Gakuryu ISHII 石井岳龍

August In The Water

水の中の八月

Nippon Retro   ² 

The metaphysics ISHII began to explore in ½ MENSCH and THE MASTER OF SHIATSU reach their zenith with AUGUST IN THE WATER, an enigmatic but resonantly beautiful trip of a movie. Petrified humans, magic mushrooms and a rock star from outer space are just a few of the building blocks of this hallucinogenic spectacle. In terms of pace and mood, this is miles removed from ISHII's punk films of the previous decade, but being equal parts soothing and puzzling, it offers the viewer its own unique pleasures.

水の中の八月
Mizu no naka no hachigatsu

Japan 1995

117 minutes

Director
Gakuryu ISHII

Script
Gakuryu ISHII

Cinematography
Norimichi KASAMATSU

Music
Norihiro TSURU

About Gakuryu ISHII
石井岳龍

Gakuryu (Sogo) ISHII was born in Fukuoka in 1957. His dystopian punk rock musical BURST CITY (1982) made him one of the precursors of the Japanese cyberpunk movement of the 1980s. Since then he has worked with renowned Japanese actors and international punk bands on numerous short and feature films. NIPPON CONNECTION dedicated a retrospective to his work in 2013.