Work on the Grass

Shinohara constructs a delicately nuanced por­trait of a highly charged relationship between two young men. With minimal ingredients — one location, two characters, one day's passage — he has produced a subtle and shifting study of a brief encounter, in the process touching on a variety of social issues — concerning work, gender and power — as well as displaying the kind ot cinematographic artistry for which the Japanese cinema is famed. With its stylish but constantly varied shot composition, and its dazzling cuts between stillness and movement, distance and intimacy, detachment and involvement, this film is a must for connoisseurs of film art.