Japan Society New York gets zany with Sabu retrospective "Run, Salaryman, Run!"

by Chris MaGee

Sabu (a.k.a. Hiroyuki Tanaka) is a film-maker who has cultivated a real cult following but has never really broken through to join folks like Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano and Shinya Tsukamoto in the international film big leagues. It's a bit confusing as to why not as Sabu's output of zany, almost Keystone Cops chase films have one of the most idiosyncratic and immediately recognizble cinematic styles of the past 20 years. Sabu's place as an underground cult figure may be changing very soon though with the six film retrospective running at New York's Japan Society titled "Run, Salaryman, Run!"

Between January 26th and February 5th the Japan Society will be screening some of Sabu's defining films including "Dangan Runner", "Monday", "Postman Blues", "Drive" and my personal favorite "The Blessing Bell" (above). Along with these The Japan Society will also be hosting the international premiere of Sabu's latest film "Troubleman" starring Shigeaki Kato, Terunosuke Takezai, Mayuko Iwasa, Riju Go, Susumu Terajima.

For more details on "Run, Salaryman, Run" head over to the Japan Society website here. Also, check out the trailer for the retrospective below.