Masahiro Shinoda is one of the modern Japanese cinema's most creative directors, best known here for his 1969 masterwork Double Suicide, and, more recently, MacArthur's Children. In a distinguished film career, Shinoda began at Shochiku as assistant director to Ozu, and then was a chief exponent, along with his contemporary, Oshima, of the so-called Ofuna New Wave of the sixties. He has since established himself as a provocative independent stylist, and an important bridge between the art and commercial cinemas in Japan. Shinoda's visually stunning films frequently explore the role that traditions, myths, and historical legends play in the modern-day Japanese self-perception and character. These themes are found in four rarely screened Shinoda works which we present on May 2, 5 and 6. Gonza the Spearman, like Double Suicide, is based on an eighteenth century Bunraku play by Chikamatsu. The film, which won the Silver Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival, brings together the talents of Shinoda, celebrated cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, and internationally renowned composer Toru Takemitsu. In a classic tale of passions submerged in honor, devotion suffused in duty, Hiromi Go plays Gonza, a handsome and talented lancer in the employ of the Asaka clan, who allows himself to be romantically linked with both the daughter of his master and the sister of one of his rivals at court. Shima Iwashita, Shinoda's wife and star of many of his films including Double Suicide, portrays the master's wife Osai, to whom Gonza becomes unwittingly bound in a treacherous plot by his jealous rival. Apart from moments of gorgeously shot outdoor pageantry, most of the film takes place in interiors, where people's lives unfold according to the rigid code of honor that determines their every action. Figuring largely in the intrigue is a secret tea ceremony, the knowledge of which will seal the fate of the coveted swordsman.