Director Shohei Imamura boldly depicts primitive customs and religious beliefs that meet the incarnation of capitalism and civilized society. In a flourishing film with lavish color, Kanjuro Arashi plays the father of the protagonist, winning him the best supporting actor's award at the Mainichi Film Concour.
On the primitive tropical island of Kurage lives an interbred family, the Futoris. Incestuous activities are considered sacrilegious on the island; the family is ostracized and labeled as 'beasts' for breaking island customs. In order to appease the Gods, Nekichi (Rentaro Mikuni), one of the sons, is chained to a rock and ordered to dig a hole that will bury the rock. When an engineer from the mainland arrives on the island for water resource research, 'harmony' is broken.