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X (Batsu) poster

X (Batsu)

1960 0h 15m EN
Synopsis
Spoiler shield

A man marks everything he encounters with an X, from telephone poles to fruit and books he fondles in markets to a woman he pursues who lies on the ground, first clothed, then unclothed. As he caresses her back. he puts X’s along her spine. Later, when he draws an X on a storefront. he is beaten and dragged off by businessmen. The allegorical batsu can be either consent or rejection, or the mark of individualism. putting an identifying (or accepting) mark on the world. A private 16mm neo-Dadaist film made by Shuntaro Tanikawa and Toru Takemitsu, who were passionately talking about movies, with a playful mind. Naozumi Yamamoto, who is also a composer and conductor, writes the "X" sign all the time. At first, the film was planned to compose in jazz, but in the end, the music was completed without being able to be included

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Credits

Behind the camera

Director
Tōru Takemitsu

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 3
RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 15-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01
2 / 3
ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 3
RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tōru Takemitsu directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

  • 1Tight 15-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
  • 266 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
  • 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

The technical file

Runtime
15 min · 0h 15m
Status
Released
Original language
EN

Key crew

    Themes & keywords

    What it's about, really

    • silent

    Release history · US

    When it landed

    • Theatrical1960-04-10

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