The Man Who Left His Will on Film, aka The Battle of Tokyo or He Died After the War / Tokyo senso s Series: 1968: An International Perspective [April 29-May 14] Director: Nagisa Oshima, Country: Japan, Release: 1970, Runtime: 94
One of Oshima's most remarkable and experimental works, The Man Who Left His Will on Film begins as Motoki, a member of a left-wing film collective, tries to grab a Bolex camera from the hands of an unknown, off-screen cameraman. The cameraman escapes and runs, with Motoki in hot pursuit. Ascending to the roof of a tall building, the cameraman seemingly leaps to his death, although the camera survives the fall in perfect condition. Motoki tries to take possession of it, but the police pick it up and drive away. Motoki again takes off after the camera...
Oshima creates a series of frames within frames, of films within films, as the idea of point-of-view becomes increasingly enigmatic and the line between filmmaker and filmed subject grows blurred. Oshima's young subjects have taken Godard's dictum to heart: It's not enough to make political films, one must learn to film politically.
