Regarded as one of Suzuki's best films, Elegyto Violence is Suzuki's scathing portrait of the militarism that, in thethirties, sent young men like himself to war, having been steeped in abelief in the mutability of all things so that they might better accepttheir own deaths. For Suzuki, this cruel absurdity was a source ofhumor--perhaps the source of the wry humor in his films--and that isnowhere better demonstrated than in the tale of Kiroku Nambu (HidekiTakahashi), a punk who realizes the ridiculousness of his outréviolence while he revels in it. Nambu, a high-school student andmilitant ideologue, is trapped (kicking and screaming) betweenconflicting ideologies. Moreover, he is torn between the purity of hislove for the Catholic girl Michiko (Junko Asano) and his sexual desirefor her. His restlessness finds expression in street brawls which heorchestrates like some brash movie director, staged by Suzuki withtypical high style and humor. Like a cartoon--or a Shaw Brothers kung-fuextravaganza-this violence parodies itself, much as Suzuki saw themounting deaths on the battlefield as reflections of their ownabsurdity.