Season of Treason (1966) | Region-Free (DVD) | English Subtitles | Directed by Kôji Wakamatsu

**DISC ONLY**

Source: DVD w/ English Subtitles.

Title: Season of Betrayal (1966)

Alternate Title: Uragiri no kisetsu

Genre: Drama

Plot Synopsis: A press photographer returns to Japan from the Vietnam War after losing his friend and fellow photographer on the battlefield. Haunted by his experiences, he becomes entangled in a series of deceptions and double-crosses, where war crimes are reenacted in Tokyo bedrooms as S/M scenarios. The film explores themes of trauma, exploitation, and the blurred lines between reality and delusion.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Atsushi Yamatoya
• Producer: Kōji Wakamatsu
• Writers: Atsushi Yamatoya, Yōzō Tanaka
• Cast:
  • Yuzo Tachikawa
  • Shuri Taniguchi
  • Hatsuo Yamaya
  • Miharu Shima
  • Mikio Terashima

IMDb Link: Season of Betrayal (1966)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Daniel – ★★★☆☆ “Season of Betrayal is the first film directed by Atsushi Yamatoya. While perhaps most famous for collaborating with Seijun Suzuki and co-writing Branded to Kill, Yamatoya was also a close collaborator with Koji Wakamatsu and Masao Adachi. Wakamatsu produced Season of Betrayal through his own company and was involved in the planning and filming of it.”

2. honkeur – ★★★★☆ “Extremely unpleasant but impressive film. A Japanese war photographer returns from the Vietnam War traumatized, and in the course of a nearly-incoherent plot built of confusing deceptions and double-crosses, war crimes are reenacted in Tokyo bedrooms as S/M scenarios. Savant sleazemeister Koji Wakamatsu has a credit as Producer, and the typical signature Wakamatsu qualities are here: bleakness, shoestring budget, gratuitous s&x and brutal violence between extremely distressed individuals.”

3. hotsake – ★½☆☆☆ “Wakamatsu’s films are really hit or miss for me and this was a big miss.”

Meta Description: “Season of Betrayal” (1966), directed by Atsushi Yamatoya, is a Japanese drama that follows a war photographer’s return from Vietnam. Haunted by his past, he becomes entangled in a web of deception and reenacted war crimes, exploring themes of trauma and exploitation.