JAPAN. JAPANESE NEW WAVE. Susumu HANI. First love, infernal - Lot 588

JAPAN. JAPANESE NEW WAVE. Susumu HANI. First love, infernal version, 1968. 5 vintage silver prints, 10.8 x 15 cm. Stamped on verso. Trained as a documentary filmmaker, Susumu Hani is one of the most influential figures in independent Japanese cinema, as well as one of the best representatives of the Japanese New Wave, which emerged in the 1960s. Premier amour, version infernale reflects all these tendencies: at once rebellious - he resolutely sides with those left behind by modern society - and meticulous in his observation of the facts of urban life, he oscillates between a documentary intent and a bold apprehension of social problems. On the film's release, Susumu Hani declared: "We now live between two moral worlds, where the weight of tradition is eclipsed by the thrust of modernity. This confrontation, at the heart of our daily lives, leaves us in a state of expectation and frustration, unable to look at our inner selves. In this film, I wanted to take an unvarnished look at our innermost selves. Premier amour, version infernale competed for the Golden Bear at the 1968 Berlinale.