Kamigami no Fukaki Yokubo (1968)

Director:

Shohei Imamura

Writers:

Keiji Hasebe (writer)
Shohei Imamura (writer)

Release Date:

22 July 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The Tokyo engineer Kariya arrives on a primitive tropical island to drill a well to provide water for the sugar mill...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Sex | Incest | Asia | Japanese

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Rentarô Mikuni	...	Nekichi Futori, the chained son
Choichiro Kawarazaki	...	Kametaro Futori, the backward son
Kazuo Kitamura	...	Engineer Kariya
Hideko Okiyama	...	Toriko Futori, the retarded daughter
Yoshi Kato	...	Ritsugen Ryu
Yasuko Matsui	...	Uma Futori, the priestess daughter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kanjuro Arashi	...	Yamamori Futori, the patriarch
Jun Hamamura
Sen Hara	...	Unari Ryu
Chikako Hosokawa
Hôsei Komatsu
Chikage Ogi
Taiji Tonoyama

Also Known As:

Deep Desire of Gods
Kuragejima - Legends from a Southern Island
The Profound Desire of the Gods

Runtime:

Canada:172 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:GP

Filming Locations:

Ishigagi-jima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Company:

Nikkatsu

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinéma, de notre temps: Shohei Imamura - Le libre penseur" (1995)

Epic but not Profound

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I may have put down the film by saying "Epic but not Profound", but that doesn't mean it is not worth viewing. In fact, due to the international popularity of The Ballad of Narayama, I think audiences all around would adore this film. Both films have a similar impact/aura and visual style (same cinematographer), but I can't help paraphrasing Louis Malle's belief on how many directors make the same film over and over again (which to me seemed to be the case here when looking at the theme/presentation of the work). But to get to the important part, the film is about Japan's industrialization as told by the story of the inhabitants of Kuragejima (Kurage Island). The film opens and closes with an elderly songster singing the story of how the island was formed by the incest of two sibling gods (just how the island of Japan was formed itself). The conflict begins in the introduction when an engineer, Kariya, surveying the island wants more land and water for the sugar cane processing factory; which soon becomes the request to build an airport on the island. An islander admits that the villagers switched from rice to sugar cane production to appease the engineers (and their finances), whom they consider to be gods because they provide services to the island. The story then focuses on the Futori family, the outcasts of the island, shunned for their long-held tradition of incest. The Futori patriarch and his son both were involved in incestuous relations with certain female members of their family. Nekichi Futori's son, Kametaro is the most balanced one in the family and is casually annoyed by his half-witted sister, Toriko. Kametaro eagerly assists the engineer Kariya in whatever he needs, acting as his secretary of sorts. The village patriarch, Ryugen, orders his mistress, Uma, village priestess and Nekichi's sister, to comfort Kariya in his tent. Uma's advances slowly fail, but her intentions weren't wholehearted because she loves her brother, Nekichi. Kariya slowly becomes engulfed by the traditions and customs of the islanders and even begins an intimate relationship with Toriko. Ryugen uses Nekichi's outlaw status (because of his incest with Uma) and his resistance to change and orders him to interfere with the industrialization. Nekichi must also deal with the giant rock that has fallen in his rice paddy as punishment from the gods. Kariya and the industrialists soon begin to persuade the villagers to sell their land, and many do because of the 250,000 yen profit. The film concludes with fate of the characters and leaves one wishing for more.

The Profound Desire of the Gods could be considered to be Shohei Imamura's best film. I was absolutely dumbfounded by the amazing use of color photography. The natural earth tones of the island will leave you amazed and almost in disbelief that such vivid shades were possible in 1968. The water shimmers beautifully, there are numerous natural close-ups of snakes, fish, insects, and ocean cliffs. The natural photography in this film can only be compared or surpassed to the work seen in National Geographic or on other wildlife networks. All this lush framework left me with a void. The film does not have any immediate impact which would respond towards any intellectual importance. I may differ my opinion in the future, after another viewing, but as it stands, this movie felt like a swansong to old, rural Japan. However, one cannot definitely state that Shohei Imamura wants to digress to a bucolic life after viewing the film.