A discovery like this reminds me how much more there is to Japanese cinema besides Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi. Well, my two favorite Japanese filmmakers are Sezuki Seijun and Shinya Tsukamoto, maverick filmmakers in their own country. Yasuza Masumura may be thrown on that list pretty quickly here, although this production doubtlessly had more money than, say, Branded to Kill. I won't go into too much detail with Blind Beast. Suffice it to say that it's one of the best films I've ever seen. It's easy to compare it to some vaguely arty trash like In the Realm of the Senses (and I say that in the best way). That film was discovered by the French. I wish they would have found this and canonized it instead. It's far more artistically accomplished, and much, much more emotionally and physically draining. 10/10.
Review of Blind Beast
