Japanese Classics: “An Actor’s Revenge”

Set in the cloistered world of nineteenth-century kabuki theater, this film charts a female impersonator’s attempts to avenge his parents, who were driven to suicide by three corrupt men. Ichikawa takes the conventions of melodrama and turns them on their head, bringing the hero’s fractured psyche to life in boldly experimental widescreen compositions. Scenes are infused with kaleidoscopic color, pop-art influences, and meticulous choreography. (Dir.: Kon Ichikawa, Japan, 1963, 113 min., DCP, Japanese with English subtitles)