Legendary Japanese softcore auteur Kôji Wakamatsu channels Samuel Fuller for a twisted domestic-drama-cum-psychosexual-evisceration of Japan’s fascist past. Marshalling his powers of economy and pure sensation, Wakamatsu tells a story of war not situated on the battlefield but rather in the deceptively quiet fields and anxious towns of the home front. Injured during the Sino-Japanese war, Japanese soldier Tadashi (Keigo Kasuya) arrives home deaf, mute, and a quadruple amputee. Declared a “War God” by Emperor’s decree, he’s draped in medals and carted around as a mascot of courage and sacrifice. Yet the burden for caring for him is put entirely on his wife, Shigeko (a marvelous... More >>>