Why Not?

Jan 8, 1981

2h 31m

★ 6.4

Overview

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Genres

Drama

Production Companies

Imamura Productions

Shochiku

Why Not? Trailers

Cast

Genji

Shigeru Izumiya

Ine

Kaori Momoi

Itoman

Masao Kusakari

Furukawa

Ken Ogata

Masuya

Norihei Miki

Toramatsu

Junzaburō Ban

Oko

Mitsuko Baisho

Kinzo

Shigeru Tsuyuguchi

Oyoshi

Ако

Magoshichi

Shōhei Hino

Yoshino

Shino Ikenami

Nui

Etsuko Ikuta

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