Red Lion (film)

Red Lion , Akage? is a 1969 Japanese film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Toshir Mifune and Shima Iwashita.

The director, Kihachi Okamoto, is well known for introducing plot twists and surprising endings in his films, and Red Lion is no exception. What starts out as an almost comedic series of misunderstandings between almost comically drawn characters ends up turning far more serious as the film progresses. Tomi Iwashita, as Gonzos Mifune old flame, is tragically torn between her hopes that Gonzos new marriage proposal is genuine, and her fears that her life will never improve unless she goes along with the corrupt and powerful who rule over the peasants lives. The film ends with the peasants dancing to the cry of Ee ja nai ka Why not?, Whatever, or Nevermind, which fatalistically refers to the tumultuous 186667 period of Japanese history immediately preceding the imperial restoration and the end of the Edo period.

Source: Wikipedia