Double Feature: Oh, My Bomb! (1964), All Under the Moon (1993)

This screening event is part of the “Comic Legacies on the Japanese Silver Screen” film series taking place from February through April. See here for a list of screenings.

All films are screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

Second film begins at 8:45pm.

Please view a pamphlet about the film series here, authored by Professor Aaron Gerow, Xavi Sawada, David Baasch, Eugene Kwon, Adam Silverman, Ania Tropnikova, and Chloe Yan.

Oh, My Bomb! (ああ爆弾, 1964)
directed by Kihachi Okamoto
1h 35m, 35mm

While based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich, Oh, My Bomb! is a wild and crazy hybrid of comedy, gangster film, kabuki, Noh Kyogen, and Hollywood musical, all made under Okamoto Kihachi’s patented sense of rhythm. A yakuza boss is released from prison, but finds his gang usurped by a shady politician. With the help of his former cell mate he decides to assassinate the politician with an explosive pen. (Imdb.com)

All Under the Moon (月はどっちに出ている, 1993)
directed by Yoichi Sai
1h 49m, 35mm

All Under the Moon won pretty much all the film awards in Japan when it was released, which was significant given that it was a comedy about the life of zainichi (resident Korean) in Japan, which has long discriminated against them. The director was Sai Yoichi, Japan’s most prominent zainichi director who trained under New Wave master Oshima Nagisa. A Korean taxi-driver interacts both humorously and tragically with his customers and employers in ’90s Tokyo. 

This series is co-sponsored by The National Film Archive of Japan, Yale Film Archive, and Council on East Asian Studies, with support from the Japan Foundation. 

“Oh, My Bomb!” print provided by The National Film Archive of Japan. “All Under the Moon” print provided by the Japan Foundation.