Oshima Nagisa 2 Stylistic Self-negation

Changing Styles A variety of visual and narrative styles. Different visual and narrative style employed in each film Deliberate refusal of relying on a constant and enduring visual (narrative) style.

Changing Styles Referential and self- referential style - formal characteristics made of cinematic quotations The lack of any consistent style paradoxically becomes Oshima’s visual and narrative style as auteur. Style negating itself; style deconstructing itself.

Powerful and Subversive Images Style employed in each film is different but the power and subversiveness of images are constant as those of themes and narratives are. Image of poverty and desperation in crooked composition in Town of Love and Hope; amoral relationship in shocking raw colour in Cruel Story of Youth

Powerful and Subversive Images Sexual energy in utter hopelessness and poverty is expressed by the use of symbolic colour - red in Sun’s Burial Images of wedding are turned into those of conformism and betrayal in Night and Fog in Japan.

Powerful and Subversive Images Direct expression of sexuality and pleasure in Pleasure of Flesh Struggle between sexual repression and liberation in Violence at Noon.

Powerful and Subversive Images Oshima vents his frustration with the apathy of young generation in Japan through this image of frigidity in Sing a Song of Sex Changes in gender roles - a girl obsessed with sex and a man with death in Japanese Summer: Double Suicide

Powerful and Subversive Images Cruelty of capital punishment stretched to the extent that everything starts looking like a farce in Death by Hanging Image of loneliness - a boy denied education and happiness in The Boy

Powerful and Subversive Images Individuals crashed with the weight of family - image of claustrophobia in Ceremony Pursuit of total pleasure and happiness at the time of the Sino-Japanese War in In the Realm of Senses.

Powerful and Subversive Images Pursuit of pleasure and the price to pay for it - image of uncontrollable passion and guilt in Empire of Passion Homosexual passion and its guilt in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Powerful and Subversive Images Forbidden love with an animal in Max, mon amour Ephemeral homosexual love like cherry blossoms in Taboo

Style in Cruel Story of Youth Jagged camerawork with deliberately unstable hand-held camera  French nouvelle vague. Bold wide-screen composition Frequent uses of exaggerated, sensuous raw colours

Style in Burial of the Sun Photography of exaggerated colours - particularly orange - the hue created by the setting sun. The symbolic use of monuments in Osaka - dominating Osaka Castle (political) and Tsutenkaku (economic)

Style in Night and Fog in Japan The film is made of only 43 shots (c.f. 2,000 in Violence at Noon) Even more jagged camerawork with hand-held camera Format of chamber drama, ‘discussion drama’ shot in sets - 1& 2/1 hour debate on the left-wing politics in 1960.

Style in Violence at Noon Mise-en-scène constructed by close-ups and extreme close-ups. Overexposed, whitewashed photography Frenetic pace of editing (2,000 shots) Godard-like jagged jump cuts Complicated flashbacks

Styles in Death by Hanging Shifting styles - in the beginning the film is shot in somber instruction film - later, it adopts more self-reflexive avant-garde style (characters and Oshima speaking to the spectator). Early realism is replaced by theatre-of-absurd narrative and Brechtian performance.

Style in Diary of a Shinjuku Thief Shot as a cinematic collage (Collage = a picture made by sticking other pictures, photographs, cloth etc.) Collage of documentary film, (avant-garde) theatrical performance, words and the cameo appearance of cultural icons of the 1960s (Yokoo Dadanori, Tanabe Moichi, Kara Juro, etc.)

Style in Boy Entirely shot on location from Kochi to Hokkaido. Cinema-véritè like realism shot with long lens and hand-held camera. Shot with available, natural light Fidelity to landscape and figures in it. ‘Boy’ did not have previous acting experience. A A

Style in Ceremony A grandiose set was constructed by the art department of Daiei Kyoto Studios Solemn photography and stylized mise-en-scène Events are shown in bold flashbacks. Conventional representation with Brechitian detours.

Style in In the Realm of Senses Its mise-en-scene creates claustrophobic atmosphere. Strong and deep colours with low-key lighting (Eastmancolor). No demarcation between spiritual and physical love - solemnity and gravity of love-making images rYhttp:// rY

Styles in Empire of Passion Underlit - dominated by deep green and brown colours. Styles closely associated with genre movies - film noir, ghost film and historic drama. The same motif but a lot less intense than In the Realm of Senses

Style in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence Mixture of stylistic and impressive images and conventional visualization. Mixture of sloppiness and sophistication Star vehicle: David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Beat Takeshi

Changing Styles Max, mon amour Scripted by Jean-Claude Carrière (Louis Buñuel’s screenwriter). Sensational motif - some of the visual styles are borrowed from Luis Buñuel - cool and detached revelation of hypocritical bourgeois life-style.

Style in Taboo Highly aesthetic historical drama Beautiful and stylized set design Audacious costumes designed by Wada Emi Mesmerizing sword play Deep and strong colours