Funeral Parade of Roses

Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列, Bara no Sōretsu) is a 1969 Japanese drama film directed and written by Toshio Matsumoto, loosely adapted from Oedipus Rex and set in the underground gay culture of 1960s Tokyo. It stars Peter as the protagonist, a young transvestite, and features Osamu Ogasawara, Yoshio Tsuchiya and Emiko Azuma. A product of the Japanese New Wave, the film combines elements of arthouse, documentary and experimental cinema, and is thought to have influenced Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange (1971). [1]

Funeral Parade of Roses
Japanese film poster
Directed byToshio Matsumoto
Produced by
  • Mitsuru Kudo
  • Keiko Machida
Written byToshio Matsumoto
Starring
Music byJoji Yuasa
CinematographyTatsuo Suzuki
Edited byToshie Iwasa
Distributed byArt Theatre Guild
Release date
  • 13 September 1969 (1969-09-13)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

The title is a pun, as "rose" (bara) in Japanese can have a similar meaning to "pansy" in English slang.[2]

The film was released by A.T.G. (Art Theatre Guild) on September 13, 1969 in Japan; however, it did not receive a United States release until October 29, 1970. Matsumoto's previous film For My Crushed Right Eye contains some of the same footage and could almost be interpreted as a trailer for Funeral Parade, although a true trailer was also made. In June 2017, it received a 4K restoration and a limited theatrical rerelease.

Plot

The film follows the trials and tribulations of Eddie and other transvestite women in Tokyo. The main plot continuously jumps around the timeline of events to hint at and hide the major twist. The film also contains shots in a documentary style interviewing cast members about their sexuality and gender identity, as well as pieces of avant-garde film of Guevara's creation.

Cast
  • Peter as Eddie
  • Osamu Ogasawara as Leda
  • Yoshio Tsuchiya as Gonda
  • Emiko Azuma as Eddie's mother
  • Toyosaburo Uchiyama as Guevera
  • Don Madrid as Tony
  • Koichi Nakamura as Juju
  • Chieko Kobayashi as Okei
  • Shōtarō Akiyama as himself
  • Kiyoshi Awazu as himself

Production

The film was set and shot in Tokyo.

References
  1. ‘Funeral Parade of Roses’: Edgy 1969 Japanese drama that inspired Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’ Dangerous Minds, 15 June 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. "Exclusive - Fantagraphics to publish 'Massive' anthology of gay manga". 31 December 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
Sources


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