Cinema: August 29th. Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims

Sunday August 29th, 21:30
Japan, 124 minutes, English introduction by Luuk van Huet

One of the most batshit crazy films that you will ever see in your life, Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims brings us the adventures of two gay, drug-addled, time-traveling samurai from Edo who go on a pilgrimage to the Ise Shrine to kick their habits. The two dapper lovers will travel through time, space, the fourth wall and death itself to be together in the same reality. Prepare to have your narrative expectations to be twisted like a pretzel in this outrageous Japanese comedy film that throws in everything AND the kitchen sink still firmly attached to the bathroom wall at you, just to make you laugh. Loosely based on a humorous guide book from the eighteenth century, Yaji and Kita also manages to cram so much cultural references in one film that you’re in danger of getting flabbergasted out of your mind. A must-see cult film that has only been shown during the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2006, never to receive a release whatsoever after that, so take this unique chance and catch this bizarrely entertaining film.