In this true classic of political cinema, a young Korean man known only as R is convicted of rape and murder, and sentenced to death by hanging. When the execution fails and R survives with amnesia, the prison officials panic, attempting to make him remember his crimes to carry out the sentence legally. Through a Brechtian approach that turns into a surreal black comedy, the provocative director Oshima (In the Realm of the Senses) delves into the theme of justice by exposing the absurd, farcical logic of institutionalized violence and the state’s role in life and death. Post-screening Q&A with Samm Deighan, writer and editor of “Revolution in 35mm: Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, 1960–1990.” Subtitles.