The premise of Tokyo Drifter (Tokyo Nagaremono, 1966) is simple: a reformed yakuza hitman named Tetsu decides to quit his gang and marry his girlfriend, nightclub singer Chiharu. His boss has other plans. The rest is all bright color, stagy sets, songs, jokes, and a nearly incomprehensible plot. But when the mix is this good, who cares about the story anyway?
This delirious, neon-lit gangster film—the 4th in our Modernism in Film series—was the work of anarchic director Seijun Suzuki, whose delight in mayhem and style over substance ultimately got him fired from his studio, Nikkatsu, in 1967. Today, Suzuki’s films inspire the same kind of devotion found among fans of manga (comic books) and anime (sci-fi animation)—art forms he helped shape.
Ready to unpack this flavorful Japanese treat are KU Assoc. Professor Tim Hossler (moderator) and Chika Okuyama, a graduate student (MA) in KU’s Department of Film and Media Studies. Okuyama’s research focuses on the violent film cycles of the late 1960s and early 1970s in Japan.
“One way to account for the violent film cycles that were so prominent in the 1960s and 1970s (though it was a global phenomenon) is the sense of need for violence as a means of change and the longing for ‘traditional Japanese values’ that appears to be fading away as the logic of capitalism dictates how Japanese people behave,” Okuyama says. “Tokyo Drifter, and the films that subsequently emerged in the jitsuroku [realistic, often anarchistic yakuza films] subgenre in the early 1970s, were, I think, a response to that yearning.” She added, “For me, underneath the popularity of yakuza films, there is a sense of crisis in postwar Japan.”
Tokyo Drifter will be presented in high definition at the Lawrence Arts Center’s 10th and Mass. Microcinema on April 18th. Tickets are available here or at the door for $10. The program will start promptly @7PM. Runtime is 83 min. Don’t wait to buy tickets—this will likely sell out like our other shows!
Lawrence Modern would like to thank the Lawrence Arts Center for their continued support of the Lawrence Modern film series. Many thanks also to Chika Okuyama for taking time out of her studies to participate in our film series!
Tokyo Drifter 4K official trailer | Criterion Collection review | LAC tickets | Chika Okuyama bio
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