Harakiri by Masaki Kobayashi (Japan, 1962, 133 min.). Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize, Harakiri, is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system. Following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi’s clansmen believe the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. In Japanese with English subtitles. This film screening compliments the course Japan: A Cultural History of the Land of the Rising Sun.