Amakusa Shirô Tokisada

It's 1637 in Japan. The Tokugawa Shogunate has outlawed Christianity. It still persists among the peasants, so orders are given to suppress it by any means. That means torture: flogging, rapine, wrapping people in sheaves of straw and burning them alive. Hashizô Ôkawa, the local Christian leader, talks his fellow Christians into rebellion.

Nagisa Ôshima, the director of this movie, was a leader of the Japanese New Wave. That meant a complete rejection of all traditional values, including the movies' portrayal of samurai as noble, honorable men. The samurai in this movie certainly fit this new image. They are cruel and enjoy their cruelty.

Not only did the Japanese New Wave portray the older heroes of cinema this way, they attacked in the press older directors, even those whose works decried cruelty, like Naruse and Mizoguchi, or the corruption of modern life like Kurosawa. It was not enough to be against sin. One had to adopt the entire political and artistic platform.

This epic movie certainly is flawless in its presentation. The samurai are cruel beyond measure. The Christian peasantry are slaughtered, and not just because they are outmatched. They argue over the right course of action. They are not organized. Their sin lies not in being Christian. Their sin lies in their not being organized.

Nagisha Oshima directed this atypical 1962 film covering Christian persecution in Japan - and the response of the tragic hero, Shiro Amakusa. From the standpoint of filmmaking, the shots are mostly static (some several minutes, minimal camera movement), with simple black and white photography. The film shows particular care for the beleaguered Christians, who are forced into poverty (and worse) for their religion.

Obviously, the subject matter doesn't place for humor; the narrative dark and reflective, showing little hope for the characters. Oshima has always excelled at provocative filmmaking, provoking more thought than filmmaking fireworks.