Lost In Translation

Gate Of Flesh

Gate Of Flesh is the first Seijun Suzzuki film that I have seen and it was an interesting film on several levels. It was intriguing on one level as a representation of the sordidness and postwar struggle. The film was based on a novel by Taijiro Tamura that was originally adapted in 1948 by Masahiko Makino. Suzuki's version includes critiques of the church, state, and American occupation. In the interview with the director he admits his anti-American bias citing the fact that he joined the war effort late and was constantly on the run, retreating from the American army, starting in the Philippines. The sets lent the film an almost surreal atmosphere. the sets were theatrical-like int he sense they portrayed the sensation of seeing a play. The director had the three main characters wear primary colors to differentiate theme from the other characters wearing dresses. Later he used these primary colors to light the internal dialogues of these characters. The film's theme drew to mind Mizoguchi's film about postwar prostitution, Women of the Night, in addition the scene where one of the characters seduces a priest in front of a church recalls the climatic scene in Women of the Night which also takes place near a church. I found the acting by the foreigners in the film embarrassingly amateur. But overall I found the film to be a fascinating look at post war depravity and struggle in occupied Japan.

With The Old Breed

E.B. Sledge's account of his tour of duty with the 5th Marines in WWII, With The Old Breed is the second account of the Pacific theater that I have read. It is also one of the primary source materials for HBO's compelling miniseries The Pacific. Sledge's account is full of colorful accounts of his experience of WWII, much like John Leckie's book (another primary source for The Pacific) Helmet For My Pillow. I think what sets Sledge's account apart from others like it are his honest and thoughtful introspective musings on the inhumanity of war, fear, his anger and resentment against the Japanese, and many other heartfelt opinions. Furthermore, Sledge provides notes in italics describing the importance of battles and/or retroactive opinions about the validity of such battles. For example, one of the bloodiest, The Battle of Peleliu, has been suggested to have been superfluous since MacArthur was able to take the Philippines without that support from the western flank in some people's opinions. Also, he gives details about people who figure in his reminisces, whether they survived and what they went onto to do in civilian life or what awards they earned. His account is equally harrowing and full of details that were mined for the HBO series. I am inspired to read an overview of the Pacific theater and the battles to gain a greater understanding of the decision for some of these battles that were in obscure places like the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Overall, it was a compelling and informative account of life as soldier in some of the most brutal battles in WWII.

Tokyo Sundoupu

There's a great restaurant called Tokyo Sundoupu that specializes inthe Korean dish also know as sundub jjigae. The above lunch set is the kimchi dish with minced pork sundub, namaru, rice, and a desert for under 1000 yen.

The Best Years Of Our Lives

The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946) is Wiliam Wyler's celebrated masterpiece about the three veterans reintegration into society after WWII in the fictional town of Boone City. They all have problems readjusting to life after the war. It seemed like a timely film to see since I have just finished reading two autobiographies of soldiers from the Pacific campaign, in fact in E.B. Sledge's book, With The Old Breed,  he talked about how some of his friends couldn't fit in back home and reenlisted to fight since it was all they could relate to after having such intense experiences fighting. I usually think of old movies as being pure escapism entertainment, but this is a case where a well-known director takes on a serious and worthy theme.

Can I Keep My Jeresey?

Can I Keep My Jersey? by Paul Shirely is an interesting look at the life of a professional basketball player and is notable in the fact that most players aren't very reflective or pay much attention to detail. I guess it is informative about how the teams operate when injuries hit and how they acquire low level players to fill out rosters. I was disappointed in the lack of inside dirt on specific players-there are a few tidbits here and there, but he says very little about Steve Nash and Amare Stoudmire, even though he played most of the year with the 2005 Suns. I guess since these people are very much alive and active he had to be careful about what he says about them-so he focuses on general statements about how he doesn't really like pro basketball players and their hypocritical obsessions with religion. I would have liked to have heard more about the players he played with in Greece, Spain, and Russia, not to mention the cultures of those coutnries. I guess the book was mostly about his journey to realize his childhood dream of being an NBA player. But it seems as though he might not have and the most of his experiences living abroad when he dismisses all of Spanish cuisine due to some dodgy seafood-it seems suspect that he couldn't find anything good to say about Spanish cuisine. It was entertaining at times, but I felt the book could have been much more interesting had he wrote less about things that annoyed him and more about the amazing things he saw and did on his journey.

Flat Stanley's Visit 2010

My nephew Quinn, from Our ladyof the Lake School in Seattle, sent Flat Stanley for a visit to Tokyo. Here he is with me in my office at Meiji University.

Here's Flat Stanley with some students from Musashi University.

In Shimokitazawa.

In Shinjuku at night.

Helmet For My Pillow

I was so impressed by the HBO miniseries, The Pacific, that I sought out the source material for the show. The first book I read was the biography of Robert Leckie, Helmet For My Pillow. It is an entertaining and powerful memoir of a WWII Marine veteran who fought on Guadalcanal, New Britain, and one of the bloodiest battles, Peleliu. Leckie does a great job of describing what it was like to fight in battle and also depicts what their time was like when they spent several months on leave in Melbourne before returning to battle. I think my only criticism was that he didn't provide enough exposition on the meaning of the battles in the large context of the Pacific campaign and  in retrospect whether they were important battles or follies on the way to the greater goal of ending the war once and for all. This is in turn inspires me to find a comprehensive book that explains the the Pacific campaign in greater detail from an overview perspective. It will has also inspired me to give another look at the miniseries as well.

His Girl Friday

His Girl Friday (1940) film directed by the legendary Howard Hawks starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell is a classic that I somehow manged to miss. I have heard great things about the screwball comedies of the 1940s and it's an area I'm trying to get up to speed on. That being said, I also bought a ¥398 copy of The Philadelphia Story in addition to this one.  The frantic pace and memorable performances by the leads who can't stand to be together but can't live apart are masterful. I can now see where the Coen Brothers were coming from with their homage to the screwball comedies of the 40s with The Hudsuckeer Proxy. His Girl Friday is a classic that stands the test of time extremely well-it is very entertaining and well made.

Nineteen Eighty Three

The final installment of the Red Riding series, Nineteen Eighty Three, ties together all the lose thread of David Peace's tales of evil, corruption, and the battles against these forces. The novel is narrated by three different characters: Maurice Jobson a member of the corrupt Yorkshire police force with a weakening conscience, BJ a street urchin and rent boy, and John Piggot lawyer and son of a former Yorkshire cop. I guess it is inevitable that this book would be one of the high points since it brings a conclusion to the series. However, the ending is quite understated and vague.

The BBC series adaptation of Nineteen Eighty Three has been much more straightforward in its depiction of the events from the novels. It has also been a showcase for some of Great Britain's best actors and this one features standout performances from Mark Addy (Pigott), David Morrisey (Jobson), and Robert Sheehan (BJ) among others. It has all of the same standout features of the other films in regards to production values and direction. Collectively, it was exceptionally well-done.

Amores Perros

Amores Perros was one of the best films of the 2000s in my opinion and I have continued to enjoy Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu's subsequent films despite the backlash he has faced in some circles. The Japanese DVD version had English subtitles and I was blown away by the dramatic opening and Spanish rap music and controversial content. I remember recommending it to a friend who said he couldn't finish it because his girlfriend was freaking out about the dog fighting too much. I forgot how much that was a part of the first story. Some other observations on my second viewing: 1) the second story again seemed to drag and slow down the action 2) there was some romantic melodrama reminiscent of Wong Kar Wai (who Inaritt mentions as an influence).

After my second viewing of the film I read Paul Julian Smith's BFI Modern Classic treatment of Amores Perros and it was a very thoughtful treatment of the film and filled in a lot of details about the development of the project. For example, since I am not familiar with Mexican culture I wouldn't be able to identify how they played with the conventions of the "telenovela" or would I have been aware of the "mexicandad" movement (promotion of the native culture of Mexico). Smith analyzes the class tensions and gives some criticisms of institutions like the police, big business, and families. It is an interesting and thoughful companion to the film.