As a complement to The Other New Wave program, we will screen three films by the influential yet still underappreciated filmmaker Susumu Hani (b. 1928), one of the key figures of the postwar reinvigoration of Japanese cinema, showcasing Hani’s radical documentary approach to filmmaking as well as his deep fascination with children and the emergent and increasingly radicalized youth seeking to transform their society.

Hani's stylish and understated second feature has been frequently compared to Antonioni for its subtle telling of a young woman's growing awareness of her environment, and herself. Dissatisfied with her failing marriage, the woman abruptly joins a political theater troupe and is pulled into the feverish activist scene ignited by the massive and unprecedented anti-US Security Pact protests. While Hani's dazzling use of Tokyo locations and documentary style camerawork clearly link A Full Life to his earlier work, Hani’s compelling and feminist fable of political awakening introduced a new sophistication into his cinema.