Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands

SERIES OPENING FILM

Taking some hints from Ambrose Bierce’s celebrated short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Atsushi Yamatoya’s Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands is a deliciously delirious cult film about a hitman (Yuichi Minato) who is hired by a rich real estate agent to find an abducted woman (Noriko Tatsumi). This simple setup gives way to a hip and chaotic worldview full of hard-boiled characters, sexy action, and hallucinatory imagery. A close collaborator with the likes of Koji Wakamatsu, Yamatoya was part of the group of anonymous writers who worked on Wakamatsu Productions and was also one of the anonymous writers on the script of Seijun Suzuki’s Branded to Kill. Though considered a “pink film,” Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands has surprisingly few sex scenes. Nevertheless, the film remains incredibly sexy through creative montage and innuendo. In his book Behind the Pink Curtain, Jasper Sharp calls the film “probably the most idiosyncratic work the genre has ever produced.” A feast for the eyes as well as the ears, the sparse and cool music was provided by jazz pianist and composer Yosuke Yamashita. Followed by a reception.
 
Commemorating the life of Koji Wakamatsu who passed away on October 17, 2012.
 
1967, 85 min., 35mm, B&W, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Atsushi Yamatoya. With Yuichi Minato, Shohei Yamamoto, Noriko Tatsumi, Akaji Maro, Miki Watari, Taka Okubo, Masayoshi Nogami, Kohei Tsuzaki, Minoru Sawada

TICKETS
$12/$9 Japan Society members, seniors & students
Become a Japan Society Member

Part of The Dark Side of the Sun: John Zorn on Japanese Cinema.