Taboo

Oshima's first feature in 14 years (and the first since the 1995 stroke which left him part-paralysed) adapts two short stories by Ryotaro Shiba about the Shinsen-gumi, a Shogunate militia of the 1860s notorious for both ruthless violence and homosexuality. Inducted into the force for his cool head and expert swordsmanship, the exquisite teenager Kano (Matsuda, son of the late Yusaku Matsuda) sets many hearts aflutter; the plot details the lust and sexual jealousies surrounding him in the barracks and the callous machinations of his superiors (directors Kitano and Sai) to put an end to the 'trouble'. Oshima conjures an odd mix of realistic elements (the settings, the kendo practice) and stylisation (Emi Wada's costumes, Sakamoto's excellent score) to produce one of his most bitter accounts of passion and individuality snuffed out.