This is a film without dialogue, yet it is not a silent picture. It features ambient sounds, scores, sound effects, and the laughter and cry of its characters. Directed by Kaneto Shindo, The Island commemorates the closure of the Modern Film Association. This company, founded by Shindo alongside Kozaburo Yoshimura, Taiji Tonoyama and others, was facing imminent collapse due to financial deficits. The story centres on the farming life of a family of four on a small island in the Seto Inland Sea. With no springs for irrigation, the husband (Taiji Tonoyama) and wife (Nobuko Otowa) row a wooden boat across to the opposite shore, carrying water back on their shoulders using a pole. They go back and forth daily, like a Greek myth. Their sons are aged eight and six. The elder attends primary school while the younger remains on the island to assist. Their daily toil reveals them to be impoverished farmers. One day, while the parents are away, the younger son falls gravely ill. The situation appears almost irreversible. Kaneto Shindo firmly believed that by dispensing with dialogue, one could explore the possibilities of imagery and approach the very essence of cinema, and render characters more authentic and vivid. He decided to take the risk and conduct an experiment. The production budget for The Island was a mere five million yen, with filming completed within a month. The crew comprised thirteen members. Aside from two professional actors, the rest were local islanders assisting in the production. The film then won the Grand Prix at the 1961 Moscow International Film Festival. Its favourable international reception led to distribution rights being sold to multiple countries. Not only did it repay the production debts, but it also became a legendary example of low-budget filmmaking, profoundly influencing the development of Japanese independent cinema.
Date and time:
(1) 28/11/2025(Fri) 19:20 *with post-screening sharing, conducting in Cantonese
(2) 5/12/2025 (Fri) 19:50
Passion Against Obstacles - Prominent films from Japanese New Wave
The emergence of the “Japanese New Wave” marked a change in Japan's film industry in the 1960s—major studios reduced production, independent filmmaking rose, and more artistically radical works were self-produced and distributed. This liberated Japanese cinema enriched its themes and forms, and made it more diverse. Although Ko Nakahira's Crazed Fruit (1956) and Yasuzo Masumura's Kisses (1957) foreshadowed the impending upheaval, it wasn't until 1960, the release of Naked Youth, the industry truly felt the shockwave. A tidal wave of a new generation rolled in. In a present where the future is unclear and moral standards are chaotic, it is time to revisit how cinema has used wisdom and courage to confront adversity, and carve out new paths amidst the chaos.
Honkaz Fung (Curator)
Ticket price:
Regular: HK$95, MCL MAX Members: HK$85, Children / Full-time students / Elderly: HK$75
(1) 23/11/2025 (Sun) 19:50
(2) 7/12/2025 (Sun) 19:40 ^with pre-screening introduction, conducting in Cantonese.
(1) 29/11/2025(Sat) 18:35
(2) 6/12/2025 (Sat) 18:35
(1) 28/11/2025 (Fri) 19:20 *with post-screening sharing, conducting in Cantonese
(2) 5/12/2025 (Fri) 19:50
