The Profound Desire of the Gods
Encyclopedia
is a 1968 Japanese film by director Shōhei Imamura
. The culmination of the director's examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, the film was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary — albeit least seen — Japanese films of recent decades.
engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well for the Sugar Mill — an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways.
for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Shohei Imamura
was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards.His eldest son Daisuke Tengan is also a script writer and film director, and worked on the screenplays to Imamura's filmsThe Eel , Dr...
. The culmination of the director's examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, the film was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary — albeit least seen — Japanese films of recent decades.
Plot
Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island, the film centres on the disgraced, superstitious, interbred Futori family and the TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well for the Sugar Mill — an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways.
Cast
- Rentarô Mikuni as Nekichi Futori, the chained son
- Chôichirô Kawarazaki as Kametaro Futori, the backward son
- Kazuo Kitamura as Engineer Kariya
- Hideko Okiyama as Toriko Futori, the retarded daughter
- Yoshi KatôYoshi KatoYoshi Kato was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 92 films between 1950 and 1988.-Selected filmography:* The Rice People * Zero Focus * Immortal Love...
as Ritsugen Ryu - Yasuko Matsui as Uma Futori, the priestess daughter
Awards
The film was Japan's submission to the 42nd Academy Awards42nd Academy Awards
The 42nd Academy Awards were presented April 7, 1970 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. There was no host.This is currently the highest rated of the televised Academy Awards ceremonies, according to Nielsen ratings....
for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
- Kinema Junpo Award (1969): Best Director
- Best Film; Mainichi Film Concours (1969): Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Kanjuro ArashiKanjūrō Arashiwas a Japanese film actor. He entered the film industry in 1927 and came to fame playing Kurama Tengu, a character in the Bakumatsu era created by Jirō Osaragi in his novels. In the 1950s he portrayed the Emperor Meiji in several hit films and appeared in yakuza films in the 1960s...
)
See also
- List of submissions to the 42nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- Luck, Richard. The Profound Desire Of The Gods (Kamigami No Fukaki Yokubo) (film review) at channel4.com
- Maslin, Janet. (1988). Imamura on Updating Divine Squalor (film review) at The New York Times OnlineThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...