Fluss ohne Brücke

In the organizer's words:

橋のない川 Hashi no nai kawa

Director: HIGASHI Yôichi
1992, 139 minutes, original language, 16 mm

Based on the novel of the same name by Sumii Sue, the story is set between 1908 and 1922 and depicts the fate of a family belonging to the discriminated Burakumin minority. They were stigmatized and considered "unclean" because they used to work in professions that were associated with death. They had to live in segregated areas and experienced humiliation in large parts of public life.

The two brothers Seitarô and Kôji were subjected to harassment from classmates and teachers from an early age. Influenced by this experience, they fight against inequality and discrimination as adults. The film was made on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Zenkoku Suiheisha movement, the national movement for the emancipation of the Burakumin, founded in 1922.

Film series
A journey into the past - Japanese film stories between tradition and modernity

After concentrating on new productions in our film program in recent months, in April we are taking a journey into the past and showing films that were made between 1983 and 2005 and whose plots are set in the first half of the 20th century. They are based on the novels of the famous writers Mishima Yukio, Natsume Sôseki, Sumii Sue and Tanizaki Jun'ichirô and will be shown in analog film formats.

The first decades of the 20th century in Japan were characterized by profound changes triggered by the collapse of the feudal system during the Meiji period (1868-1912). Under the Meiji Emperor, economic and social modernization began, which had far-reaching consequences, and increased contact with Western countries led to a clash of different values and traditions.

Both the story about the decline of a wealthy family(Sasameyuki) and about an idler deal with the conflict between traditional ideas and new trends(Sorekara). A drama about two brothers deals with the discrimination of a minority (Hashi no nai kawa) and in a love story the protagonists suffer from social conventions(Haru no yuki).

Price information:

Admission free