Verbotene Leidenschaft (1964)

Verbotene Leidenschaft: Directed by Shohei Imamura. With Masumi Harukawa, Kô Nishimura, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Yûko Kusunoki. A housewife living under her tyrannical husband has her life stressfully turned upside down after getting raped by a burglar.

“Yet another excellent film by Japanese director Shôhei Imamura! Iu0026#39;m amazed by how much great work he made!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026#39;Intentions of Murderu0026#39; revolves around Sadako, a plump woman with a peasant background who is abused by her loveless husband and in-laws and is raped by a degenerate thief. Her life is so full of bitterness and suffering, that she constantly contemplates committing suicide. Unbearably heavy as that may sound, the film is very artfully carried by Imamurau0026#39;s skill, inventiveness and great wisdom. The director never makes fun of Sadakou0026#39;s tragedy – on the contrary, he shows the deepest sympathy for her (much like he does for the female lead in his previous film, u0026#39;The Insect Womanu0026#39;) – but he handles the filmu0026#39;s material with a relatively light touch by making use of a playful soundtrack and by highlighting the absurdity of its situations in a way that sometimes verges on black comedy. This is the story of an underdog who, while devoid of any wit, much wealth or classic good looks, is possessed with the strongest mettle and tenacity. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA recurring theme in his work (and particularly in my favorite film of his, u0026#39;Profound Desire of the Godsu0026#39;) is the clash between the structured mores of society and our unruly human desires and emotions. Inconvenient as it may be, our animal nature doesnu0026#39;t always accept the order that we try to impose on it rationally. This contradiction between different impulses can cause confusion, embarrassment, distress, violence… And yet, to some extent weu0026#39;re left with no choice but to somehow come to terms with that wild, anarchic aspect of our humanity.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think itu0026#39;s fair to say that beyond our survival and animal instincts, the director points to love (both self-love and love for those around us) as the best compass in life. In this case, Sadakou0026#39;s love for her son serves her as a guiding light, even when it all seems hopeless. Imamura, despite populating many of his films with despicable, selfish characters, in the end seems to show some faith in human kind. Itu0026#39;s a welcome spark of optimism in what would otherwise be a very darkly cynical perspective.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn an interview provided as an extra-feature by the Criterion Collection, Imamura explains that he needed to loosen up after having finished his 1960 film, u0026#39;My Second Brotheru0026#39;, which won international acclaim but was too strait-laced for his taste. His style began to change after that, and I believe itu0026#39;s with u0026#39;Intentions of Murdersu0026#39; that the director began to play with surrealism, something that would become more prominent in later films like u0026#39;The Pornographersu0026#39; and u0026#39;Warm Water Under The Red Bridgeu0026#39;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s true that a few of the metaphors in this film are a little too obvious (particularly the hamster in the cage). But thereu0026#39;s so much more going on here, including beautiful black and white photography, a powerful story in general and really solid acting. This is a film that I highly recommend watching.”