Taboo
Director: Nagisa Oshima
Year Released: 1999
Rating: 3.5
A young man with an all-too feminine appearance joins a samurai outfit and attracts several men around him, creating jealousy among his lovers and would-be suitors, thereby prompting the leaders of the group (one of which is 'Beat' Takeshi) to try to deal with the sexual undercurrents and rivalry. There isn't a moment while watching that you are not aware a master is behind the camera, moving the camera only when necessary, avoiding monotony and varying his editing rhythms; it's too bad, of course, that Oshima never really works with an actual 'plot' to put these characters in and most of the picture's tension (especially in Beat, whose sporadic laughter suggests that he finds the whole thing quite amusing) is buried beneath the quiet conservatism. Otherwise, it is assured filmmaking, with a haunting score by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
