The Pornographers

Subu makes pornographic films. He sees nothing wrong with it. They are an aid to a repressed society, and he uses the money to support his landlady, Haru, and her family. From time to time, Haru shares her bed with Subu, though she believes her dead husband, reincarnated as a carp, disapproves. Director Shohei Imamura has always delighted in the kinky exploits of lowlifes, and in this 1966 classic, he finds subversive humor in the bizarre dynamics of Haru, her Oedipal son, and her daughter, the true object of her pornographer-boyfriend’s obsession. Imamura’s comic treatment of such taboos as voyeurism and incest sparked controversy when the film was released, but The Pornographers has outlasted its critics, and now seems frankly ahead of its time.

Cast

Shoichi Ozawa

Shoichi Ozawa

as Yoshimoto 'Subu' Ogata

Sumiko Sakamoto

Sumiko Sakamoto

as Haru Masuda

Keiko Sagawa

Keiko Sagawa

as Keiko Matsuda

Masaomi Kondo

Masaomi Kondo

as Koichi Matsuda

Haruo Tanaka

Haruo Tanaka

as Banteki

Ganjirō Nakamura II

Ganjirō Nakamura II

as Elderly Executive

Chōchō Miyako

Chōchō Miyako

as Brothel Madame

Kō Nishimura

Kō Nishimura

as Detective Sanada

Ichirō Sugai

Ichirō Sugai

as Shinun Ogata

Shinichi Nakano

Shinichi Nakano

as Kabo

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