Kōji Wakamatsu

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Kōji Wakamatsu ( Japanese 若 松 孝 二 Wakamatsu Kōji ; born April 1, 1936 in Wakuya , Miyagi Prefecture ; † October 17, 2012 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese film director and film producer who made, among other things, films belonging to the Pink Eiga genre . He is considered one of the most important directors of the genre and of Japanese cinema of the 1960s in general. Well-known Wakamatsu films include Ecstasy of the Angels ( 天使 の 恍惚 Tenshi no Kōkotsu ) and Twice Virgo ( ゆ け ゆ け 二度 目 の 処女 Yuke Yuke Nidome no Shojo ), both of which were made in the 1960s. Wakamatsu's work includes over 100 films, only a few of which have been released in Europe or the USA . His production company was involved in the film In the Realm of the Senses , among others . Kōji Wakamatsu took part in some film festivals , most recently with Caterpillar , which ran in the competition at the Berlinale in 2010 .

Life

Kōji Wakamatsu was born on April 1, 1936 in Wakuya, Miyagi. He first worked as a construction worker. At the age of 22, he became interested in the film as he sought a means of expressing his anger. Wakamutsu tried this as a writer, but quickly saw film as a better way of expression. In 1963, Kōji Wakamatsu began his film career with Nikkatsu . By 1965 he made 20 exploitation films for the studio, where he began to focus on the genre Pink Eiga in 1964 after the success of Daydream ( 白日 夢 Hakujitsumu ) by Tetsuji Takechi . Inspired by this, he shot the film Stories Behind Walls ( 壁 の 中 の 秘 事Kabe no Naka no Himegoto ), which he submitted to the Berlinale in 1965 , although the Japanese film rating organization Eirin was still pending evaluation . This film was viewed as very explicit and considered a national disgrace in Japan. As a result, Nikkatsu's film was not particularly heavily marketed, which is why Kōji Wakamatsu decided to set up his own production company. In this company he took on young and talented filmmakers, films produced by it also became increasingly politically explicit. Distributors increasingly wanted scandalous films such as stories behind the walls because they sold well, but it was difficult for Wakamatsu to get money for its productions. He had to borrow money, but was independent in his work.

The Embryo Hunts In Secret (胎 児 が 密 猟 す る 時 Taiji ga Mitsuryō Suru Toki ), a film about a man who kidnaps and rapes a woman until she can escape and stab him, from 1966 was Kōji Wakamatsu's first self-produced film . His films from the late 1960s were all very small budget productions. In some of the films he more or less freely received crimes actually committed. In 1972, Kōji Wakamatsu closed his production company after he was repeatedly targeted by the police. When a building that was blown up at the end of one of his films was actually destroyed by a bomb, Wakamatsu was suspected of using the film as a test run for the act. In 1971 he had also produced the propaganda film RED ARMY / PFLP: Declaration of World War by Masao Adachi , whereupon his offices were searched several times by the police and he was questioned several times about politically motivated crimes. As a producer, Wakamatsu remained active and was also involved in films by other directors. One of the best-known is In the Realm of the Senses from 1976. Wakamatsu had toyed with the idea offilmingthe story of Sada Abe , but was unable to realize the project due to the high costs. Nagisa Ōshima sent Kōji Wakamatsu a script that related this story. He already had a French producer who invested 50 million yen in the film, and now he needed a Japanese co-producer. This role was then taken over by the Wakamatsus company. He also shot and produced small exploitation films for larger companies such as Shintoho Studios .

In the late 1970s, Kōji Wakamatsu turned again to films with larger budgets and the mainstream. Wakamatsu released his first major mainstream film in 1979 with the production company Shishi Productions , which Tōei took over distribution. Then he re-founded his own production company. A Pool without Water (Mizu no nai puuru) in 1982 was again a Pink Eiga film, but it had a wide reach because it was shown in normal, large cinemas. Recently, Wakamatsu has taken up historical themes in his films. In 2008 he released the film United Red Army , in which he addressed the Japanese Red Army and in particular the Asama-Sansō incident . In the film Caterpillar from 2010, which ran in the competition at the 60th Berlinale and received a silver bear for actress Shinobu Terajima , he took up the aftermath of World War II in Japan. Many filmmakers made their debut at Wakamatsu's production company over the years. Among them were Banmei Takahashi , Genji Nakamura and Kan Mukai . Wakamatsu died on October 17, 2012 in Tokyo as a result of a car accident.

plant

Kōji Wakamatsu shot and produced more than 100 films. Most of them were only released in the Japanese market; in the last few years before his death, some were also released for foreign markets. The problem is that Wakamatsu did not store some of his films for cost reasons. There was no longer a copy of stories behind walls in Japan, which is why a German copy was shown at film festivals . Wakamatsu denied direct influences from other directors for his work, but stated that Jean-Luc Godard had influenced his way of making films. Wakamatsu said, “When I saw Out of Breath , I realized that there is real freedom with films, that I don't need grammar or rules. I then implemented that in my films. So it was more of a mental attitude than a cinematic influence. "

Many of Wakamatsu's films share elements of style and themes. Wakamatsu actually wanted to shoot the film Twice Virgins entirely in color. However, because color film was too expensive, it became black and white , with some scenes in color. This element was highlighted and praised by critics and therefore used by Kōji Wakamatsu in other films. Many films also have a narrow space in common, the story takes place in only a few places. Two times Virgo is set mainly on the roof of a high-rise, stories behind walls in a police station . The film Violence! Violence: Shojo Geba-Geba takes place in the desert, but the narrowness and limitation of space is also an issue in it. The soundtracks of his films were also more daring and special compared to many others. Yosuke Yamashita , who recorded a jazz soundtrack for Ecstasy of the Angels , later became a famous jazz pianist. The soundtrack to Violation of Thirteen is a mix of jazz and screaming, and when those pause, industrial noise can be heard.

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • David Desser, "Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema." Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis 1988. ISBN 0-253-31961-7 .
  • Thomas Weisser, Yuko Mihara Weisser: "Japanese cinema encyclopedia: The sex films" . Vital Books, 1998. ISBN 978-1-889288-52-9
  • Jasper Sharp: "Behind the pink curtain: the complete history of Japanese sex cinema" . FAB Press, 2008. ISBN 1-903254-54-X

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Der Standard / Hans Christian Leitich: Koji Wakamatsu died at the age of 76 , October 17, 2012
  2. ↑ David Desser, "Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema." Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis 1988. ISBN 0-253-31961-7 . Page 99
  3. ↑ a b c d e Interview with Wakamatsu on dasmanifest.com, accessed July 14, 2010
  4. ↑ "WAKAMATSU PRO: 1966 - 1972" on Eigagogo.free.fr, accessed on July 15, 2010 ( Memento from June 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ "Last Man Standing: 1979-2007" on Eigagogo.free.fr, accessed on July 15, 2010
  6. ↑ "The Wilderness Years: 1973 - 1978" on Eigagogo.free.fr, accessed on July 15, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Wakamatsu, Kōji
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 若 松 孝 二 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese film director and producer
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Wakuya , Miyagi Prefecture
DATE OF DEATH 17th October 2012
Place of death Tokyo