Boy / Diary of a Shinjuku Thief May 14, 2009

Series curator James Quandt considers these two films among Oshima's most haunting and memorable works.

Boy recounts the true story of a married couple who trained their 10-year-old son to take being hit by autos so they can profit from the traumatized drivers. Oshima referred to the film as "a prayer," with its unequalled evocation of the world from a child's perspective. (105 mins., 35mm)

To James Quandt, Diary of a Shinjuku Thief "in hindsight takes pride of place alongside Godard's films of the same period, which says a great deal." Its copious sex and nudity were shocking even for late 1960s' audiences, yet it's also "tender, funny, moving...unspeakably wonderful." (84 mins., 35mm)

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