ZAMEK Culture Centre

Summer 1995. Three members of the elite special unit Kerberos go underground after the organisation’s collapse. Years later, one of them, Koichi, returns to Tokyo, only to find that the city no longer resembles the place he once knew. The metropolis reveals unexpected scenes: ramen bars filled with eccentrics, deserted cinemas, and claustrophobic corners where every conversation sounds like a conspiratorial whisper.

“The Red Spectacles” is a forgotten work by Mamoru Oshii, a dystopian vision of the future that blends science fiction, New Wave aesthetics, and theatrical grotesque elements. The protagonist descends ever deeper into a world governed by absurd rules, perverse games, and constant surveillance, taking part in a spectacle straight out of a surreal nightmare. The stylised acting, circus-like tone and caricatured portrayal of Tokyo’s urban landscape create a distinctive atmosphere - the film teeters between comic book fantasy and tragicomedy, laced with Shakespearean quotations. “The Red Spectacles” marks the direction of Oshii’s later works and remains one of the most singular dystopian portrayals of Tokyo in cinema history.

RED SPECTACLES, dir. Mamoru Oshii, Japan 1987, 116’