Kanai Katsu's THE DESERTED ARCHIPELAGO (1969) Review on J-Film Pow-Wow

“The Deserted Archipelago” is a surreal political tale, a film entirely of it’s time. By the late 60’s and early 70’s the leftist student movements who had mobilized against the U.S.-Japan Security treaty, better known as the ANPO Treaty, had splintered and re-splintered into ever smaller and more radical groups. By the time that Katsu was making “The Deserted Archipelago” many university campuses in Japan more closely resembled battlegrounds than they did places of learning. While these groups clashed over the finer points of political actions many shared the common goal of throwing off the yoke of U.S. Imperialism in their home country. It’s this core idealogy that Kanai explores in his film.