Profound Desires of the Gods

Of all the Imamuras I've seen, this is the one that goes to the desert island with me. "Profound Desires of the Gods" (1968) is a feverishly transportative and sumptuous film. It seems as if when one starts to think nothing happens, everything happens.

Imamura's view of humanity is a curious blend of pessimism and deep, resonant humor to the extent that they seem to cancel each other out. Perhaps this is why his films are so peculiarly observant, and indeed anthropological. In this respect he's successful both as a "realist" (a notion I'm not fond of in the domain of film but which I use here complimentarily) and a visual poet. In fact, some portions of this film strongly foreshadow Malick's "The Thin Red Line" (1998) in the visual depiction of the narrative role of nature.

All of the Imamuras I know have an image (motif) or a scene that become a kind of hub; definitions of the films and something that stay and live on in the memory. In this film there are many, but two images glow strongest: the pit that Nekichi and the Futoris have been digging for years, as well as the final climax at sea.

On the dedicated forum for this film it has been suggested that there are many parallels between this and Teshigahara's "Suna no onna" (1964). I think that's a connection worth acknowledging and at best it enriches both films.

At this writing this film has received only 475 votes, which is a very small number considering this film has been available on Blu-ray courtesy of the Masters of Cinema series (Region B) for two and a half years.