ABOUT KOJI WAKAMATSU

BIOGRAPHY Koji Wakamatsu (born 1 April 1936, in Wakuya, Miyagi, Japan) moved to Tokyo at the age of 17 and after a series of small jobs became a yakuza. Following a fight, he was sent to prison where he learned that power leads to repression and brutality. After his release, he wrote a book about his experience and found in filmmaking a way to expose the abuse of power. In 1959, he worked in television...

A POOL WITHOUT WATER by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Mizu no nai puuru Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1982 – 103 min. Cast: Yuya Uchida, Mitsuyo Nemoto SYNOPSIS A man witnesses a woman being rape. He eventually responds to the situation and rescues her. This makes a change from his routine life as a ticket stamper. His home life is just as overwhelming: his wife never shuts up and he feels so distant from his kids. He buys...

CATERPILLAR by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Caterpillar Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 2010 – 85 min. World premiere: Berlin Film Festival 2010 (Official Competition) Silver Bear for Best Actress for Shinobu TERAJIMA alt=”Caterpillar by Koji Wakamatsu” title=”Caterpillar (2010) by Koji Wakamatsu” width=”226″ height=”300″ class=”aligncenter size-medium wp-image-21″...

ECSTASY OF THE ANGELS by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Tenshi No Kokotsu Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1972 – 89 min. Cast: Ken Yoshizawa, Rie Yokoyama SYNOPSIS In the early 70s in Japan, a group of young radicals named after the days of the week tries to steal weapons from a U.S Army base. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are killed. Slowly, the surviving group members realize they’ve been betrayed by their own organization,...

GO GO SECOND TIME VIRGIN by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Yuke yuke nidome no shojo Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1969 – 65 min. Cast: Michio Akiyama, Mimi Kozakura SYNOPSIS The story of two damned and abused teenagers who meet and fall in mutant love on a desolate Tokyo rooftop. Their only hope is to cement their love with an escape into oblivion… Version available: Japanese Available subtitles: French, English Rights...

NAKED BULLET by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Otoko goroshi onna goroshi: hadaka no zyudan Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1969 – 72 min. Cast: Yuichi Minato, Ken Yoshizawa SYNOPSIS Three gangsters rob the loot of a trade between two gangs. They also take a hostage with them -a woman, who is part of one of the two gangs- and take refuge in an apartment where they choose to hide for some time. But one of the three gangsters...

RUNNING IN MADNESS, DYING IN LOVE by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Kyoso joshi-ko Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1969 – 72 min. Cast: Ken Yoshizawa, Yoko Muto, Rokko Toura SYNOPSIS While clashes between demonstrators and police are raging in the streets of Tokyo, a young man takes refuge at his policeman brother’s house. The two brothers will soon come to blows, but the intervention of the policeman’s wife will prove decisive, as...

SEASON OF TERROR by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Gendai kosyokuden: teroru no kisetsu Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1969 – 78 min. Cast: Yuko Ejima, Tomomi Sahara, Ken Yoshizawa SYNOPSIS Two police put a student militant under surveillance, but nothing seems to be happening except a lot of sex with his two girlfriends. They give up, too early it appears, as the student begins a revolutionary act far more extreme than...

SECRETS BEHIND THE WALL by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Kabe no naka no himegoto Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1965 – 75 min. Cast: Hiroko Fujino, Kazuko Kano SYNOPSIS Japan, 1960s. In a housing complex, a college prep student is spying on his neighbor, a former peace activist, who now leads an ordinary life as a housewife, having a secret affair with an ex-lover. The voyeurism of the isolated and gloomy young man...

SEX JACK by Koji Wakamatsu

Original title: Seizoku Produced by Wakamatsu Production Japan – 1970 – 70 min. Cast: Michio Akiyama, Moschu Sasahara, Moppu Sudo, Mitsu Yamakawa Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight 1971 SYNOPSIS Set in the near future, a small gang of revolutionary students are hidden away by a small-time thief. While they are hiding, all but the thief take turns having sex with an unhappy (and perhaps...