The Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine

After the 1923 earthquake in Tokyo where 140,000 people lost their lives, there is political chaos in Japan. Nationalist ideas are gaining ground. We follow a band of travelling female sumo wrestlers, escaping personal oppression and nourishing anarchist ideas. The principled Kiku, whose name is Japanese for chrysanthemum, joins the band and falls in love with one of the anarchists in the Guillotine movement. Director Zeze Takahisha, with a background in the softcore porn ”pinku” genre, tells a varied story, both funny and deeply serious. (Göteborg Film Festival)