ARCHIVED ONLINE EVENT - Japan Society Film Club: The Funeral directed by Juzo Itami

Date
Wednesday 4 January 2023
Time
6.30pm

Booking Details
Free - Booking essential
Priority for Japan Society Members

Please remember to watch the film in advance. 
The Funeral is available to watch on Asian Movies Online. 

Do you love Japanese film classics, anime or contemporary cinema stories? Do you miss Japan and want to see it at least on screen? Would you like to learn and discuss about Japanese culture and society? Join us for the Japan Society Film Club where we will chat online about films and Japan in an informal atmosphere.

Join us on 4 January for the first Film Club of 2023 to discuss Juzo Itami's award winning comedy, The Funeral.

The Funeral (お葬式, Osōshiki, 1984) is a comedy by director Juzo Itami, which shows a very untraditional side to a very traditional ceremony. It follows an affluent and modern Tokyo couple, whose lives are suddenly interrupted by the death of a parent and the desire to give a suitable, traditional funeral. The family find themselves in hilarious situations as the younger generation struggles with the complex rituals of the Buddhist ceremony that are fading fast from modern Japanese life. The Funeral was the writing and directing debut of Juzo Itami, and was an enormous success in Japan winning five Japanese Academy Awards in 1985.

Juzo Itami (1933-1997) was a prolific and multifaceted actor, scriptwriter and director. Born in Kyoto under the name Yoshihiro Ikeuchi, he was the son of renowned pre-war filmmaker Mansaku Itami, but initially didn’t follow the steps of his father and worked as commercial designer, television reporter, magazine editor, and essayist. He became an actor in 1960 and went on to develop a successful 20-year career, including roles in Hollywood productions such as 55 Days at Peking (Nicholas Ray, 1963) and Lord Jim (Richard Brooks, 1965) and in films by celebrated Japanese directors such as Sing a Song of Sex (Nagisa Oshima, 1967), The Makioka Sisters (Kon Ichikawa, 1983) and The Family Game (Yoshimitsu Morita, 1983). In 1984 he wrote and directed his first film, The Funeral (Ososhiki, 1984), which was acclaimed for its satire of social conventions and became a box-office hit in Japan. In total he made ten feature films included the international success Tampopo (1986), A Taxing Woman (1987 and 1988) and A Quiet Life (1995), based on Kenzaburo Oe’s writing about his autistic son. His satiric film on Japan’s crime syndicate, The Gangster’s Moll (1992), provoked a near-deadly attack on him by the yakuza. He died in 1997 falling from the roof of his office’s building in an apparent suicide, although the involvement of the organised crime in his murder is also discussed.

Japan Society Film Clubs take place on the first Wednesday of the month. We recommend a film to watch in advance and meet online to discuss. Films are often available online for free, to rent or with subscription, as well as on DVD/Blu Ray. When possible, we also invite film experts to introduce and lead the discussion, but the event is open to all and we encourage participants to freely express their opinions and feelings about the films.

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

Booking Info