Nagisa Oshima Biography
Nagisa Oshima (1932 – 2013) his career spanned from the beginning of the "Nuberu bagu" (New Wave) movement in Japanese cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s, to the contemporary use of cinema and television to express the paradoxes in modern society. After an initial involvement with the student protest movement in Kyoto, Ôshima quickly rose in the Shochiku company from apprentice status in 1954 to director. By 1960, he had become disillusioned with traditional studio production policies and broke away from Shochiku to form his own independent production company, Sozosha, in 1965. With other Japanese New Wave directors such as Masahiro Shinoda, Shohei Imamura, and Yoshishige Yoshida, Ôshima he reacted against the humanistic style and subject matter of directors such as Yasujiro Ozu and Akira Kurosawa, as well as against established left-wing political movements. Ôshima was primarily concerned with representing the contradictions and tensions of post-war Japanese society. His films tended to expose contemporary Japanese materialism, while also examining what it means to be Japanese in the face of rapid industrialization and Westernization. Many of Ôshima's early films, such as "Ai to Kibo No Machi" ("A Town of Love and Hope") (1959) and "Taiyo No Hakaba" ("The Sun's Burial") (1960), featured disadvantaged youth in anti -heroic roles. The film for which he was best known in the West, "Ai No Corrida" ("In the Realm of the Senses") (1976), centered on an obsessive sexual relationship. Other notable Ôshima films included "Koshikei" ("Death by Hanging") (1968), "Shonen" ("Boy") (1969), "Tokyo Senso Sengo Hiwa" ("The Man Who Left His Will on Film") (1970), "Gishiki" ("The Ceremony") (1971).
