Prostitutes, policemen and gangsters. Not another gubernatorial fiasco, it’s “Tomu Uchida: Discovering a Japanese Master,” a film series celebrating the work of the late director coming to BAMCinematek on April 11.
“Uchida is very powerful,” said Japanese film expert Kyoko Hirano. “It is obvious compared with today’s younger generations of Japanese directors, who are often more concerned about their own middle-class lives and their small worlds. On the contrary, Uchida’s films portray the predicament of the oppressed in the society and their anger.”
Films like “Chikamatsu’s Love in Osaka,” (1959) which uses puppets and kabuki, and “The Mad Fox” (1962), pictured, which employs animation to tell a classic Japanese folk tale, are rarely shown, despite Uchida’s iconic status. All the prints shown at BAM are archival and in Japanese with English subtitles, making this a rare opportunity.
“Tomu Uchida: Discovering a Japanese Master” runs April 11 – 30 at BAMCinematek (30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene). Tickets are $11. For a full schedule, call (718) 636-4100 or visit www.bam.org.
