Funeral Parade of Roses

Director: Toshio Matsumoto
Year Released: 1969
Rating: 3.0

Pasoliniesque depiction of the Japanese homosexual underground during the late 60's, when people were experimenting with drugs, sex and moviemaking. Actually, there are three layers at work here: the 'main story,' which is of the main character's neo-Oedipal conflict with his parents, the 'documentary,' which has Matsumoto and company interviewing the actors to get their take on the material and their own lives as 'gay bar boys' (the actor that plays the lead expresses confusion regarding the plot but goes along with it anyway) and the third layer, that of an 'art film' made by a group of youths (influenced by Otto Muehl, no less), is shown in bits and pieces. Despite the film's self-consciousness air and somewhat silly ending, it is not condescending towards its characters' lifestyle and treats everyone with an equal amount of respect. It's a visually intoxicating and free spirited ride, and admittedly one of the most unique movies I've ever seen.