Nagisa Oshima
Kitano Takeshi, Matsuda Ryuhei, Takeda Shinji, Asano Tadanobu
100 mins
1999
JapanFranceUK
15
Japanese
Yes
35mm
Part of the Queer East Film Festival Season
Gohatto is Nagisa Oshima’s final feature film, a stunning piece of work that was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and screens from a rare 35mm print. The young and handsome Kano Sozaburo is admitted to the Shinsengumi, an elite samurai group that seeks to defend the Tokugawa shogunate against reformist forces. Kano is a skilled swordsman, but his physical beauty leads the members of the strictly male group to compete for his affections, generating tensions that threaten to become lethal.
In Gohatto, Oshima explores the ambiguous forms of masculinity that the samurai code concealed, with a terrific cast including Ryuhei Matsuda, Takeshi Kitano and Tadanobu Asano subtly capturing the dangers of repressed homoerotic desire.
Screening in 35mm, with a short in-person introduction from Queer East Film Festival's director Yi Wang and a pre-recorded introduction by Christopher Brown, University of Sussex, as part of Japan 2021: Over 100 years of Japanese Cinema, a UK-wide film season supported by National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. Find out more: bfijapan.co.uk
This screening is organised in partnership with the Japan Foundation, with support from Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Daiwa Foundation and Japan Society.
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