KENJI MISUMI: AN INSTINCTIVE AUTEUR
Kenji Misumi (1921-75), whose centenary was celebrated last year, is one of the unsung masters of the Japanese period film. Nicknamed ‘Little Mizoguchi’, he worked at Daiei for the bulk of his career, crafting films of stylistic brilliance and unforced moral gravity in the 1960s. He was a specialist above all in chambara (the action-packed variety of period film), which he imbued with remarkable Freudian undercurrents and imaginative widescreen imagery; but he also created convincing films focused on modern martial arts and on the romantic experiences of women. Mentored by Teinosuke Kinugasa, he shared his taste for expressionist imagery, but developed a style all his own. The centrepiece of the retrospective will be the so-called ‘sword trilogy’, recently restored in 4K by Kadokawa, which comprises some of Misumi’s outstanding visual and thematic achievements.
Curated by Alexander Jacoby and Johan Nordström
