Diary of a Shinjuku Thief
1969 film by Nagisa Ōshima
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Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (新宿泥棒日記, Shinjuku Dorobō Nikki) is a 1969 Japanese New Wave film co-written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima.[2]
- Takeshi Tamura
- Mamoru Sasaki
- Masao Adachi
- Nagisa Ōshima
| Diary of a Shinjuku Thief | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Kanji | 新宿泥棒日記 |
| Revised Hepburn | Shinjuku Dorobō Nikki |
| Directed by | Nagisa Ōshima |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Masayuki Nakajima |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Nagisa Ōshima |
Production company | Sōzōsha |
| Distributed by | Art Theatre Guild |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Synopsis
The film centers around Birdie, a young Japanese book thief who is caught by a store clerk named Umeko. As their encounters grow increasingly fraught with tension and desire, the two become lovers and begin committing thefts together. They also take part in a kabuki play based on the lives of Yui Shōsetsu and Marubashi Chūya.
Cast
- Tadanori Yokoo as Birdey Hilltop
- Rie Yokoyama as Umeko Suzuki
- Moichi Tanabe
- Tetsu Takahashi
- Kei Satō
- Rokko Toura as himself
- Fumio Watanabe as himself
- Jūrō Kara as himself / singer
- Reisen Ri
Reception
Roger Greenspun of The New York Times called most of the film dull "with an air of having been produced only for purposes of demonstration", concluding that "the result is a high-powered sterility in the midst of much energetic busyness."[3] The film was described by Ronald Bergan, in his Guardian obituary of Oshima, as "an explosive agitprop movie equating sexual liberation with revolution, whose impact has cooled only marginally."[4]
