This special limited edition slipcover is limited to 1,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.
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!
Of a pair with his 8mm debut Saint Terrorism — in which wayward youths and sex workers navigate attraction and murderous intent — Masashi Yamamoto’s jishu-eiga (self-produced) breakthrough Carnival in the Night unfurls with a palpable sense of rage and abandon, capturing images of Shinjuku’s underground and transforming its DIY scene into a purgatorial and claustrophobic realm. Aspiring punk rocker and single mother Kumi (Kumiko Ota) drops off her child with her ex-husband and the world is bled of colour, beginning a phantasmagorical journey of self-discovery and self-destruction; a pitch black look at the margins of society contrasted by a backhanded, yet no less poignant, reflection on responsibility and motherhood.
Yamamoto’s film — shot in an hypnotizing vérité style — propels Kumi forward as she crosses paths with a variety of addicts, squatters and bomb-makers, her march ‘till dawn marked by senseless acts of violence. Anticipating the squatter’s eden depicted in Robinson’s Garden as well as the anti-capitalist global antics of What’s Up Connection, Carnival in the Night also prefigures Japanese punk cinema classics such as Sogo Ishii’s Burst City (1982) and Shinya Tsukamoto’s Bullet Ballet (1998). Saint Terrorism and Carnival in the Night, presented here restored from their original 8mm and 16mm elements, showcase Masashi Yamamoto at his most anarchic and transgressive.
"These are Yamamoto’s politics: to squat, to squander, and to soil reality. Whether anyone takes notice is beyond him; his unceasing state of resistance exists beyond society and blooms by virtue of its separation from its norms." — Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer, Screen Slate
directed by: Masashi Yamamoto
starring: Kumiko Ota, Nobutaka Kuwabara, Akemi Edo, Michiro Endo, Shigeru Muroi, Eiichi Uchida, Shinichiro Yagi, Makiko Tsunoda, Megumi Asako, Hitoshi Okumura
1981 / 115 min / 1.33:1 / Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0
Additional info:
Overall rating: 4.814815 / 5 from 27 reviews.
Carnival in the Night, a limited edition slipcover for a home video release, is praised for its unique restoration and exclusive content. The film itself, however, receives mixed reviews with some appreciating its transgressive style while others find it unflattering.
Review topics: ["buy","release","film","movie","restoration","extras","slipcover","energy"].
"What a great release by Kani who never seem to do no wrong. This film is so beautiful, stylish and transgressive shot on glorious 16 mm too. The energy in this flick is very frantic and while this is definitely a downer flick it should be seen once at the very least. The extras are spectacular! We get Masashi Yamamoto's 127 min debt film and a 38 min newly commissioned short too. Great purchase!"
"A Kano win and great to get more Masashi Yamamoto. This is a cool one with pure punk energy and the release including Yamamoto’s first film, plus a newly commissioned short, makes this a high value unmissable package."
"The slipcover for this release was really cool! The movie itself was also very good and kept my interest throughout! I also enjoyed the excellent extras! The peerless VS restoration process was on full display with stellar sound and picture! Thank you, VS, for continuing to lovingly restore and release so many wonderful films from every conceivable genre! You are keeping physical media alive in this streaming world we now live in! Highly recommended!"
"Blind buy with an unexpected ending. This was a very gritty punk film that was a great watch. Slipcover is nice as well."
"Fantastic slipcover design. Another great release by Kani."
"Carnival in the Night is one of those titles where the conversation almost starts outside the movie itself. People usually talk about the slipcover—one of those boutique-label draws that makes the release feel like an event even before you hit play. And the release has that same collector-first aura, the kind of thing that gets more chatter in physical media circles than in mainstream film talk. But once it’s on, the energy is what carries it. It’s scrappy, a little chaotic, and clearly punching above its weight. The performances and pacing don’t always lock in, but there’s a restless drive that keeps it from ever feeling dead on arrival. It’s not a hidden masterpiece, but as a piece of cult cinema tied to a strong physical release, it earns its place on the shelf as much as on the screen."
"The film isn’t easy or comforting. Sexual violence, nihilism, and hopelessness dominate, yet it is thematically precise, confronting cultural and gendered power structures head on. Its episodic, vignette heavy structure may frustrate some, yet the uncompromising aesthetic, proto punk atmosphere, and dark humor mark it as a singular work of underground cinema. A challenging, provocative, and unforgettable discovery."
"Fascinating crudely made punk filmmaking, of despicable people in scuzzy clubs, doing non sociable things. Main feature and the messy precusor are worth the watch. Booklet provides some needed commentary."
"The newly divorced singer Kumi is not too enthusiastic about life as a single mother. She drops her son to her ex-husband, leaving her band and embarks on a crazy tour of Tokyo's shadowy side. Great release, recommended."
"Masashi Yamamoto is seemingly an endless well of discovery. This may be the best yet. Truly chaotic and stellar punk energy bursting out of every frame. Unless you suck, this is required viewing. Amazing restoration. Kani reigns supreme."
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