Typhoon Club
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Theatrical Screenings
Kinoteka 1
Kinoteka 1
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Film description
Five days in the lives of pupils at a Tokyo school. As a typhoon approaches the city’s suburbs, some of the youngsters remain in the school building to wait out the storm. But with the first gusts of wind, a sexual energy awakens in them – one that no one can stop! After the typhoon passes, nothing will ever be the same again.
Shinji Sōmai’s masterpiece can be read as a Japanese variation on “The Breakfast Club”, except here the raging typhoon outside mirrors the chaos and unpredictability of adolescent sexuality. In “Typhoon Club”, the motif of staying “after hours” becomes a formative experience, as school corridors turn into a stage of transgression and initiation. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese films, adored by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, “Typhoon Club” is an unbridled coming-of-age tale – a manifesto of youth that deconstructs the genre and redefines its power.
The film will be screened in a restored 4K version.
text:
Łukasz Mańkowski
Shinji Sômai
Shinji Sōmai (相米慎二) was one of the most visionary filmmakers of Japanese cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. Known for his masterful long takes, emotional intensity, and sensitivity to the anxieties of the younger generation, he created his own cinematic language—full of melancholy, poetic chaos, and penetrating observations of everyday life. His films combined realism with unusual form, while remaining deeply rooted in Japanese culture. He also eagerly embraced B-movies and explored genre expression, especially at the beginning of his career. Considered one of the most important directors of his generation, he inspired Ryūsuke Hamaguchi and Shunji Iwai, among others. His later work is a unique record of longing and transience – themes that he made universal.
1980 Tonda Kappuru / Tonda Couple
1981 Sērāfuku to Kikanjū / Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
1983 P.P. Rider
1983 Gyōei no Mure / The Catch
1985 Love Hotel
1985 Taifū Kurabu / Typhoon Club
1987 Hikaru Onna / Luminous Woman
1990 Tōkyō Jōkū Irasshaimase / Tokyo Heaven
1993 Ohikkoshi / Moving
1994 Natsu no Niwa / The Friends
1998 Ah, Haru / Wait and See
2000 Kaza-hana

