Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974) review

An incomprehensible mess from avant-garde wizard Terayama probably makes sense to no one but Terayama (and possibly not even him). It covers a lot of his basic themes, involving childhood, sexual trauma and Oedipal Issues, but there doesn't seem to be much of a cumulative point: scenes don't exactly 'lead into' each other and the surrealist aspects are excessive (when it comes to symbolism and surrealism, less is always way more). I'm not sure if this would resonate more with a strictly Japanese audience - considering Terayama's work has a strong connection to the culture and history of his country - and the constant flip-flopping of time and location has a strong alienating effect: I can't help but wonder if Terayama's (noted) work in the theater had more of a 'grounding' effect on him (forcing him to stick with one location and increasing the level of intimacy).