Director Toshio Matsumoto’s rhapsodic queer cinema opus disrupts the conventions of narrative cinema, stuffing his debut feature with a plethora of expressive avant-garde techniques and journalistic overtones, which stem from his documentary background. The film tells the story about the lives and struggles of young queer and trans people in Tokyo,
The film's energetic appetite for experimentation and diverse stylistics is plain to see, from experimental editing, speed manipulation, hard hitting realism and even pop art aesthetics. Yet these contrasting approaches are all iconic and all serve a cohesive thematic scheme.
Made over 50 years ago, Funeral Parade of Roses is breathtakingly progressive and no doubt today’s trans community will find some solidarity in this lively and evocative Japanese New Wave classic with its themes of human nature and gender presentation handled without judgment and sincere humanist curiosity by a visionary filmmaker and a courageous cast.