Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden
Robinson's Garden

Kani

Robinson's Garden

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KANI-006
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This Partner Label release is distributed through Vinegar Syndrome's sister company OCN Distribution. Vinegar Syndrome had no part in, nor are responsible for, the restoration, extras, quality control or any content(s) of this release. We hope you enjoy our growing roster of Partner Labels and the expertise and curation brought to each release by their dedicated staff!

Details

This listing is for the standard edition Blu-ray. The limited edition slipcover (designed by Connor Willumsen) was limited to 1,000 units and is sold out. The two versions are identical, aside from the slipcover.

Named after Yasujiro Ozu’s custom-made, tatami-level, crab-like tripod, Kani is a new home video label dedicated to leveling the gaze and furthering the understanding of Asian cinema in North America. Focused on genre-defying films, Kani aims to expand the canon, bolster up-and-coming filmmakers and reintroduce repertory classics in context. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line!

On a drunken walk home, bohemian drug-dealer Kumi (Kumiko Ota) discovers an abandoned building on the outskirts of Tokyo. Attracted by the vast and untapped space rampant with luxuriant vegetation, she promptly sells all of her belongings and retreats from the world. She carves an island out of the concrete squat and wiles her days away growing cabbage and expressing herself in any way she pleases.

Following his gonzo hachimiri (8mm) debut SAINT TERRORISM (1980) and the memorable CARNIVAL IN THE NIGHT (1981), Masashi Yamamoto offers his defining punk statement. Winner of a Special Mention at the 1987 Locarno International Film Festival, ROBINSON'S GARDEN is a rare, radical vision of a marginal, multicultural Tokyo. Think Punk Rock rather than City Pop (the soundtrack features Jagatara, Hamza El Din, and Yoichiro Yoshikawa), this film offers a stark contrast to the sights of financial prosperity brought forth by the films of the Economic Bubble era. Lensed by Tom DiCillo (LIVING IN OBLIVION, JOHNNY SUEDE), it instead shares much in common with the No Wave films the cinematographer pioneered alongside Jim Jarmusch (STRANGER THAN PARADISE). An unsung, anticapitalist masterwork.

directed by: Masashi Yamamoto
starring: Kumiko Ohta,Kou Machida
1987 / 119 min / 1.85:1 / Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0

Additional info:

  • Region A Blu-ray
  • Interview with Masashi Yamamoto
  • Interview with Tom DiCillo
  • New Art by Connor Willumsen
  • New Writing by K.F. Watanabe
  • English Subtitles
  • Chinese Subtitles