Funeral Parade of Roses

A brief scene played out like a Noh parody. An argument told in stills and word balloons. A catfight in a fast motion/music style that Kubrick later stole (by his own admission) for Clockwork Orange. A perfectly sincere love scene being interrupted by the camera crew. And so forth. It's one surprise after another, and although the narrative is fragmented to pieces, it rarely feels "random". Everything fits together, and the results are fascinating. The ending is a true shocker as well.

It's like Godard and Seijun Suzuki teamed up to create some kind of bizarro psycho-sexual horror film without holding back in the editing department (Yes, even for them). Oddly enough though, it actually makes more sense than most of their films do.

When compared to something as truly rule-breaking as Shuji Terayama's Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (admittedly, quite arbitrarily), this feels like a minor work from a director with a great deal of ideas but without the same feel for experimental filmmaking as his New Wave contemporaries. Matsumoto's later Juroku-sai no senso and Demons both feel like more complete works, as well -- perhaps inspired by the films of the aforementioned Terayama and by the brilliant Akio Jissoji.

The focus on gay and transgender subculture, still quite underground in 1969, is intriguing when it seems sincere, which it mostly is. Unfortunately, it does eventually give in to exploitative tendencies, and both the style and tone are uneven and alienating.

Aggressively 1960s in the best and worst ways.

Well, this ain't Ozu's Japan, that's for damn sure.

Innovative. influential, experimental and very 60s. The subject is so interesting I'd have enjoyed a more down-to-earth & realist style. Not to say I didn't appreciate the maverick approach but I'm not sure it's always necessary for storytelling. Perhaps I'm missing the context here but it seemed a bit like an art statement at times. Despite these minor frustrations I did really enjoy it due to engaging characters & themes. Ahead of its time but also held back by it if that makes any sense.

Fascinating montage-style film about drug-addled transgendered people, seemingly taking its cues from cutting-edge New Wave cinema from Teshigahara to William Klein. Some bits are narrative, others are investigative-documentary-style, others still resemble video art. Good acting and great photography, editing and acting. Thankfully not content with cold formalism, Funeral Parade is soulful and thought-provoking with engaging characters and way ahead of its time thematically.

"All definitions of cinema have been erased. All doors are now open." Sublimely stylized and experimental in all the right ways. Live-action speech bubbles and cap-gun catfights? Novel use of appropriated circus music? A double instant replay of one of the actors sneezing his fake beard off? Check, check, and motherfucking check.

I admire the film, and see why so many people are drawn to it, but I'm not sure it's the harbinger of modern values that many people seem to be taking it for.

Not for me. There are so many ideas here and at times it's fascinating, but overall it feels like a mess, kind of in a later Godardian way. It also at times reminded me of Daisies, which is not a good thing from my perspective, though I didn't hate it nearly as much as that one. It's unique, but I didn't like it.

seems like it's trying ever so hard

Way ahead of its time; left me speechless.

Pop art melodrama.

Watching Matsumoto at work is like watching a new language being invented. The rhythm of this film is unlike anything you've seen before, and yet when a new visual flourish arrives it feels like you've been expecting it the whole time. There's probably a metaphor between the natural emotions felt by Matsumoto's offbeat characters and the natural way in which he films a totally offbeat style.

Watched this instead of going to the pride parade and folx, that's activism!

Amazing cinematography. Typically cryptic Japanese new-wave non-plot.

Viewed June 22, 2017.

Avant-garde cinema and pretty strange story. However the movie itself isn't so likeable and gays aren't the reason. I mean they were cool even some of them were pretty beautiful.

Didn't enjoy it first time around, but i was an undernourished cinephile back then

This was one of too many artsy/classic films stashed in the 'I should actually watch it sometime' part of my brain. It is even more experimental than I thought it would be, even overwhelmingly so, at first! Only in the second half plot started connecting and making sense (admittedly, watching it with feminist who's into metaphors was tremendous help). This film works best as impressionist art. But it shouldn't be dismissed even as a 'normal' movie with plot. Not for everyone.

This was a bit disappointing. I had been hoping for something a bit more visual/atmosphere driven such as the films Matsumato's contemporaries Yoshida and Wakamatsu make. This struck me as more subject matter driven than is to my taste, the visual style seemed to take backseat to the focus on the Japanese hippy culture and the relationships between the characters. If anything, my biggest complaint was that it felt like it was trying to accomplish too much. Some great moments though.

It's pretty experimental, comedic at times and violent as well. That it balances these elements is a testament to how good Matsumoto can be. It is very confusing at first I thought, but it comes together nicely.

The bridge between Godard and Obayashi.

I think this could have been a lot better, if it wasn't so pretentious. Very Godard-esque, by the way.