Eijanaika (1981)

6.2/10 • 151 min • Drama

Overview

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Cast

Kaori Momoi

Shigeru Izumiya

Masao Kusakari

Ken Ogata

Junzaburō Ban

Norihei Miki

Yuko Tanaka

Shino Ikenami

Shigeru Tsuyuguchi

Shoichi Ozawa

Yasuaki Kurata

Shōhei Hino

Hiroshi Inuzuka

Mitsuko Baisho

Hideo Takamatsu

Ben Hiura

Kibaji Tankobo

Jirô Chiba

Chōichirō Kawarasaki

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