COUP D’ETAT

The work of Kiju Yoshida is one of Japanese cinema’s obscure pleasures. A contemporary of Nagisa Oshima (IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES) and Masahiro Shinoda (PALE FLOWER), Yoshida made his directorial debut at age 27. In the decades that followed, he produced over 20 features and documentaries, yet each and every one has proven difficult to see outside of Japan—until now. COUP D’ETAT—produced under the aegis of Japan’s legendary Art Theater Guild—is a stylish biopic of Ikki Kita, the extremist who sought to overthrow the government in 1936. Yoshida considered the film to be the culmination of his work, promptly retiring from feature filmmaking following its completion for over a decade.