Watch Three Resurrected Drunkards

Three Resurrected Drunkards is a 1968 Japanese comedy-drama film directed by Nagisa Oshima. The story revolves around three male college students who have been drafted into the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. While on the way to their camp, the three men get lost in the forest after wandering off from their group. They then encounter a group of four young women who mistake them for Korean soldiers and hold them captive.

The three men, who are in a drunken state, initially play along with the women's game, but soon enough, they are determined to escape from their captors. In the process, they manage to steal the women's clothes and disguise themselves as women. However, their plan falls apart when they are captured by a group of American soldiers. The Americans force them to produce identification, which they don't have, and hence the men are sent to Korea as Korean soldiers.

The movie explores themes of identity and cultural differences through its use of humor, satire, and absurdity. The three men find themselves caught between different cultures and identities, and the audience is left to question the absurdity of war and the notions of patriotism and nationalism.

The film is structured as a series of interconnected episodes, presented in a nonlinear sequence, each with its own humor, sadness, and absurdity. The film is shot predominantly in black and white, with a beautiful use of shadow and light, accentuating the surreal aspects of the story. There are also four striking sequences of purely color imagery that features the female captors, which serves to underscore the impact of cultural assumptions and preconceptions.

One of the standout features of the movie is its use of music. The film's soundtrack features an eclectic mix of tracks, including old Japanese folk songs, western pop songs, classical music, and experimental jazz. These musical interludes further add to the absurdity of the narrative and provide a comic and ironic counterpoint to the film's darker moments.

The acting in the film is excellent, with the three leads, Kazuhiko Kato, Osamu Kitayama, and Norihiko Hashida, perfectly conveying the mix of confusion and humor that their characters experience throughout the film. Their performances are a blend of comic exaggeration and subtle character study that help ground the film in its social and political context.

Overall, Three Resurrected Drunkards is a bold and innovative film that remains one of the most fascinating pieces of 1960s Japanese cinema. Although it has often been overlooked in the shadow of Oshima's more celebrated works, such as In the Realm of the Senses and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, it remains an essential work that showcases the director's unique blend of social critique and audacious creativity. Its complex narrative structure, transformative imagery, and bold use of humor and music make it an unforgettable cinematic experience.