An absurd circus is brought to life in one of Kawamoto's few drawn films, Anthropo-cynical Farce (Kenju giga) (1970, 8 mins, In French). The intricately detailed House of Flame (Kataku) (1979, 19 mins) is based on the Noh play Motomezuka, about a woman who is loved by two men. Kawamoto returned to Trnka's animation studio in Prague to make To Shoot Without Shooting (Fusha no sha) (1988, 25 mins), based on a story by Atsushi Nakajima; and the exquisite yet unconventionally told fairy tale Briar-Rose, or the Sleeping Beauty (Ibarahime mata manemurihime) (1990, 22 mins).-Kathy Geritz

• (Total running time: 74 mins, In Japanese with English subtitles unless otherwise indicated, Color, 35mm, From 100 Meter Films)