Arashi wo yobu juhachinin

Set in the industrial port town of Kure, this film is about a group of young unskilled itinerant workers who are exploited by and also prey on a society that has utterly broken down. The refuse of capitalism, the migrants respect nothing – certainly nothing as old-fashioned as a principle of rebellion – though they have an instinctive sense of themselves as a group. Knowing they are worthless in the eyes of their country, they project their alienation outside themselves and take their revenge when they can. There may indeed be 18 of them, as the title (with strange exactness) says, but, spread out across Yoshida’s chaotic wide screen, they never stay still long enough for us to count them. The mise en scène, just as jarring and alienating as in Yoshida’s previous films, if more devoid of flourish, creates a push-and-pull between extremes of too-close and too-far, providing no place of comfort for the viewer.
Shōchiku withdrew the film from distribution after four days. The studio released Yoshida’s next film ESCAPE FROM JAPAN without its last reel, which they judged too incendiary. After that insult, the director cut ties with Shōchiku. (Chris Fujiwara)

All retrospective films that will be shown at the Filmmuseum after the Viennale - from 2.11. - can of course also be reserved as usual at filmmuseum.at or by calling 01/533 70 54 and purchased at the box office of the Austrian Film Museum. The prices of the Austrian Film Museum apply.

Yoshida Kijū: GOOD-FOR-NOTHING (1960), BLOOD IS DRY A.K.A BLOODY THIRST (1960), BITTER END OF A SWEET NIGHT (1961), AKITSU SPRING (1962), 18 WHO CAUSE A STORM A.K.A. 18 ROUGHS (1963), A STORY WRITTEN WITH WATER (1965), WOMAN OF THE LAKE (1966), IMPASSE (1967), THE AFFAIR (1967), AFFAIR IN THE SNOW (1968), FAREWELL TO THE SUMMER LIGHT (1968), EROS + MASSACRE (1969), HEROIC PURGATORY (1970), COUP D’ETAT (1973), A PROMISE (1986), WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1988), WOMEN IN THE MIRROR (2002), BEM-VINDO A SÃO PAULO (2004, Episode)