Photo courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.
Known only by film buffs here, Japanese director Shibuya Minoru (1907-1980) is famous back home for his social dramas and comedies, which portray the lives of the ordinary Japanese, often in a satirical – even vicious – way. On the heels of the Minoru retrospective within the Berlinale Forum earlier this month, Arsenal will be screening the same eight films that were shown in the festival. Released in 1952, Honjitsu Kyushin (The Doctor’s Day Off, Feb 23, 19:00) comments on life in post-WWII Japan, whereas his 1961 film, Yopparai tengoku (Drunkard’s Paradise, Feb 27, 19:00), is a satirical family drama about why we drink alcohol. Gendai jin (Modern People, Feb 24, 19:00), which came out in 1952, takes us into the agricultural ministry after WWII.
Shibuya Minoru Retrospective | Kino Arsenal, arsenal-berlin.de, all films with English subtitles