Dry Flowers

This film (drama)Also known as乾いた花，is aJapanProducerwomen sex，At1964Released in year 。The dialogue language isJapanese，Current Douban rating8.0(For reference only)。

"Dry Flowers," a strongly styled "art gangster film," was produced at the beginning of the golden age of Yakuza films. With stark contrasting black and white photography and Toru Takemitsu's bizarre score, it leads the audience on a dreamlike journey into the underground world of "仁义" (Jinji) based on the original work by Shintaro Ishihara. As a member of the Shochiku New Wave, Masahiro Shinoda consciously left the studio system to pursue independent filmmaking. The interesting aspect of Shinoda's "Dry Flowers" may be witnessing how Ryō Ikebe, originally a young literary star, begins to transform into a "Yakuza." Although in this film, he is still a typical confused protagonist from Ishihara's "Sun Tribe" novels, he quickly becomes a member of the "Showa Zankyakuhou" after stepping onto a criminal path. Japanese gangster films perhaps reach the ultimate in mythologizing criminals. "Dry Flowers," a work from Shinoda's New Wave period, is adapted from the original by Shintaro Ishihara. The emergence of this novel and another of Ishihara's works, "Seasons of the Sun," established the important genre of "Sun Tribe films" within the New Wave. This coldly enchanting film exhibits a nihilistic emotion that seems even stronger than Nagisa Oshima's famous work "Cruel Story of Youth," showcasing more advanced techniques. In addition to its unique aura emanating from its gloomy black and white visuals that present the original work, it still retains the imprint of Ishihara's "Sun Tribe" literary works. However, the rebellion and nihilistic emotions that typically occur with the male protagonist in the novels are transferred to a mysterious, charming, mad, numb, hollow, and desperate young girl in this case, while the male lead almost becomes a classic image of the noir genre—a lonely killer without hope or purpose, compelled to continue down this treacherous path. The budding emotional connection between the male and female protagonists is quickly torn apart by their own inertia and the brutal external world, leaving them unable to consciously affirm their existence and tragic sense. Masahiro Shinoda does not adopt a typical genre filmmaking approach; this work, which examines the psychological state of post-war Japanese society, possesses a powerful and profound critical force. It is reserved, gloomy, cold, silently screaming, and imbued with a heavy sense of oppression akin to the night itself. Shinoda's unique perspective and sensibility regarding the sexual and loving expressions of humans in an extremist situation adds depth to the political and social insights in his works, which seem inextricable, alongside a strong critical viewpoint on basic human issues. He does not focus on the sensual depiction of primal desires like a typical pink film director; neither is he an ascetic-style sociological or anthropological documentarian. His talent for adapting literary works allows him to become an aesthetic builder who embeds the intrinsic themes of social intention in stunning visual language and compelling literary narratives; the perfect combination of form and thought in his works always leaves the audience profoundly moved.