Sanrizuka – Heta Village
(Sanrizuka – Heta Buraku)
Screening on Film
Directed by Shinsuke Ogawa.
Japan, 1973, 16mm, black & white, 146 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Japan, 1973, 16mm, black & white, 146 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
As their relationships with farmers deepened, the violence of the police escalated. People were being killed and arbitrarily imprisoned. However, Ogawa pushed this to the far background to concentrate on the village of Heta itself – its history, its customs and its people – as one of its youth commits suicide and others are detained by police. A quiet, patient film, its eleven scenes are mostly rendered in single takes in an attempt to render the “time of the village.” An extraordinary documentary about time and place, this was the first of two masterpieces by Ogawa Productions.