''The Catch'' ( ja, 飼育, Shiiku, Breeding) is a 1961 Japanese

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. One of the foremost directors within the Japanese New Wave, his films include ''In the Realm of the Senses'' (1976), a sexually explicit film set in 1930s Japan, and ''Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence' ...

. It is based on the prize-winning novella ''Shiiku'' (translated as ''The Catch'' or ''Prize Stock'') by

Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...

Plot

During the summer of 1945, a U.S. plane crashes in a rural Japanese area. The villagers capture the surviving black pilot and lock him in a stable, awaiting official instructions how to proceed with their prisoner. While waiting, seething conflicts in the community come to the surface. Takano, the domineering and abusive local landlord, uses the villagers' anger and frustrations, which they blame on the captive, to turn the attention away from his own misdeeds and eventually kills him. Shortly after, Japan's defeat is declared. The community decides to make deserter Jirō, who had been hiding in the woods to escape his draft, responsible for the incident. Jirō first agrees, but then rebels against the plan, and is accidently killed in a subsequent fight. The last scene shows the burning of Jirō's and the captive's bodies, looked upon by Jirō's younger brother Hachiko, who had unsuccessfully tried to save the prisoner.

Cast

Rentarō Mikuni (also sometimes credited as 三国連太郎) (January 20, 1923 – April 14, 2013) was a Japanese film actor from Gunma Prefecture. He appeared in over 150 films since making his screen debut in 1951, and won three Japanese Academy Awards for ...

– Kazumasa Takano *

Hugh Hurd Hugh Lincoln Hurd (February 11, 1925 – July 15, 1995) was an American actor and civil rights activist. Hurd is known for his lead role in John Cassavetes' debut 1959 feature film '' Shadows'' and for his organizing activities for African-Ameri ...

– American soldier *

Rokkō Toura was a Japanese stage and film actor active from 1960 to 1993.「個性光る、名脇役」　Asahi Shimbun読売新聞1993 March 26 朝刊31面 He is mostly associated with the films of director Nagisa Ōshima. Biography Toura was born Mutsuhi ...

– secretary * Toshirō Ishidō – Jirō *

Yoshi Katō was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 175 films between 1949 and 1988. He won the award for Best Actor at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival for his role in ''Hometown''. He married the actress Isuzu Yamada in 1950, but ...

– Yoichi Kokubo * Teruko Kishi – Masu Tsukada *

Akiko Koyama is a Japanese actress. She made her screen debut in 1955 and appeared in nearly 90 films. In 1960 Akiko Koyama married film director Nagisa Oshima, and appeared in some of his films. Selected filmography * ''Night and Fog in Japan'' (1960) * ' ...

– Hiroko Ishii *

Yōko Mihara was an actress of Japanese exploitation cinema, erotic dancer and pin-up model who was active from the 1950s to 1970s. Life and career Mihara signed up with Shintoho in 1951 but appeared mostly in minor roles, pursuing the career of a pin-up mo ...

– Sachiko Tsukada * Eiko Ōshima – Mikiko * Isao Hirizumi – Hachiko

Background

''The Catch'' was Ōshima's first independently produced film after leaving the

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

studio.

Awards

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

for best supporting actor Rentarō Mikuni for ''The Catch'' and ''Hadakakko''

Legacy

''The Catch'' was presented at retrospectives on Ōshima at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, the

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director from ...

and the

Harvard Film Archive The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is a film archive and cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of film, the HFA houses a c ...

. It was screened at the

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

in 2011. Ōe's novella was again adapted in 2011 as ''Gibier d'élevage'' by director

Rithy Panh Rithy Panh ( km, ប៉ាន់ រិទ្ធី; born April 18, 1964) is a Cambodian documentary film director and screenwriter. The French-schooled director's films focus on the aftermath of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. R ...

, who transferred the setting to early 1970s Cambodia.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Catch, The 1961 films 1961 drama films 1961 war films Japanese drama films Japanese World War II films Films directed by Nagisa Ōshima 1960s Japanese films Films based on works by Japanese writers