Considered by cinephiles to be one of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation, Belladonna of Sadness was never officially released in North America. But a beautifully restored 4k digital restoration is currently making the rounds of the arthouse cinema circuit, with screenings at the Cinematheque (1131 Howe St.) in Vancouver from June 3-8.

Belladonna of Sadness was produced by Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese anime and manga, but directed by his long-time collaborator Eiichi Yamamoto. The film unfolds as a series of spectacular still watercolour paintings inspired in part by Gustav Klimt. But the 1973 mindblower also reflects the freewheeling spirit of other seventies animated features like Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards and Rene Laloux’s Fantastic Planet. It’s also an adult-oriented flick that is filled with violence and explicit sexuality.

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Mind-blowing, adult 1973 Japanese animated feature comes to Cinematheque