http://www.eastbayexpress.com/search/locations.php?oid=5407

The Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley is presenting a retrospective series
of Shohei Imamura's fims, starting this week. Imamura is probably best
known in the U.S. for "The Eel." My personal fave is "Warm Water Under a
Red Bridge," while I think it's a little reductionist to assign the film
the theme of extreme PMS, I'm willing to go with the idea of exploration of
the magic that underlies everyday life. Besides, it's funny as hell and has
great music.

Imamura was particularly good at digging under Japanese cultural
stereotypes, unearthing their origins, and re-casting them from an
eccentric--sometimes satirical--but still respectful point of view. He
often dealt with protagonists who smack up against the "shoulds" of life
and and find their liberation in unexpected circumstances. I highly
recommend his work if you're in "life stinks" mode.

miriam solon

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