Reverberations of youth come back to life on the screen - A night in Shinjuku, 1978

Reverberations of youth come back to life on the screen - A night in Shinjuku, 1978

In 1978, the Art Theater in Shinjuku was the place to show experimental and culturally significant films that were different from commercial films. For that year's film screening, "Wet Sands of August" and "Kenka Erejii" were selected. Wet Sands of August," a 1971 film by Toshihachi Fujita, is a coming-of-age film that depicts the emptiness and inadequacy of youth in the 1970s. On the other hand, "Kenka Erojii" was directed by Seijun Suzuki in 1966 and depicted rebellion against authority through a prewar juvenile delinquent. Although set against the backdrop of different eras, both films shared the frustrations of youth and the impulse toward violence.

At the time, the Japanese film industry was caught between the rise of entertainment and the controversy over freedom of expression, and Art Theater Shinjuku was a place to reevaluate masterpieces that had been buried in time. The young people on the screen evoked in the audience memories of their own past and youth, reminding them of pains and desires that have not disappeared despite the changing times.