman. She deliberately misleads them while she contacts the rapist's wife, who is another former collective member.
The story of the events at the collective farm, and the somewhat sordid relationships that existed between Eisuke (the rapist), Genji (the collective leader), and the two women is told in flashbacks that are interwoven with current events. The woman who was raped wants to talk with the rapist's wife before turning him in to the police. However, the wife does not answer the letters of inquiry. The story continues as the police learn a little about Eisuke, but don't yet have his full name or photo....
This is a well-written story, and is relatively interesting. It is also quite stylish in some respects. The editing is extremely good and very smooth. One aspect that is interesting at first, then becomes a distraction in the film, is the use of extreme close-up scenes. Frankly, close-ups of sweating eyebrows and chins lose their "novelty" very quickly!
The primary focus in the film is on the relationships between the two women and the two men who were in the collective. They are rather sordid relationships; there is much talk of suicide when the collective fails, and one must wonder why the rapist's wife loves him so, even though he treats her very badly. It is interesting that both women protect the rapist from the police, even though they were jealous rivals in the past, and they both consider him to be a beast. The film ultimately makes some interesting comments on the nature of compulsive criminals, and their motivation, though I cannot say more on that without revealing the ending.
Comparing this film to IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES, it is clear that both films focus on compulsion. VIOLENCE deals with compulsive criminal behavior, REALM with compulsive sexual behavior.
The film is well-made, and will generally hold your interest. Fans of crime drama, particularly those with a psychological slant, will find the film worth considering. Also, fans of the director's later films might find it interesting too.
Distribution: Screened at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, CA. The print was from the Archive's collection of Japanese films. The owner of the film copyright is Kino International.
Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU
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