Where should I start to express
my feelings about The Insect Woman? It is a complex, heart breaking and a very
unsettling piece of cinema coming from the rising up age of Japan. And it is
from a director who has being known for making the Japanese cinema different
from where it used to be and for the same reason accused for being creative in
a disturbing way. Yet Shohei Imamura has put a clear and strong footstep not
only on the Japanese cinema but making it open to the other parts of the world
with his stylish filmmaking in most cases involving the lower class people of
the social structure. The Insect Woman is one of such pieces where the viewers
are let to follow a tragic yet determined life of a woman named Tome.
Tome Matsuki (Sachiko Hidari) is
from a rural Japanese village born to a family of peasants. And it’s clear that
she is a result of her mother’s disloyal relationships. Yet her father (by
legal relationship) who is unintelligent yet hard working develops a strong
bond with her manages to raise her with values. Yet the cruelty of the close family
and the society get to her pushing her to work for people without her will and
sacrifice her dignity for men who she has no interest in. Ultimately leaving
the village and coming to Tokyo she finds herself working for a brothel and
soon becomes a head maid following the guidance of her madam. Learning the
trade secrets Tome starts her own escort service and struggles to find money
for her daughter and aging father at home.
This may not be the first time
you are coming across a story such as this one. But for sure The Insect Woman
is a strong portrayal of a woman’s courageous life no matter what she does for
survival. As the tag line goes “She lives by instinct with no sense of right or
wrong”. Tomes life is a very hard one. She is betrayed by almost everyone she
puts her trust upon and the treatment she gets from the society ultimately
becomes the treatment she gives out. The director flawlessly builds this character
from the scratch and shows how she changes from being a helpless little girl to
a woman with a plan using the experiences she gains from her bitter life.
Director Imamura has ones said “I am interested in the relationship between the
lower part of the human body and the lower part of the social structure on
which the reality of everyday life in Japan is built." Tomes
character is a brilliant representation of that thought.
I must keep a special note on the
cinematography of The Insect Woman as it is one of the key elements that make
the movie different and truly brilliant. The full storyline is segmented in to
several parts using still frames that cut in at unexpected points with or
without narrations. These points have significant impact on the way the story
is told and gives the viewer an anchor to pause and ponder. And at times these
points are crucial in expressing a deeper view of the plot and the feelings of
the characters. For a few seconds the movie turns in to a graphic novel and for
some reason it works quite powerfully. Secondarily the cinematography works
great in terms of frames. As Imamura preferred to shoot the whole movie in real
places than in sets the use of tight spaces are quite evident. Some scenes
looks as if they were shot with a hidden camera and for a movie from the 60’s
this approach seems fresh. And the viewer can experience some of the scenes
very closely.
The Insect Woman is a powerful
cinema depiction of bitter side of the society that involves quite a lot of
abuse, sex, violence and rape. Yet all these ugly elements have being used at
appropriate portions that non makes this movie too vulgar or too gruesome. And
the theme involving a lullaby and an insect signifies the lives of the people
we tend to ignore but are very much alive.
Original title: Nippon konchûki (Japanese)
Genre: Drama
Director: Shôhei Imamura
