Hokusai manga (1981)

Hokusai manga: Directed by Kaneto Shindô. With Ken Ogata, Toshiyuki Nishida, Yûko Tanaka, Kanako Higuchi. The famous woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849), a widower in need of a steady income, lives with his daughter Oei in the house of his friend Bakin.

“I first noticed this film amongst the more popular Japanese films on Hulu, but I didnu0026#39;t pay much mind to it, cause I figured I could guess how it got there (being titled u0026quot;Edo Pornu0026quot; and all). But when I realized that this was a film by Kaneto Shindô (Onibaba, Kuroneko, The Naked Island), I couldnu0026#39;t pass up a chance to watch another one of his films.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film is a portrait of the Japanese artist Hokusai, who I knew nothing about going in, but whom this film has piqued my interest in. He created the famous u0026quot;Great Wave off Kanagawau0026quot;. Apparently, he also created what could probably be considered the earliest example of tentacle porn. The sequence in the film where he draws that is… amazing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film starts off a generally well-made, albeit somewhat odd biopic of an eccentric man. In the last act however… I can understand the criticisms. Thereu0026#39;s a lot of Hokusai and his friend stumbling around – the actors in unconvincing 90-year-old man makeup doing their best half-crazy half-senile old man impressions. Thereu0026#39;s a lot of Hokusai talking to himself about death. Things get really strange, but I have to admit, thatu0026#39;s kind of what I love about this film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn a strange way, I think this is a good companion film to Kenji Mizoguchiu0026#39;s u0026quot;Utamaro and His Five Womenu0026quot;. That film is also about a famous Japanese woodblock printmaker of the same era, Utamaro, who is mentioned and briefly appears in u0026quot;Edo Pornu0026quot; as something of a rival of Hokusai. Made 35 years earlier, itu0026#39;s a completely different style of film, but, yu0026#39;know, theyu0026#39;re completely different styles of artists.”