The Japanese public was shocked at the time by Kazuo Hara’s first documentary film when it came out in 1972, a radical, unvarnished portrait of a group of people with cerebral palsy (CP). In raw, confrontational interviews that leave a profound impression, they speak candidly about what it means to be an outsider. They venture on all fours into busy traffic, and they confide in us their sexual experiences. The unsentimental black-and-white film, shot entirely handheld, is a collaboration with the Green Lawn Movement, a group of activist people with CP who aim to raise awareness about the disorder.
Emotions sometimes run high: Hara brazenly leaves the 16mm camera running when a couple in marital crisis wants him to stop filming because he is intruding on their family life. With the risk of exploitation, by allowing those involved to participate actively in the making of the film, Hara gives them back the humanity and freedom of choice they have long been denied. As a flood of pitying people pass him on the street, Yokota says: “We want to live freely, as human beings."
Stills
