Caterpillar 1940. The second Sino-Japanese war sends Lt. Kurokawa back to his village with lots of medals on his chest but without his arms and legs, which he lost during the fighting. His wife Shigeko soon becomes the center of attention of friends, relatives and neighbors. The entire village expects a lot of the woman, who must honor the Empire through her devotion to her husband. Shigeko herself, like her husband during the battle, puts herself at the service of her nation, becoming an example for all her fellow-villagers. “In war human beings are violated, chopped up and burnt by other human beings. Humans violating other humans. Humans chopping up other humans. Humans burning other humans. Is there such a thing as a just war? What is the meaning of war? What is the meaning of people killing people for the sake of their country? Where in the world can we find a just war? Don’t forget the stench of blood that covered the earth! Don’t forget the smell of burnt flesh! We must not forget... for this is what war is.”
Biography
film director
Koji Wakamatsu
Koji Wakamatsu (Miyagi, Japan, 1936 - Tokyo, Japan, 2012) was one of the greatest Japanese directors, coming from the New Wave in the 1960s. He specialized in pinku eiga and then realized a long series of innovative films, with many references to daily life Japanese society. Torino Film Festival presented in 1989 Violated Angels (1967), and then Cycling Chronicles (2005), United Red Army (2007) and Caterpillar (2010). His last film The Millennial Rapture (2012) was screened in Venice, short before his departure.
FILMOGRAFIA
Amai wana (1963), Kabe no naka no himegoto (Affairs within Walls, 1965), Taiji ga mitsuryosuru toki (Embrione, 1966), Yuke yuke nidome no shojo (Su su per la seconda volta vergine, 1969), Hika (1971), Tenshi no kôkotsu (Estasi degli angeli, 1972), Delta no okite (1975), Kagi (1983), Asu naki machikado (1997), 17-Sai no fukei (Cycling Chronicles, 2005), Jitsuroku rengo sekigun - Asama sanso e no michi (United Red Army, 2007), Caterpillar (2010), Sennen no yuraku (The Millennial Rapture, 2012).
Cast
& Credits
regia, produttore/director, producer
Koji Wakamatsu
sceneggiatura/screenplay
Hisako Kurosawa, Deru Deguchi
fotografia/cinematography
Tomohiko Tsuji, Yoshihisa Toda
montaggio/film editing
Shuichi Kakesu
scenografia/production design
Hiromi Nozawa
musica/music
Sally Kubota, Yumi Okada
suono/sound
Yukio Kubota
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Shinobu Terajima (Shigeko Kurokawa), Shima Ohnishi (Kyuzo Kurokawa), Ken Yoshizawa (Kenzo Kurokawa), Keigo Kasuya (Tadashi Kurokawa), Emi Masuda (Chiyo Kurokawa)
produzione/production
Wakamatsu Production, Skhole Corporation Production
coproduttore/coproducer
Noriko Ozaki
vendita all’estero/world sales
Dissidenz International