January 8, 1912 – November 22, 1991 was a Japanese film director known for Social realism filmmaking informed by a left-wing perspective.
Life
Although leaning towards left-wing politics already at
Tokyo University, where he joined a
Communism student group, Imai's directing career, after serving as continuity writer at J.O. studios (later
Toho), started in 1939 with a series of films promoting the war efforts of the militarist regime.
Later calling these films "the biggest mistake of my life", he soon turned to socially conscious themes after the
Pacific War.
(1949), although a light comedy, observed the educational system, and was successful both with moviegoers and critics.
While his 1950 drama
Until We Meet Again portrayed a young couple's doomed love against the backdrop of the Pacific War, the 1953 anti-war film
Tower of Lilies was a stark account of untrained female students forced into aiding military troops during the final stage of the Battle of Okinawa. Other films addressed the present-day struggles of day labourers (
And Yet We Live), troubled youths (
Jun'ai monogatari), poor farmers (
The Rice People) and children of interracial relationships (
Kiku to Isamu). Yet the films regarded his most important of this era had a historical instead of a contemporary setting:
An Inlet of Muddy Water (1953), based on stories by Ichiyō Higuchi, took a look at the fate of a group of women during the Meiji era,
Night Drum (1958), scripted by
Kaneto Shindo, denounced the
Bushido in a tale about adultery and revenge during the
Edo period.
Imai returned to the latter subject in the critically acclaimed
Bushido, Samurai Saga (1963) and in
Revenge (1964).
Legacy
Japanese critics tended to define Imai's way of storytelling as "
nakanai realism", a "realism without tears", a fact questioned by film historian Joan Mellen who saw his work repeatedly "close to the sentimental".
In an interview, Imai himself summed up his films as "centered on human tragedies", which locates them close to the works of Keisuke Kinoshita who addressed similar topics (though in a less political manner) and whom Imai admired.
While film historians acknowledge Imai's solid directorial skills, the lack of a consistent style, and tendency to focus more on consequences than analysis of his themes, have been recurring subjects of criticism.
Selected filmography
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1946: Minshū no Teki
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1949: Aoi sanmyaku
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1950: Until We Meet Again ( Mata au hi made)
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1951: And Yet We Live ( Dokkoi ikiteru)
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1953: Tower of Lilies ( Himeyuri no tō)
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1953: An Inlet of Muddy Water ( Nigorie)
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1956: Mahiru no ankoku
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1957: Jun'ai monogatari
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1957: The Rice People ( Kome)
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1958: Night Drum ( Yoru no tsuzumi)
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1959: Kiku to Isamu
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1963: Bushido, Samurai Saga ( Bushidō zankoku monogatari)
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1964: Revenge ( Adauchi)
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1967: Satōgashi ga kowareru toki
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1968: The Time of Reckoning ( Fushin no toki)
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1976: Brother and Sister ( Ani imōto)
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1981: Yuki
Awards
Imai received the
Kinema Junpo Award for Best Director for
Mahiru no ankoku,
The Rice People and
Kiku to Isamu. All three films plus
Until We Meet Again and
An Inlet of Muddy Water were also awarded Best Film.
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| 1946 | Best Director | Mainichi Film Awards | Japan | Minshū no Teki |
| 1950 | Best Film | Blue Ribbon Awards | Until We Meet Again |
Best Director |
Best Film | Mainichi Film Awards |
| 1953 | Best Film | Blue Ribbon Awards | An Inlet of Muddy Water |
Best Director | |
Best Film | Mainichi Film Awards | An Inlet of Muddy Water |
Best Director |
| 1956 | Best Film | Blue Ribbon Awards | Mahiru no ankoku |
Best Director |
Best Film | Mainichi Film Awards |
Best Director |
| 1957 | Best Film | Blue Ribbon Awards | Rice |
Best Director | |
Best Film | Mainichi Film Awards | Rice |
Best Director | |
| 1958 | Best Director | Berlin International Film Festival | Germany | Jun'ai monogatari |
| 1959 | Best Film | Blue Ribbon Awards | Japan | Kiku to Isamu |
Best Film | Mainichi Film Awards |
| 1963 | Golden Bear | Berlin International Film Festival | Germany | Bushido, Samurai Saga |
| 1991 | Special Award | Mainichi Film Awards | Japan | |
External links
