Special Series

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The Insect Woman

にっぽん昆虫記

Directed by: Shohei Imamura
1963 / 122 minutes / M

Crawling through the ruins of desire

Overcoming obstacles like an insect climbing over mountains of dirt, Tome is doing all she can to adapt and survive through tumultuous postwar Japan. Born to a rural family, she soon finds herself exposed to intimacy and sexual desire, which later become the key to her survival in Tokyo. Having experienced betrayal, exploitation and the unforgiving world of prostitution, Tome and the women around her are depicted by Imamura as the captivating victims of 20th century Japan’s rapid transformation, tirelessly searching for a way to live their dreams. 

Through his lens, the cinematic ‘entomologist’ Imamura skillfully captures the shifting essence of Japanese society after WWII, depicting the spirited and, at times, opportunistic nature of womanhood across generations. The Insect Woman not only serves as a social critique, but also as a shameless and honest portrait of women’s lives, a perspective that earned Imamura critical acclaim for his thought-provoking themes and cemented his reputation as a pioneer in Japanese cinema.