Why Not?

Why Not?

151 mins | Drama | Jan. 8, 1981

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.

Why Not?

151 mins | Drama | Jan. 8, 1981

Why Not?
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.
IMDb rating 6.8
Producers Shochiku Co., Ltd., Imamura Productions
Original title ええじゃないか
Directors Hideo Nanbu, Shôhei Imamura
Writers Ken Miyamoto, Shôhei Imamura

Cast

Shigeru Izumiya

as Genji

Kaori Momoi

as Ine

Masao Kusakari

as Itoman

Ken Ogata

as Furukawa

Norihei Miki

as Masuya

Junzaburō Ban

as Toramatsu

Ako

as Oyoshi

Shôhei Hino

as Magoshichi

Shino Ikenami

as Yoshino

Etsuko Ikuta

as Nui

Hiroshi Inuzuka

as Roku

Kazuo Kitamura

as Koide

Nenji Kobayashi

as Matakichi

Yasuaki Kurata

as Hanjiro

Shoichi Ozawa

as Sakunojo

Sanshô Shinsui

as Densuke

Kazuko Shirakawa

as Yamikumo-dayu

Yūko Tanaka

as Omatsu

Minori Terada

as Ijuin

Taiji Tonoyama

as Jyosyuya