I saw Shiro Toyoda's PORTRAIT OF HELL earlier tonight and thought it was one of the greatest revelations the New York rep circuit has offered so far this year. While I never quite connected emotionally to its story of a tormented artist under the thumb of a violent tyrant, its dazzling visual style more than makes up for that. (It helped that Film Forum showed a pristine print.) Toyoda uses a melodramatic plot, bright colors and the 'Scope frame as if he were the spawn of Mizoguchi and Minnelli. Has anyone seen other Toyoda films? Are they similar stylistically?

Also, PORTRAIT OF HELL and Oshima's much different DEATH BY HANGING are the only '60s Japanese films I've seen which address the issue of Koreans' minority status. Are there other films from the period which touch on this subject?

I've only seen Toyoda's 1953 Gan (Wild Geese), which I suspect is quite a bit different in terms of tone and style.

FWIW, I liked Gan -- but I seem to recall the music being too Hollywood-ish -- and that the editing seemed a lot more Hollywood-ish (than that in other major contemporaries) as well.

I agree that PORTRAIT is an amazing movie, and needs to be more widely appreciated. I also love his version of the "Ghost of Yotsuya" story, ILLUSION OF BLOOD. I think it's far more engaging, narratively and visually, than Nobuo Nakagawa's. Definitely worth seeking out.

How about an _earlier_ film that mentioned the poor treatment of Korean migrant workers? Hiroshi Shimizu touches on this in his Arigato-san. Shimizu does not dwell on the issue, but he does make his point (at a time when might find such message rather surprising).

Shimizu also deals (obliquely) with discrimination against Chinese immigrants in "Forget Love For Now".