Typical programs feature frenetic performers who seem to owe their energy to an overdose of amphetamines rather than creative wit. The opposite is true of Yaguchi Shinobu. Perhaps the movie director's approach is best described as controlled deadpan.
Gags sidle on screen rather than to the accompaniment of a guffaw-meter.
Their comedic qualities rest on more subtle shifts of emphasis. If you had to categorize me, I guess you could say that is what I aim for. Sometimes described as an enfant terrible of Japanese cinema, Yaguchi had planned to major in graphic design but was quickly drawn to film. Not that Yaguchi is in any danger of taking himself too seriously. Down the Drain , his impressive debut feature of 1992, is a darkly comic account of a high-school student whose life is sent on a downward spiral.