The Wandering Yamamura Theater Troupe
This article explores the early career of Japanese filmmaker Shohei Imamura and his debut film, 'Stolen Desire'. It highlights his departure from the traditional style of his mentor, Yasujiro Ozu, to focus on the lives of social outcasts.
Why it matters
It provides historical context for the Japanese New Wave cinema movement and the evolution of auteur filmmaking.
During the post-war years in Japan, a new generation of filmmakers began to address the changing social and political changes in their country which earned them the label of the Nuberu Bagu. Emerging around the same time as the French New Wave in the late 1950s/early 1960s, Masahiro Shinoda, Nagisa Oshima, Yoshishige Yoshida and Shohei Imamura were among the most famous directors in this radical new movement. Imamura, in particular, is an intriguing figure because he worked as an assistant director for Yasujiro Ozu on three of his films – Early Summer [1951], The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice [1952], and Tokyo Story [1953].
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