Ecstasy of the Angels (1972) User Reviews

A pseudo philosophical porn terrorist comedy

[Jurguens · 5/10 · 30 July 2009]

A bunch of young Japanese terrorists named after weekdays follow the orders of a terrorist named after a month: October. They steal some boxes of bombs from a US Army warehouse (the sign in the movie actually says: weapon wearhouse). They are found by two US soldiers. There's a shooting. A bomb explodes in October's face. He is blinded but alive. That is the opening scene of the movie, after that the plot is quite thin for the rest the "story".

The style of the movie is similar to Jean Luc Godard's early films but Koji Wakamatsu makes a film that has the actors reciting political slogans all throughout with random scenes of sex and violence. I am actually not sure if it was meant to be a serious film, but I actually found it quite funny and I enjoyed it as a Z grade pseudo philosophical porn terrorist comedy.

Ecstasy of the Angels is definitely not a great film but it was interesting and funny.

this, almost Godard like, movie so full of vitality......

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 14 October 2005]

I found I liked this a little less than I did when first seen on video a few years ago. Perhaps it just shows what effect 9/11 and subsequent worldwide terrorist activities have had on our psyche. This remains a well put together, exciting and amusing tale of confused young fighters (for they know not what) on the streets of Tokyo late 60's. The pace and style of Wakamatsu's film making is infectious but the pain of events and concerns for safety have made it much more difficult to be sympathetic to lost youth taking it out on innocent people. It's a shame because this, almost Godard like, movie so full of vitality, could inspire many to take up the making of movies but instead one is now frightened that the vulnerable might be encouraged in their cowardliness to take out others for a bit of glory. A sad reflection of the times we find ourselves in. Good film though!

ECSTASY OF THE ANGELS (Koji Wakamatsu, 1972) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 24 March 2006]

The third film I have watched from this director is the most skillful but, perhaps, the most exasperating as well: something of a political allegory, the detail is so obscure, however, that one tends not to care about what happens to any of the characters - members (ambiguously named after week-days) of the various terrorist factions (named after months and seasons) involved, and who may or may not be double-crossing one another! As usual, gratuitous sex and excessive violence are the order of the day and, once again, there are haphazard switches to color which serve no discernible function (but who can tell with a film as pretentious as this one?). Still, the final montage of suicidal bombings is notable...and, in any case, this type of art film - however tested one's patience may be by its gross self-indulgence - cannot be objectively criticized, or easily ignored!

A work of true art

[rev-johndoe · 10/10 · 22 August 2009]

This is an excellent film, flawed in the sense that certain aspects of the fictional revolutionary group appear quite caricatured at times but viewed in relation with director Koji Wakamatsu's newest film "United Red Army" it can be seen to draw a surprisingly accurate picture of the revolutionary nihilism of the Japanese student activists of the time. Other reviewers have compared the film to Godard's early work such as La Chinoise and admittedly the artistic style is quite similar though less refined, and far from being less politically aware than Godard, Wakamatsu was actually much more realistically cynical in his portrait of armed student activist cells whereas Godard's revolutionary themed films displayed a certain hopeful naiveté in the potential of a largely dogmatic and authoritarian movement which was strongly criticized by his contemporaries in the Situationist International. The writer of this film Masao Adachi was certainly not a pretentious intellectual out to exploit sex and revolutionary pop aesthetic as some critics have inferred here; a closer look at his personal history shows that shortly after writing the screenplay he actually moved to Lebanon to join the real life armed revolutionary group the Japanese Red Army where he remained a committed activist for 28 years up until his arrest in the year 2000. As such the film can be a unique and telling account of his own mentality and the personal motivations which led to joining the JRA, as well as his prior knowledge of the less-than-ideal dynamics of the lifestyle he would be choosing. One must keep in mind that at the time Wakamatsu was expected by producers to be making films in the 'pink' genre which would explain the gratuitous sex scenes that could be seen as offensive or pointless to some but the unique beauty of the film far outweigh it's occasional rough edges. Highly recommended, though not for casual viewers of film "for entertainment's sake" alone.

Sex and violence... should be fun viewing but...

[kingpelvis · 3/10 · 20 July 2006]

Having greatly enjoyed Wakamatsu's earlier film Go, Go Second Time Virgin, I was very excited to come across this one. The excitement was however short lived. Or should I say endless because that is about how long this movie seems. Rarely have I looked at the counter on my VCR more often to see how much more I would have to endure.

It was much the same feeling as when after seeing Godard's wonderfully early new wave movies, I was subjected to La Chinoise or Pierrot Le Fou. Actually Ecstacy of the Angels seem very much inspired by this more avant-garde side of Godard's film-making. But without the originality.

There is plenty of sex and violence here, and layers and layers of what is most likely satire on political idealism and the media's exploitation of sex and violence. And possibly even sex and violence in cinema itself. A film mocking film maybe. There is that term yet again: Sex and violence. Usually a safe recipe for good entertainment, be it in celluloid or newsprint form. But the problem here is that the message is lost in all the boring scenes and purposely stiff dialog. You will quickly lose track of who belongs to which revolutionary faction. You are probably supposed to. Is the movie supposed to show us how predictable and repetitious our lust for sex and violence is? Because it's all the same here. Every scene is just more of the same. Tedious repetition. Maybe that is the message. Is that why all the characters are named after seasons and weekdays? Possibly.

Whatever it is, it all seems rather outdated and unoriginal now. It's just plain boring. Maybe it wasn't in Japan in 1972.

You do sort of get a picture of the screenplay being written on a roll of toilet paper by a couple of drunk pretentious intellectuals looking for an excuse to get some young actresses to take their clothes off. Which would in that case be the one side of this movie that would seem perfectly reasonable to me. I'm sure there is an intellectual masterpiece in there somewhere. A deeper meaning. But life is just to short to look for it. I simply cannot bear to watch this one again.

A violent, anarchist film about lost ideals.

[libertyvalance · 10/10 · 21 April 2001]

Koji Wakamatsu's treatment of this story is, compared to big budget filming, what guerilla warfare is to a full blown World War. Imagine seeing a hysterical comedy about idealistic terrorists betrayed by their leaders as written by Jean-Luc Godard, produced by David Lynch and directed by Gregg Araki: that gets you somewhere in the neighbourhood of what this picture is like. Untroubled by storytelling conventions Wakamatsu lets the thin thread that holds all scenes more or less together snap halfway through the film. His scenes of bloodcurdling violence are thrown at you with the gusto of a rabid modern painter. Visually brilliant and wonderfully over the top with some poignantly funny touches, this ranks as one of the most enthralling political nightmares ever printed on celluloid.

Bloodless

[tedg · 12 August 2003]

Spoilers herein.

I particularly appreciate films whose manner is consistent with its matter. This one is, but the problem is that the overriding notion is deliberate lifelessness. I suppose there is a certain teenage audience for this sort of thing: masochistic narcissism. But once someone has done it -- or even thought about it, it is enough for us all.

The idea is life by slogan, by motion. Dry sex. Inherited passion. Emulated life. Confused but committed participants. Pretty tired and tiring stuff. The novelty here is the film is designed the same way as a sort of art-as-politics.

Pass on this. It is almost as bad as TeeVee without the plastic giggles.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life

Ersatz Godard

[insomnia · 1/10 · 27 July 2009]

Koji Wakamatsu's "Ecstacy Of The Angels" runs for a mere eighty-nine minutes. After it ended it felt more like eight nine hours. Wakamatsu, known as the "Pink Godfather" (no, don't ask me why), was a pioneer of the pinku eiga genre. I had never heard the name Wakamatsu before. According to the blurb in the festival guide, "Ecstacy of The Angels" is a parable about a revolutionary organization torn apart by betrayal, its members descending into paranoia, sadism and sexual decadence. It sounded like a plot from an early Godard film, only from a Japanese perspective. This sounded interesting, I thought. It was about as interesting as having a tooth extracted. The opening sequence, in black and white, is set in a nightclub. A female singer screeches absurd lyrics, while at a nearby table three men and a woman sit in silence. Pretty soon though, I couldn't figure out which revolutionary faction was which, and by that time I was beyond caring. The actors don't just speak their lines, the bellow them at each other, as if they were all auditory challenged. In the frequent sex scenes (which are about as erotic as two storefront mannequins coupling), they go through the motions of sexual congress while mouthing absurd platitudes about fighting for the revolutionary cause. Frankly, Wakamatsu is definitely no match for Godard. Which reminds me, I need to visit my dentist for a check up. It'll be less painful all round.

I Thoroughly Enjoyed This Film

[kasserine · 9/10 · 13 December 2018]

I watched this film, with very little knowledge of Koji Wakamatsu and his films. I had recently seen "Dare to Stop Us" a film about Wakamatsu through the eyes of his assistant. Actually, it was through that film that I became more interested in his work. Fortunately, a museum where I live was doing a small retrospective that included Ecstasy of Angels.

I really didn't know what to expect, and having seen "Dare to Stop Us" I was expecting a micro-budget affair and very amateur performances. My experience was the exact opposite. Wakamatsu definitely knew how to make films and I was pleasantly surprised by the performances. I really enjoyed Ecstasy of Angels.

A brief summary of the film; a group of radical activists soon turn on one another after stealing a large amount of explosives from a US Army base. The characters have unusual names such as Monday and October, and the sects themselves are named after the seasons. I wasn't able to actually follow who was who by their names, however, but each character was distinctive enough that I could follow what was going on.

That is essentially the plot of Ecstasy of Angels. We watch the different radical groups fall apart and turn on each other. It's a study of power dynamics. What made me so fascinated with this film, is how well paced Wakamatsu was able to deliver the plot. I was never bored. He does some interesting things shifting back and forth from black and white and color. The film also contains a fair amount of sex and nudity. However, the sex is simulated, and other then women's breasts you really don't see anything too graphic, especially by today's standards.

Ecstasy of Angels is very much an art film and it is low budget. I think fans of Wakamatsu and early 60s Japanese filmmaking would enjoy this film. I'm not sure the average movie-goer would however. In fact, in an auditorium of about 40 people, around 10 people left during the film. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. But I'm endorsing it, I liked it from beginning to end and maybe you will too.

Give Ecstasy of Angels a chance and see it if you ever get the opportunity.

Lesson learnt: read up on a film before watching it.

[BA_Harrison · 1/10 · 26 November 2010]

As I write, no one on IMDb has provided a synopsis for Ecstasy of the Angels, and the few reviews here are rather bereft of plot details; could that be because no-one who has watched it has got a clue what was going on thanks to the stupefyingly dull direction, the coma-inducing performances, and the fact that it is virtually impossible to tell one character from another? I reckon so.

Before I gave up trying to follow the story and began praying for the film to just finish and thereby end my misery (I'm obsessive about watching a film in its entirety, no matter how bad), here's what I garnered about the plot: The Four Seasons revolutionary group is split into factions that go by the names of— surprise surprise—the Four Seasons. Fall organises a raid on a US army base and makes off with some high explosives (stored in what looks like Bilbo Baggins' hobbit hole), but with members of her team killed and injured during the job, the way is left wide open for the other factions to help themselves to the spoils of her venture. Cue much arguing amongst angry freedom fighter types, and lots of strangely unemotional sex scenes between the uniformly hot female members of the group and the seemingly unappreciative blokes.

If I had known what I was in for, I would have passed on this film, but for some reason I had got it into my mind that this was a sleazy Cat III effort from Hong Kong; not only did I get the country of origin wrong—this is a Japanese flick—but I also was also severely misguided when it came to the kind of film this was. Rather than a trashy piece of Asian filth, Ecstasy of the Angels is a pompous, pretentious, and extremely dull avant-garde art-house film that could only possibly appeal to the bearded chin-stroker contingent; whilst they might enjoy waxing lyrical about the intent of the piece, the film's political message or the pointless techniques employed by the director (B&W to colour to B&W to colour, ad nauseum), anyone else will simply be bored rigid. Hell, I was practically catatonic by the end of the film's opening scene in which several of the characters sit around a table in a night-club while a singer drones on endlessly in the background.

Too Cool For Words!

[MAdams15023 · 10/10 · 7 August 2002]

Do you like hot chicks? Do you like it when they take their clothes off? Do you like it when they speak a language you don't understand? I DO! This is my new favorite movie. It also has a PLOT. I give it a 4 out of 10!

A B movie in both genre and quality

[peter-209 · 3/10 · 24 August 2001]

The film is a dated, incoherent, and pretentious rambling about fictional revolutionary, or rather quasi-revolutionary, terrorist group(s) in Tokyo in the sixties. Although there may be some resemblance to early Godard, Wakamatsu seems to be much less accomplished thinker, revolutionary, or craftsman than the French master of the New Wave. Notwithstanding the typically Asian overacting, all the persons in the "plot" act as detached mechanical puppets (perhaps intentionally?). They are not good in making either revolution or love. The frequent sex scenes were quite irritating not only because the participants recited quasi-political slogans, but also due to sometimes awkward choreography or cuts necessitated by the bizarre Japanese censorship law that does not allow a glimpse of pubic hair on the screen.

I wonder if the sign "WEAPON WEARHOUSE" on a weapon warehouse in the film is a joke for insiders or rather a testimony on the level of production values in this movie.

A very negative opinion

[schwenko · 1/10 · 18 December 1999]

This movie is unique in 2 aspects:

1) It is the only Japanese movie I have ever seen that is incredibly awful,

2) It is a movie with abundant nudity and sex that is unbelievably boring!

The "plot" concerns revolutionaries in Japan in the 60-70s, and their dedication, or lack of, to some unspecified political movement, frequently interrupted with sex. Expect long, pretentious monologues on dedication to the movement, relieved only by unemotional, mechanical sex. One very violent scene of a struggle between 2 factions for stolen bombs, and some random, senseless bombings in ?Tokyo round out the action.

Really, spend your 90 minutes elsewhere.