Hoezo in KINO

Legendary Japanese director and double Palme d’Or laureate Shôhei Imamura sums up his thematic fascination as follows: “I am interested in the relationship of the lower part of the human body and the lower part of the social structure on which the reality of daily Japanese life obstinately supports itself.” Profound Desires of the Gods is maybe the most explicit example of this interest, with the story of an engineer encounting an inbred family on a remote tropical island. The director’s first colour film blends his background in documentary with surreal visuals of nature into a film that aims to understand instead of judge. Imamura’s impressive oeuvre is seldom seen in western cinemas so we’re over the moon we can present arguably his best film with a beautifully restored digital print. Japanese language with English subtitles and an intermission.