Movielogr
Why Not? (1981)
Directed by Shōhei Imamura
Overview
The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry “Ei ja nai ka” (“Why not?”) in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.
Length 151 minutes
Actors
Shigeru Izumiya | Kaori Momoi | Masao Kusakari | Ken Ogata | Norihei Miki | Junzaburô Ban | Mitsuko Baisho | Shigeru Tsuyuguchi | Ako | Shôhei Hino | Shino Ikenami | Etsuko Ikuta | Hiroshi Inuzuka | Choichiro Kawarazaki | Kazuo Kitamura | Nenji Kobayashi | Yasuaki Kurata | Shoichi Ozawa | Sanshô Shinsui | Kazuko Shirakawa | Yūko Tanaka | Kibaji Tankobo | Minori Terada | Taiji Tonoyama