Violence at Noon

Kei Sato dispenses with another victim in Violence at Noon

Nagisa Oshima's Violence at Noon  is one of the more gonzo and nutzoid products of 60s cinema. It tells of a serial murderer who also commits necrophilia. Kei Sato admirably portrays both the charming façade and brutal core of the psychopath. Saeda Kawaguchi as the lusty Shino and Akiko Koyama (Mrs. Oshima) as the more demure Matsuko portray two women drawn together in their mutual love of the evil miscreant. Both actresses are effective. Only the last point of this film's misbegotten romantic quadrangle, Rokko Toura's cartoonish portrayal of the suicidal Genji, is subpar. 

Oshima, much like Shohei Imamura circa Vengeance is Mine, was returning to features after a bit of an exile spent making documentaries. He brings renewed energy to this literary adaptation, perhaps too much energy. This film contains over 2000 edits, further fracturing an already fragmented narrative largely told in flashback. Oshima busies himself utilizing the jazzy effects popular with directors who were trying to be modern, or at least mod, in 1966: jump cuts, frantic zooms, and enormous close-ups. This makes this dizzying slice of pulp more hysterical than it needs to be. Even Sam Fuller at his most outré (Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss) is restrained compared to this in his handling of exploitive material.

Oshima is so intent on castigating the misogyny and stultifying classism of Japanese society that his portrayal of his supporting players descends into grotesqueries. What hold the film together is Akira Takada's high contrast black and white cinematography. Violence at Noon looks stunning even when it verges on the ludicrous.