The Insect Woman

Although the plot frames a rather basic "woman's lot" story, the film really fleshes it out out thanks to its remarkably unsentimental perspective, natural performances, beautiful composition, dominant physicality & fragmented narrative. It really captures the turbulent setting & life experience of its main character in a dynamic "truthful" way. Very stubborn with its bleak pragmatic viewpoints but maintains a level of dignity & purpose through them, affording agency in place of victimization.

Imamura's answer to the "suffering women" films of Mizoguchi and Naruse presents a protagonist who suffers, but is far from helpless. Imamura's stance is detached, making Tome neither a victim nor a heroine, just a woman trapped by circumstance. Because the film covers so much ground, it does feel much longer than its 2 hours, and the attempts to make connections to larger historical events don't really work. Other than that, it's an intriguing work.

A suffering of woman picture, but really quite a strong counterpoint to most, focused on the damage to the soul wrought by a lifetime of Sisyphean struggle, but also on its indomitability, all this at the same time standing, presumably, for Japan's own arc from poverty to war to vassal to dogged capitalist, unsure what exactly is motivating its doggedness. Much more successful than most at constructing a narrative that rolls along through the years and decades. And I like Imamura's style too.

"O filme de um homem sobre uma mulher é sempre um filme de entomologista. O diretor é fascinado pelo personagem da mulher como o entomologista é fascinado pelo inseto. Mesmo a observação mais terna e emocionada corre o risco de ser apenas uma observação." - Jeanne Moreau Pensei muito nessa fala da Moreau ao ver esse filme, mesmo ao retratar a dura realidade das mulheres dentro do patriarcado com a máxima sensibilidade possível, ainda é apenas uma observação. Box Versátil Nuberu Bagu Volume 2.

I have to watch more Imamura works.

"...And I'll take 30%." The dung beetle keeps pushing its shit uphill so its children will have something to feed on, so they can grow and push the same shit. Freedom's just another word for nothing.