Once an enfant terrible, who as a young filmmaker challenged censors and outraged conservative critics with everything from surreal S&M sex to sympathetic portrayals of Palestinian radicals, Koji Wakamatsu has not mellowed so much as ripened.

Unlike many older directors, Wakamatsu still makes films that probe deep into controversial subjects, from the inner and outer journey of a teenage killer ("17-sai no Fukai: Shonen wa Nani o Mita ka [Cycling Chronicles: Landscapes the Boy Saw]," 2004) to the murderous career of the Japanese Red Army in the early 1970s ("Jitsuroku Rengo Sekigun: Asama Sanso e no Michi [The Red Army]," 2007).

At the same time, he has evolved from the rough-edged, shot-on-the-fly experiments of his early years to stylistically pared-down films that are a form of passionate witnessing — but from a distanced, nuanced viewpoint that reflects his years and experience.