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The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi, and 27 Years Without Images

Name: The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi, and 27 Years Without Images
Director: Eric Baudelaire
Released: 2011
Duration: 66 min

Representation Score

6.8/10

Good

2011

Not Rated

Director

Eric Baudelaire

Runtime

66 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The documentary stands out by challenging traditional gender roles and highlighting women as central political figures. It offers a critical look at state history and the ethics of representing historical events. While the film provides a detailed and non-Western-focused view of Japanese radicalism and post-colonial issues, it does not emphasize LGBTQ+ identities. The focus remains on political and ideological aspects.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi, and 27 Years Without Images have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not focus on LGBTQ+ identities or stories. It explores personal relationships within revolutionary settings but doesn't show non-traditional gender identities or same-sex romance.

How does The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi, and 27 Years Without Images portray gender?

Excellent

The film challenges traditional gender roles by making women the main characters in a revolutionary period. It highlights their political influence and central role.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi, and 27 Years Without Images?

Good

The film looks at Japanese political history without a Western bias. It explores themes of displacement and global politics by moving between Tokyo and Beirut.

How does The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi, and 27 Years Without Images represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film examines the breakdown of Western-aligned state structures through the Japanese New Left movement. It focuses on anti-capitalist ideas and the tension between personal memories and official history.

Does The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi, and 27 Years Without Images include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not focus on physical or neurological disabilities in its narrative or historical context.

Present on Screen

Highlights women as central characters with significant political influence.
Presents a nuanced, non-Western perspective on Japanese political history.
Provides a sophisticated critique of systemic structures and anti-capitalist ideas.

Limited or Absent

Could include more explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities and stories.
Does not address physical or neurological disabilities in its subject matter.

Official Synopsis

A film on exile, revolution, landscapes and memory, Anabasis brings forth the remarkable parallel stories of Adachi and May, one a filmmaker who gave up images, the other a young woman whose identity-less existence forbade keeping images of her own life. Fittingly returning the image to their lives, director Eric Baudelaire places Adachi and May’s revelatory voiceover reminiscences against warm, fragile Super-8mm footage of their split milieus, Tokyo and Beirut. Grounding their wide-ranging reflections in a solid yet complex reality, Anabasis provides a richly rewarding look at a fascinating, now nearly forgotten era (in politics and cinema), reminding us of film’s own ability to portray—and influence—its landscape.

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