HEROIC PURGATORY

The work of Kiju Yoshida is one of Japanese cinema’s obscure pleasures. A contemporary of Nagisa Oshima (DEATH BY HANGING, IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES) and Masahiro Shinoda (PALE FLOWER, ASSASSINATION), Yoshida made his directorial debut at age 27. In the decades that followed he produced more than 20 features and documentaries, yet each and every one has proven difficult to see in the English-speaking world -- until now.

HEROIC PURGATORY, produced under the aegis of Japan’s legendary Art Theater Guild, pushes the dazzling cinematic language of Yoshida’s EROS + MASSACRE even further, presenting a bleak but dreamlike investigation into the political discourses taking place in early-’70s Japan.