Background
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, Japanese filmmakers have often gone further than their European or American counterparts both when it comes to the themes of the movies and the visual presentation. Teruo Ishii's "The Joy of Torture" and the other films in the Tokugawa-series, for instance, took graphic violence to a whole new level, showing people being boiled alive, disemboweled or torn apart by bulls. This at a time when Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" was considered extremely violent.
There could be no better example of how progressive Japanese filmmaking really is and has been than Toshio Matsumoto's "Funeral Procession of Roses" (also known as "Funeral Parade of Roses"), released in 1969. It does have a violent scene or two, but it is the theme and how the theme is approached that makes it so exceptional. This is most likely the first Japanese gay-themed film that actually featured gay actors.
Story
The cult actor known simply as Peter stars as Eddie, a cross-dressing club kid enjoying the good life of the swinging 60's. The movie starts with Eddie in the arms of an older man, the owner of Genet, a bar in the Shinjuku-district where the hostesses - just like Eddie - are all cross-dressers (the name, Genet, is a homage to director, poet, novelist and playwright Jean Genet, who was also gay). Eddie lives the good life - not only is he one of the most popular hostesses because of his looks (and he is very convincing and very beautiful as a woman), but the owner of Genet has also promised Eddie that he will be the new Madam - the head hostess - of the bar. This of course makes Leda, the current Madam, who also dates the owner, furious.
It is hard to describe the plot of a film like "Funeral Procession of Roses", because a lot of what goes on is very experimental, and sometimes you're not sure if what you are watching is real or fantasy, or when it takes place. We do, however, get to follow Eddie and see what his life is all about - nights and days at the club and with his friends, taking all kinds of drugs and having sex. At times, Eddie drifts into nightmarish flashbacks from his childhood. His father disappeared when he was too young to remember him, and the only memory he has of his mother is her burning his father's face out of a photograph. That very photograph is the only memory Eddie has of his family, and he keeps it with him at all times. What it all boils down to and what we are treated to in the end is the Oedipus legend, albeit with a twist.
(The tale of Oedipus is a Greek classic. Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes. An oracle tells them that Jocasta's baby will grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. They leave their son in the wilderness, where a shepherd finds him, and takes him to Corinth. A lot of things happen, but in the end, Oedipus kills an old man - without knowing that the man is his father, Laius - and eventually marries the man's widow, his mother. They have several children, but one day they find out that Oedipus is Jocasta's son. Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself and becomes a wandering beggar).
Verdict
"Funeral Procession of Roses" is a classic, and deservedly so. The theme, frankness and non-judgemental attitude towards homosexuality and cross-dressing alone would be enough to make this an instant classic. Remember, it was made in 1969, and even in a fairly liberal country such as Sweden, homosexuality was considered a disease until 1979. Making a film like this today would be hard, and I can only imagine what an impact it had in 1969. However, the film has so many more elements.
For instance, the 60's was a decade of experimentation. Not only with drugs, the new and exciting music, and a more open attitude towards sex, but also when it came to filmmaking. And there are very few good films more experimental than "Funeral Procession of Roses". Matsumoto uses many different techniques to put the viewer in a certain state of mind. There are a few scenes of low-speed shooting, which when played back speeds everything up, like in an old slapstick comedy - Charlie Chaplin comes to mind. Accompanying these scenes is a very cheesy-sounding organ playing carnival music, making it look even more like a slapstick comedy. Other scenes are just surreal, like when Eddie and a rival scream at each other, and word-balloons appear from their mouths to show us what they are saying.
These elements could easily have made the film completely unwatchable, but just like a master as Buñuel, Matsumoto knows exactly what he is doing, and everything seems logical in some strange way. Like pieces of a puzzle they all fit together perfectly.
Stanley Kubrick apparently got a lot of inspiration from "Funeral Procession of Roses", which he used in "A Clockwork Orange". I am not a Kubrick-fan myself (I think "Funeral Procession of Roses" is superior to anything he made), but the similarities are there.
But a film is only as good as its actors, and Peter is amazing. I have already mentioned how beautiful and convincing he is as a woman, and he manages to make everything believable. Watching this movie is ultimately a very rewarding - if disturbing - experience, and I highly recommend it. Hilary Swank was never this good.
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, Japanese filmmakers have often gone further than their European or American counterparts both when it comes to the themes of the movies and the visual presentation. Teruo Ishii's "The Joy of Torture" and the other films in the Tokugawa-series, for instance, took graphic violence to a whole new level, showing people being boiled alive, disemboweled or torn apart by bulls. This at a time when Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" was considered extremely violent.
There could be no better example of how progressive Japanese filmmaking really is and has been than Toshio Matsumoto's "Funeral Procession of Roses" (also known as "Funeral Parade of Roses"), released in 1969. It does have a violent scene or two, but it is the theme and how the theme is approached that makes it so exceptional. This is most likely the first Japanese gay-themed film that actually featured gay actors.
Story
The cult actor known simply as Peter stars as Eddie, a cross-dressing club kid enjoying the good life of the swinging 60's. The movie starts with Eddie in the arms of an older man, the owner of Genet, a bar in the Shinjuku-district where the hostesses - just like Eddie - are all cross-dressers (the name, Genet, is a homage to director, poet, novelist and playwright Jean Genet, who was also gay). Eddie lives the good life - not only is he one of the most popular hostesses because of his looks (and he is very convincing and very beautiful as a woman), but the owner of Genet has also promised Eddie that he will be the new Madam - the head hostess - of the bar. This of course makes Leda, the current Madam, who also dates the owner, furious.
It is hard to describe the plot of a film like "Funeral Procession of Roses", because a lot of what goes on is very experimental, and sometimes you're not sure if what you are watching is real or fantasy, or when it takes place. We do, however, get to follow Eddie and see what his life is all about - nights and days at the club and with his friends, taking all kinds of drugs and having sex. At times, Eddie drifts into nightmarish flashbacks from his childhood. His father disappeared when he was too young to remember him, and the only memory he has of his mother is her burning his father's face out of a photograph. That very photograph is the only memory Eddie has of his family, and he keeps it with him at all times. What it all boils down to and what we are treated to in the end is the Oedipus legend, albeit with a twist.
(The tale of Oedipus is a Greek classic. Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes. An oracle tells them that Jocasta's baby will grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. They leave their son in the wilderness, where a shepherd finds him, and takes him to Corinth. A lot of things happen, but in the end, Oedipus kills an old man - without knowing that the man is his father, Laius - and eventually marries the man's widow, his mother. They have several children, but one day they find out that Oedipus is Jocasta's son. Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself and becomes a wandering beggar).
Verdict
"Funeral Procession of Roses" is a classic, and deservedly so. The theme, frankness and non-judgemental attitude towards homosexuality and cross-dressing alone would be enough to make this an instant classic. Remember, it was made in 1969, and even in a fairly liberal country such as Sweden, homosexuality was considered a disease until 1979. Making a film like this today would be hard, and I can only imagine what an impact it had in 1969. However, the film has so many more elements.
For instance, the 60's was a decade of experimentation. Not only with drugs, the new and exciting music, and a more open attitude towards sex, but also when it came to filmmaking. And there are very few good films more experimental than "Funeral Procession of Roses". Matsumoto uses many different techniques to put the viewer in a certain state of mind. There are a few scenes of low-speed shooting, which when played back speeds everything up, like in an old slapstick comedy - Charlie Chaplin comes to mind. Accompanying these scenes is a very cheesy-sounding organ playing carnival music, making it look even more like a slapstick comedy. Other scenes are just surreal, like when Eddie and a rival scream at each other, and word-balloons appear from their mouths to show us what they are saying.
These elements could easily have made the film completely unwatchable, but just like a master as Buñuel, Matsumoto knows exactly what he is doing, and everything seems logical in some strange way. Like pieces of a puzzle they all fit together perfectly.
Stanley Kubrick apparently got a lot of inspiration from "Funeral Procession of Roses", which he used in "A Clockwork Orange". I am not a Kubrick-fan myself (I think "Funeral Procession of Roses" is superior to anything he made), but the similarities are there.
But a film is only as good as its actors, and Peter is amazing. I have already mentioned how beautiful and convincing he is as a woman, and he manages to make everything believable. Watching this movie is ultimately a very rewarding - if disturbing - experience, and I highly recommend it. Hilary Swank was never this good.
