Lost In Translation

Bounce Kogals

Bounce Kogals (1997) directed and written by Masato Harada is an interesting film in several contexts. It was filmed in 1997 the year I came to Japan just as the "kogal" (high school girl) phenomena was dying down after all the lurid tales of "enjo kosai" (compensation dating). It also looks at some of the realities of the underside of urban Japanese life. The film is full of broadly drawn characters and stereotypes, despite this Harada asks some hard questions. When one character who is trying to leave Japan so that she can go to school in New York wants ot sell her panties at a fetish shop, the woman there challenges her as to why she is doing it. She says because dirty old men will buy them, but the woman at the shop points out only because girls like her will sell them. One of the stereotypes is a government employee who is racist and corrupt--it is suggested that he is getting big kickbacks from a construction company for giving them business. Another, client, an aging retired doctor reveals that he was a manager of comfort women brothels in Indonesia during the war and has been labeled a war criminal by America 50 years after the fact.  The fact that a film would lob two shockers like that in a single film is encouraging, but I think Harada is an exception to most escapist film fare not unlike that each country keeps producing. Koji Yakusho, of Shall We Dance? fame (also filmed in 1997) has a small role as a former socialist Yakuza who sings "The Internationale" with one of the kogals in the film. It is a flawed film with an interesting look at a social phenomena infused with some critical observations of modern Japanese society. 

Loser Takes All

Apparently Loser Takes All (1955) was written at the same time Graham Greene was writing one of his masterpieces, The Quiet American. Greene considered it as one of his lesser works, an "entertainment" that was written for profit. That being said, it is a well written and conceived novella about a hapless couple that decides to get married in Monte Carlo despite financial problems. However, there are several compelling themes that he undertakes in the short novel. In summation, he arrives at the fact that money doesn't buy happiness and often causes major problems. It is a quick and entertaining read, but not a major work. Nonetheless, it is a worthwhile read at any rate.

Ahn Sehong "Comfort Women in China"

This is a view from the 28th floor of the Shinjuku L Tower where the photo exhibit for Ahn Sehong "Comfort Women in China" was being held in the Nikon Plaza. No photographs were allowed and there was a strong security presence due to the the fear of protest or sabotage by right wingers. It is a sad story of women taken from Korea to China to be used as sex slaves in WWII, and then left there to fend for themselves. The fact many young Japanese are totally unaware of these war crimes is a point of contention since it is rarely mentioned in textbooks.

War By Candlelight

War By Candlelight (2005) is the second book I've read by Daniel Alarcon, however, this is a collection of short stories and leads me to believe that short fiction might be his forte. In fact I discovered Alarcon through his short stories that were included in a few editions of The Best American Nonrequired Reading. Perhaps, the thing that I think separates his stories from his novel, Lost City Radio, is that these stories are grounded in reality and specific places like Lima and New York City. I think Lost Radio City suffers in that it is a nonspecific Latin American country. Alarcon is Peruvian-American and his knowledge and experience is coursing through his work and I think it is important to bear witness to the struggles of Peru in the 80s and 90s, so that it is not forgotten or repeated. Alarcon does a good job of creating the atmosphere of a places especially the cities of New York and Lima. He is also adept at creating realistic believable characters in his stories. I don't think there was a weak story in the bunch, but I think some of the stories near the end were among my favorites: "The Visitor," "The Science for Being Alone," and "A Strong Dead Man." I think his inclusion in The New Yorker's Top 20 Writers Under 40 is well-earned. My only complaint with the Kindle version of the book is that it didn't include the PS extras that the print version has (which I always find enlightening and inspiring), so in the future I will only buy the print version of PS editions.

A Dangerous Method

A Dangerous Method (2011) is the latest film by David Cronenberg and it doesn’t seem like a typical Croneneberg film. It is a film about the relationship between Carl Jung (played by Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (stuffily played by Victor Mortensen) and the birth of psychoanalysis among other things. Kiera Knightley plays a former patient of Jung’s that he unwisely decides to start a relationship with despite the fact that he is seemingly happily married. It seems like an unlikely story for Cronenberg to tell since it mostly involves dialogue, but it is deftly done. All the principal actors made me forget who they were, save Knightley, because a period costume and facial hair doesn’t make her disappear into her character like the other two nor does her Russian accent. It may be an authentic reproduction, but it sounds put on in my opinion. It was yet another fine adaptation of a book by playwright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton known for some other great adaptations like Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement, and The Quiet American among many others. The film made several of last year's best film lists and I feel deservedly so.