The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.
Unfortunately the movie Why Not? is not yet available on HBO Max.
Directing | Shōhei Imamura | Director |
Production | Shōhei Imamura | Producer |
Production | Shigemi Sugisaki | Producer |
Production | Shoichi Ozawa | Producer |
Production | Jirô Tomoda | Producer |
Production | Nobutsugu Tsubomi | Production Manager |
Camera | Shinsaku Himeda | Director of Photography |
Sound | Shinichirô Ikebe | Original Music Composer |
Editing | Keiichi Uraoka | Editor |
Lighting | Yasuo Iwaki | Lighting Technician |
Writing | Shōhei Imamura | Screenplay |
Writing | Ken Miyamoto | Screenplay |
Art | Akiyoshi Satani | Art Direction |
Sound | Shotaro Yoshida | Sound Recordist |
Directing | Hideo Nanbu | Assistant Director |