Nagisa Oshima
Perhaps the most unique and interesting director of Japanese cinema is Nagisa Oshima. His movies has touched, moved
and shocked audience since 1959 when he directed his first movie
Asu no taiya.
His latest and apparently last movie is Gohatto, Taboo.
Nagisa Oshima is a director who brings up the difficult matters of Japanese society and life in Japan. Many people would rather not see these topics in the screen. Some say Nagisa Oshima is director who directs movies seeking sensation but myself I rather think that he directs movies for people who like to watch movies.
His style is always astonishingly visual. And everything in his movies are full of metaphors.
Ai no corrida (1976), Realm of the Senses introduces whole different kind of world. It tells about sexual passions that take destructive course. It includes a scene where woman cuts off his lovers penis. This scene got some men leave the theater in middle of the movie. Perhaps more shocking than the movie was how the censors protested against the movie's distribution in Japan. Therefore Oshima took early course to promote his movies in Europe where censors were not so tight. This movie is still hard to see in Japan. This is which why most Europeans have heard of this movie.
His most famous and awarded movie is perhaps Merry Christmas mr. Lawrence (1983) , which tells about time when Japan fought war somewhere in Pacific Islands. The movie introduced Takeshi Kitano and David Bowie. And music made by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The movie was a big hit. It introduced different side of the Japanese army, ruthless and pretty much merciless. Criticism against the Japanese army is obvius, as well as it's anti-war message. Perhaps it also asks the viewers "Does things have to be this way" and what is the "true mercy".
Gohatto (1999) was very shocking movie for the Japanese audience. It tells about shinsengumi, a special task force of samurais. The movie introduced an idea that there were sexual relationships behind the scenes of shinsengumi. That the samurais engaged into gay relationships with each other. The movie is very touching in it's beauty but it upset many fans of shinsengumi "it can't be so!". The movie is a tragedy in many ways and again its easy to see criticism against Japanese society in it. In the end of the movie, characted played by Takeshi Kitano, cuts a cherry tree in bloom with his sword and says "he was too beautiful". This seems to be like Oshima 
wanted to say that Japanese society wants to cut off anything too beautiful. It's sad to realize that Gohatto seems to be last of his movies. But if so, it's not such a bad farewell.
It also should be noted that much because of Nagisa Oshima, Japanese movies have brought in Europe. Without his kind of innovative director Japanese movies could have been simply missed in Europe.
Nagisa Oshima's movies are sometimes hard and merciless, but its easy to see meaning behind this. He was born during the time when Japan was in middle of war. According to his own words, In his youth "there was nothing that resembled hope". Japanese society shun upon this creative artist who has also talent of writing. His movies were again and again caught to the claws of censors and were often cut again and again. He lived the time of barricades of violent student protests.
It is said that Nagisa Oshima makes movies like samurai - fights to the end. The world of cinema will miss him.
