June 5, 2018 6:30 PM   &  June 23, 2018 3:00 PM 

Directed by Nagisa Oshima [1999] 100 min.

Celebrate Pride with us this summer by watching four films in the PRIDE FILM SERIES that look at LGBTQ diversity in Japan.

Taboo was the last film by Japanese New Wave film master Nagisa Oshima.

The story unfolds in a samurai compound during the Bakumatsu period in the 19th century where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school’s stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

The film unveils some of the same-sex relations that likely took place in the Shinsengumi at the end of the Samurai era.

Starring Ryuhei Matsuda, Takeshi Kitano and Tadanobu Asano, with music by Ryuichi Sakamoto.