Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets

It's difficult to describe this rare film by Terayama. I was lucky enough to track down a rare subtitled version of the film. Although the quality was faded, the film still had me glued to the screen. Trippy color filters and noise rock interludes of Sing along angst ridden protest music. The music sounds like punk rock, but the film was made 6 years before the punk movement broke out. The music of the film had to of had some sort of influence on the punk scene. The film has an unconventional narrative style almost like Gummo. Basic story is about a teen in Japan, who plays soccer and deals with his highly dysfunctional family. His grandma is senile, his sister loves her pet rabbit to the point of sexual obsession, and his father gets him a prostitute so he can be more of a man. Out of rage our protagonist runs away and hits the street. But the main story is broken up by random short narratives of various Japanese strangers, punk like sing alongs and psychedelic surreal imagery. The funniest scene has to be when a young girl and teen guy hang up a penis shaped punching bag in a public side walk area. The Directer Terayama was the founder of Japanese Avant-Garde style theater in Japan, Emperor Tomato Ketchup is his more well known film. This is definitely one of the strangest and best Japanese films ever made!!! 10/10