Saw this a while back and never got a chance to write about it. This has one of my all-time favorite female performances because it's amazing to watch Sachiko Hidari transition from a small-town, kind-hearted girl into a calculating, opportunistic and world-weary woman.

All the Imamura trademarks are here: family dysfunction, perversion, the criminal underworld. The interior shots are great and very anti-Ozu - rooms are always messy and often filled with too many people. The black-and-white photography is gorgeous and the somewhat voyeuristic style makes for some really interesting shots (especially during the confession/penance scene). Imamura continues to amaze.

Meisterhafter Film, allerdings extrem schwer zugänglich - fordert insbesondere den westlichen Zuschauer auf, sich mit der Stimmung der japanischen Gesellschaft nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg auseinanderzusetzen. Shohei Imamura schildert eindringlich den Teufelskreis in der sich die Armen und Unterdrückten bewegen und verweist gleichzeitig auf die große Kluft zwischen traditionellem Landleben und dem Einfluss der Industrialisierung der Städte.
Die episodische Erzählweise beschleunigt zwar die zeitliche Erzählung, bremst den Film gleichzeitig aber auf dramaturgischer Ebene aus.

Martin Scorsese talked about this as a breakthrough film in film language. I don't feel it lived up to those words. Well acted and made but too distant for my taste. Not one of Imamura best.

Saw this a while back and never got a chance to write about it. This has one of my all-time favorite female performances because it's amazing to watch Sachiko Hidari transition from a small-town, kind-hearted girl into a calculating, opportunistic and world-weary woman.

All the Imamura trademarks are here: family dysfunction, perversion, the criminal underworld. The interior shots are great and very anti-Ozu - rooms are always messy and often filled with too many people. The black-and-white photography is gorgeous and the somewhat voyeuristic style makes for some really interesting shots (especially during the confession/penance scene). Imamura continues to amaze.

Dark, morally ambiguous Shohei Imamura drama about the role of women in Japan's imperial era. The film is stark, demanding and challenging. The fact Imamura could churn out films like this in an almost effortless fashion is a testament to his greatness.

Meisterhafter Film, allerdings extrem schwer zugänglich - fordert insbesondere den westlichen Zuschauer auf, sich mit der Stimmung der japanischen Gesellschaft nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg auseinanderzusetzen. Shohei Imamura schildert eindringlich den Teufelskreis in der sich die Armen und Unterdrückten bewegen und verweist gleichzeitig auf die große Kluft zwischen traditionellem Landleben und dem Einfluss der Industrialisierung der Städte.
Die episodische Erzählweise beschleunigt zwar die zeitliche Erzählung, bremst den Film gleichzeitig aber auf dramaturgischer Ebene aus.

The Insect Woman is a story about how people have to be adaptable (like insects) to survive.

Martin Scorsese talked about this as a breakthrough film in film language. I don't feel it lived up to those words. Well acted and made but too distant for my taste. Not one of Imamura best.

Absolutely fantastic look at the life of a simple country girl who has more than her fair share of crap dumped on her. It also seems to run in parallel with the changes occuring to Japan, the move away from rural life to the city, the rise of consumerism, failed attempt at collectivism etc. But don't quote me on that.
Excellent blu-ray from Masters of Cinema

I run hot and cold on Imamura, and this was a cold number for me.

http://www.strangethingsarehappening.com/insectwoman.html