The Pornographers

1966, NR, 128 min. Directed by Shohei Imamura. Starring Shoichi Ozawa, Sumiko Sakamoto.

REVIEWED By Marjorie Baumgarten, Thu., Nov. 11, 1999

The Austin Film Society series examines the films of Japanese director Shohei Imamura, one of the most important ñ and least internationally known ñ post-war filmmakers. The Pornographers tells the story of a “harried little man” who makes 8mm porn movies for impotent men, “all while juggling police, yakuza, blackmailers, and his makeshift family.” The “family” consists of a widow who keeps a carp whom she believes to be her reincarnated husband, a blackmailing stepson, and a seductive stepdaughter. A deeply perverse-sounding work.

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KEYWORDS FOR THIS FILM

The Pornographers, Shohei Imamura, Shoichi Ozawa, Sumiko Sakamoto

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