A event held at The Cube on Sunday 26th January. The event starts at 17:00.
The Shape of Night (Yoru no henrin)
Dir: Noburu Nakamura, 1964, Japan, 107 mins, Japanese with English subtitles, Cert: 18
Sun 26 January 2025 // 17:00
Tickets: £5
A young woman from the countryside (Miyuki Kuwano of Oshima’s Cruel Story of Youth) falls in love with a handsome hoodlum (Mikijiro Hira, Sword of the Beast), who pushes her into a life of prostitution. When his sleazy superiors catch sight of her, she finds herself trapped inside the gaudy maze of city nightlife.
Directed by Noburo Nakamura, a veteran of the Shochiku studio’s signature Golden Age family dramas, The Shape of Night was made as a reaction to the radical film styles of the Japanese New Wave. With its lush cinematography full of saturated colours, a lyrical tone and its story of love leading to inescapable tragedy, it has been compared to the films of Douglas Sirk, while also acting as a precursor to the work of Wong Kar-wai.
★★★★★ ”a lyrical, nearly Wong Kar-wai-like counterpart to ardent work by Oshima or Imamura” – Film Comment
“kept me continually gripped and often surprised” – David Bordwell
The camera angles and movements, the colour scheme and editing all work brilliantly to illustrate her constant sacrifice and lead us to emotionally internalise the gaudy city as a dazzling parade that always leads her back to her situation. Stylistically the film anticipates the Wong Kar-wai of In the Mood for Love and echoes Douglas Sirk at his most stirring. – Nick James, Sight and Sound
With thanks to Radiance Films
Entry requirements: 18+
Dir: Noburu Nakamura, 1964, Japan, 107 mins, Japanese with English subtitles, Cert: 18
Sun 26 January 2025 // 17:00
Tickets: £5
A young woman from the countryside (Miyuki Kuwano of Oshima’s Cruel Story of Youth) falls in love with a handsome hoodlum (Mikijiro Hira, Sword of the Beast), who pushes her into a life of prostitution. When his sleazy superiors catch sight of her, she finds herself trapped inside the gaudy maze of city nightlife.
Directed by Noburo Nakamura, a veteran of the Shochiku studio’s signature Golden Age family dramas, The Shape of Night was made as a reaction to the radical film styles of the Japanese New Wave. With its lush cinematography full of saturated colours, a lyrical tone and its story of love leading to inescapable tragedy, it has been compared to the films of Douglas Sirk, while also acting as a precursor to the work of Wong Kar-wai.
★★★★★ ”a lyrical, nearly Wong Kar-wai-like counterpart to ardent work by Oshima or Imamura” – Film Comment
“kept me continually gripped and often surprised” – David Bordwell
The camera angles and movements, the colour scheme and editing all work brilliantly to illustrate her constant sacrifice and lead us to emotionally internalise the gaudy city as a dazzling parade that always leads her back to her situation. Stylistically the film anticipates the Wong Kar-wai of In the Mood for Love and echoes Douglas Sirk at his most stirring. – Nick James, Sight and Sound
With thanks to Radiance Films
Entry requirements: 18+
Tickets for similar Bristol events.
