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Of Many Delights - The Pinku Eiga Of Tatsumi Kumashiro

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Thu 24 May 2007 // 20:00

OF MANY DELIGHTS: THE PINKU EIGA OF TATSUMI KUMASHIRO
Thu 24th / 8pm / £4/3 / Over 18's only

Tonight, ‘Of Many Delights’ begins its journey to invite you to view some of the finest examples of the Japanese softcore genre pinku eiga (pink films). We begin with director Tatsumi Kumashiro who for many raised the profile of pink films from being mere exploitation pieces to the level of art. A minimalist who often set his films in the fringes of Japanese society, Kumashiro’s films raised the bar for the genre, by demonstrating an abundant use of dark humour, political and literary references and a strong feminist stance – exemplified in classics such as ‘The Woman With Red Hair’ (which screened at the Cube in 2005) and tonight’s selection, ‘World of Geisha’ (1973).

1917. The country is in turmoil with the October revolution, rioting over the inflationary price of rice, and the oncoming Siberian war. Shinsuke spends his days in the arms of geishas, paying little heed to the events happening around him, until his call-up arrives. Playing back and forth between the lover’s dramas and archival footage, Kumashiro has here made an undisputable classic of Nikkatsu studios 'Roman Porno', a film which Truffaut admired for its "praise of female beauty and derision of male stupidity.”