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There’s a world of Japanese cinema outside of the Kyoto and Tokyo dominated projects, each of these cities serving as the historical bases for the country’s film industry. One such location that’s always refreshing to see on the big screen is the Okinawa Prefecture, a series of islands in the East China Sea disconnected from mainland Japan. It’s this tropical setting that Okinawan filmmaker Go Takamine utilizes for his slow and meandering breakthrough feature, “Paradise View”.

Paradise View is screening at Japan Society

Days before the Okinawa Reversion of 1971, Reishu Goya (Kaoru Kobayashi) has quit his job at an American military base with seemingly little else to do in mind. Around him, various families quibble and scheme as a close-knit community comes to terms with inevitable change. Into this lawless yet peaceful environment wanders Ito (Haruomi Hosono), a Japanese who has come to marry one of the village women,...

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reverting from American to Japan, our friends at New York’s Japan Society will host, from May 13 to June 3, Visions of Okinawa, a retrospective that “documents the dynamic historical, political and cultural spaces of Okinawa around this pivotal point in history through in-person screenings and streamed films exploring the legacies of the Occupation, WWII and imperialism.”

We’re proud to debut the trailer for their series, which mixes “mainland filmmakers, native Okinawans and documentarians,” the series includes Chris Marker’s Level Five and Oshima’s Dear Summer Sister, which I don’t recall ever screening in New York—much less on a 35mm print. The Focus on the Nihon Documentarist Union (Ndu) documentaries will be screening for the first time outside Japan and streaming worldwide (except Japan and Taiwan). Being that Go Takamine’s Paradise View (another one I don’t think...

Marking 50 years since Okinawa’s reversion from American sovereignty back to Japan, Visions of Okinawa documents the dynamic historical, political and cultural spaces of Okinawa around this pivotal point in history through in-person screenings and streamed films exploring the legacies of the Occupation, WWII and imperialism. Primarily focusing on films made around the time of or dealing with the 1972 reversion, Visions of Okinawa addresses issues of identity, race and borders by presenting diverse and complicated reflections on the prefecture from mainland filmmakers, native Okinawans and documentarians.

In-theater Screenings

All in-person screenings will take place in Japan Society’s auditorium, located at 333 E. 47th Street in New York, NY.

Paradise View

Friday, May 13, 2022 at 7:00 Pm

Dir. Go Takamine, 1985, 117 min., Dcp, color, in Okinawan (Uchinaaguchi) and Japanese with English subtitles. With Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Togawa, Haruomi Hosono.

North American Premiere of 2021 edit. Go Takamine’s rarely screened first theatrical feature is...

Check out the music video for Lilac from the ten piece “brutal orchestra” known as Vampillia. The track features vocals from the iconic Jun Togawa, frontwoman for such influential bands as Yapoos and Geurnica. The grotesque music video was put together by “Toolate” and Tomomi Komazaki for the album “The Divine Move”.

The visuals, that feels reminiscent of the work of standout mangakas’ like Nishioka Kyoudai, Hideshi Hino or Shintaro Kago, offers a disturbing backdrop too the otherwise serene track. Additionally, Togawa’s vocals elicit a strong emotional response, sung with the bravado that made her an icon and innovator of the rock and pop genre.