UNIVERSITY OF LAUGHS (Japan, 2004)
Directed by: Mamoru Hoshi
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Goro Inagaki

Based on a stage play by Koki Mitani, this two-man movie is one of the funniest and deadliest satires of the current American political situation you’ll ever see. Japan’s favorite leading man, Koji Yakusho (Doppelganger, Shall We Dance?) stars as a government censor in 1940 whose job it is to ensure the patriotism of the plays in the theater district. They must be ideologically sound, loyal to the Emperor, supportive of the Japanese war effort, and full of truth, justice, and the Japanese way. Any deviation is seen as an effort to undermine homeland security as Japan brings peace and harmony to the world through guns and bombs. Enter Tsubaki (Goro Inagaki), a flashy young comedian whose latest farce is a send-up of Romeo and Juliet. Yakusho doesn’t get it the play — it’s not even that funny. He is about to reject it outright when Tsubaki begins to plead: he’ll make changes, any changes at all. And so Yakusho starts to insist on edits, first motivated by political concerns, and then motivated by aesthetic ones. The young writer diligently reworks his play however he’s ordered, and it actually starts to get better. Before long, the two men are engaged in a conspiracy of two, crafting the funniest play they can imagine. But, of course, there’s a war going on, and none of this can end well.

Featuring the performance of Koji Yakusho’s career, this movie does more to address the absurdities of homeland security and blind patriotism than any movie since 2001.