Tod durch Erhängen (1968)

Tod durch Erhängen: Directed by Nagisa Ôshima. With Kei Satô, Do-yun Yu, Fumio Watanabe, Hôsei Komatsu. A Korean man is sentenced to death by hanging, but he survives the execution. For the following two hours, his executioners try to work out how to handle the situation in this black farce.

“Oshima is a director who usually leaves you in no doubt about what he thinks, but he goes all out here. This film is a strong polemic against the death penalty as practiced in Japan. The condemned man fails to die, and those in the death chamber panic and wonder what to do. After about five minutes of narration (by Oshima himself), the characters gear into action, using Oshimau0026#39;s chosen method : black farce. This is a very funny film, and all the more so because it confronts some very edgy stuff and often crosses the line to outrage. Oshima, as he often does, attacks Japanu0026#39;s sacred cows head on. As well as the death penalty, he deals with prejudice against Koreans, rape, politics, respect for authority and much more.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting is excellent, particularly the Korean who plays the condemned man. His calm poise provides an excellent balance to the mania of the officials around him, as they try to make him remember who he is and what heu0026#39;s done.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStrong stuff, warmly recommended.”