Here
is the story of 19 year old Norio Nagayama, a serial killer using the
same gun in different parts of Japan to kill four men. This movie is
almost a documentary. Except there's no investigation, no cops
collecting evidence, and no interview with the killer. The entire story
is told through an environmental study: film as a landscape. It meticulously
follows killer Norio Nagayama's path, from where he grew up to everywhere
he went before committing the crimes.
Masao
Adachi was a long-time assistant director and scripter for filmmaker
Koji Wakamatsu, working together on such pink classics as VIOLATED
ANGELS. It is believed that Wakamatsu's preoccupation with left-wing
resistance movements - especially the Red Army, the oppression of the
Palestinian nation and the Japanese underground - strongly influenced
Adachi. In 1969, he decided to become a full part of the 'United
Red Army' and moved to Beirut for twenty years. Before his relocation,
Adachi made this film. Today - while the movie is still considered eccentric
and a major departure from the documentary format - it is recognized
as a significant contribution to Japanese cinema and the introduction
of the Fûkeiron style [Landscape Theory of Documentary Filmmaking].
Mr
Adachi continued writing scripts for Koji Wakamatsu from Palestine [under
the name Izuru Deguchi] including POOL
WITHOUT WATER. He returned to Japan in 2007 and lives today
in Tokyo.
A Japanese
film with English subtitles; fullscreen format, uncut (86 minutes),
DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT; extras includes selected
trailers.
