Pigs and Battleships (Buta to gunkan)

1961, 108 min., 35mm, b&w. In Japanese with English subtitles.

 

Directed by Shohei Imamura. Written by Hisashi Yamauchi. Cinematography by Shinsaku Himeda. Music by Toshiro Mayuzumi. With Hiroyuki Nagato, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Yoko Minamida. Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation with permission from Nikkatsu.

 

Shohei Imamura’s powerful and hilarious black comedy is about a group of tough gangsters exploiting a town that depends on business from a nearby U.S. military base for its survival. Imamura presents a microscopic view of how the Japanese adapted themselves to the daily reality of the American military presence.

Tickets: $10; Japan Society members, seniors & students $5.