Lost In Translation

Onibaba

Kaneto Shindo's 1964 film Onibaba is an appropriate selection for viewing at this time of year, so close to Halloween. It is a kind of horror film on one level, but also a mediation on man's ability to survive and profligate in times of war. It is reminiscent of Hiroshi Teshigahara's film Woman In The Dunes (which was also released in 1964) in several ways: the sand is a character in the later as is the "susuki" (grass) field in the former, both films have a great avant garde soundtrack that adds to the sense of dislocation, and both are erotically charged in that the sexual element to survive is in the forefront.  Actually, both films also have small casts that are dependent on strong performances as well. In Onibaba the drama is derived from three characters. The film introduces two women, Nobuko Otowa is the older woman (mother-in-law) and Jiastuko Yoshimura plays the younger woman (daughter-in-law) who are surviving in wartime by murdering lost samurai and trading their swords and armor for millet. A neighbor who was forced to go to war with the old woman's son, Hachi (Kei Sato), returns from war without the woman's son, who he says was killed. Sexual tension builds at the consternation of the older woman who tries to scare off the younger woman from her nightly visits to Hachi buy wearing a demon mask that she got from a samurai she has killed. The mask sticks to her face and the younger woman must helps her remove it and it takes off the flesh when it is removed. This story is based on a Buddhist parable to encourage women's attendance at religious ceremonies, but here it becomes a cautionary tale of sexual jealousy and unrequited passion. Some of the features on the Criterion edition includes: a video interview with writer/director Kaneto Shindo,  rare black and white footage provided by actor Kei Sato, shot on location during the filming, an essay by Asian cinema critic Chuck Stephens, film maker's statement by Shindo, and English translation of the original Buddhist fable that inspired the film.

New Hope For The Dead

The second book in Charles Willeford's series featuring divorced, middle aged Detective Hoke Moseley is the entertaining New Hope For The Dead. The new hope is born from a special assignment designed to solve cold cases to make the homicide department look better on percentages of solved murders that would lead to a number of promotions. Willeford writes very well when showing the mind numbing detail checking that leads to the solving of crimes. But what I love about his writing is what the reader learns about the Miami area, the intricacies of a police department-politics (it reminds me of David Simon's Homicide with Baltimore and homicide department inside scoop) ,  as well as the hum drum details of the everyday lives of his characters. This novel is as much about the sudden arrival of two daughters he barely knows, his housing and money problems. We also get to know his Cuban partner who is knocked up and kicked out of her house by over domineering father. He peppers his very readable prose with some interesting worlds-I found my self looking up words on a half dozen occasions, which isn't usual when reading crime/mystery novels. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the life of the down to earth Hoke Moseley.

Eclipse Sereis 17: Nikkatsu Noir

Criterion released a new collection of action films in 2009 produced by the Nikkatsu film studio in the 50s and 60s, Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir. The set includes the following films: I Am Waiting (1957) directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara, Rusty Knife  (1958) directed by Toshio Masuda, Take Aim At The Police Van (1960) directed by Seijun Suzuki, Cruel Gun Story (1964) directed by Takuma Furakawa, and A Colt Is My Passport (1967). Each film has some comments by noted Asian film critic Chuck Stephens. These films were considered to be "Borderless" action films (mukokuseki). One aspect of the films I like is that they show what Japan looked like in the 50s and 60s with all the location shots. The series gets progressively better from the first film to the last film.

I Am Waiting is the debut of director Kurahara and stars Yujiro Ishihara as a restaurant manager and former boxer who helps club hostess (Mie Kitahara another familiar face in mukokuseki films) try to escape the clutches of her gangster employer. Yokohoma is the noir stand in for NY in this film that presents a darker brooding Ishihara, who was a film superstar at this point. The protagonist is waiting for his brother to send for him after buying a farm in Brazil, perhaps a stand in for Mexico as the place of escape for Japanese noir.

Rusty Knife directed by Masuda also stars Yujiro Ishihara and fellow top Nikkatsu star Akira Kobayashi, and they play former hoodlums trying to leave behind a life of crime working at a bar. However, they are sought out as witness to a murder and are drawn back into the world of crime. Joe Shishido has a small role as a blackmailer and will become a star under Suzuki.

 Take Aim At The Police Van is a film by the most well-known mukokuseki director Seijun Suzuki. This film is more of a detective mystery when a prison truck is attacked and convict murdered. The penitentiary guard on duty (the middle aged Michitaro Mizushima) is accused of negligence and suspended which allows him to get to the bottom of the crime. Stephens point out some of the outre visual shenanigans by Suzuki: the gunman who strokes the  rifle's stock lovingly before putting his gum on the scope for safekeeping and the onsen hooker who lurches out of the private show lie St. Sebastian with an arrow stuck in her chest.

Cruel Gun Story by Furukawa stars Shishido as a freshly released ex-con sprung to do a job for a mob boss. So this is essentially a heist story about robbing a an armoreed car carrying racetrack receipts.It seems to owe something to Kubrick's The Killing with its meticulously planned heist. It takes place in the abandoned US Army party town Yamato (my old friend Arie's former place of residence). The double and triple crosses also bring to mind The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre.

The best film in the series is Nomura's A Colt Is My Passport also starring Joe Shishio. It is the story of a hardboiled hitman caught between two warring yakuza families. It has  great spaghetti western tinged soundtrack and takes place on the seaside near Yokohoma as the hitman and his protege try to escape Japan by boat. It finishes with a great and inventive climax.

Inferno: The World At War, 1939-1945

I have been meaning to read a single overview of WWII and when I saw that Max Hastings had published a single volume, Inferno: The World At War, 1939-1945, I figured that this was the one for me since i had so thoroughly enjoyed his previous book on the Pacific War in 1944-45, Nemesis. And it did not disappoint. In the introduction Hastings explicitly states that he was trying to show the large scale of human misery brought on by WWII and does this admirably by giving the readers glimpses of the misery suffered by the combatants and the civilians through liberal use of primary sources like diaries, and letters. The final chapter also does an excellent job of summing up the war and the misery it wrought. He tallies the number of civilian and military deaths. Of course Russia and China lead the way, but in terms of percentages of deaths there were significant losses to smaller populations like the Finns, Yugoslavians, Polish, and New Zealanders.

I was able to fill in some gaps about Nazi aggression and appeasement early in the war in France and Poland, as well as the campaigns that I was not well-informed about: Africa, Italy, Greece, the battles at sea to stop commerce in the Atlantic and Pacific, and the Eastern front in particular. It seems that it was really a war between Russia and Germany as they had the most causalities and decided the balance in Europe and there fore encountered the most misery. Hastings also identifies some of the deciding factors in the war, for example, the fact that the Axis overlooked or misjudged the capabilities of the Allies and the superb air support of the Allies among these. I also found his reports about incompetent officers, poor military decisions, mass desertions, rapes and other atrocities among all forces-allies included eye opening. He also identifies who he thought were the top commanders, people like Lucian Truscott of the 5th Army in Italy and Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz among others. Hasting doesn't spare his opinions on which campaigns were inconsequential in retrospect--in particular calling out MacArthur in the Philippines and admitting British Bill Slim's victories in Burma and Malay were more morale inducing than decisive. I also like how he addresses the critics of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan by showing how unwilling they were (like the Nazis) to surrender once it was assured that there could be no victory, their willingness to fight on for months if not years, and the thousands of civilians under their rule that died daily without mentioning the misery of the POWs in their care. All in all, another great historical narrative with great use of primary and secondary sources.

La Casita

La Casita in Daikanyama has some decent Mexican food, but isn't particularly authentic. These Rojas enchiladas did have a bit of heat, but no beans, rice, or chips for ¥990 on the lunch menu.

The Face Of Another

The Face Of Another (1966) is the third film collaboration between director Hiroshi Teshigahara, screen play writer Kobo Abe, and composer Toru Takemitsu. Several of the themes that were first introduced in Pitfall and elaborated upon in The Woman In The Dunes. In particular is the obsession with identity that is the main theme in The Face Of Another. It seems this film was considered a critical failure after his sublime The Woman In The Dunes. Critic James Quant, who has video essay supplements for all three films in the Criterion series, is trying to champion and restore the reputation of Pitfall and The Face Of Another.  There are some great surrealistic effects and art direction in the film, as well as interestingly framed shots from Teshigahara.

One final note on the extras in this series besides the excellent Quant video essays: a new documentary about the working relationship between Teshigahara and Abe, including interviews with Japanese film scholars Donald Richie and Tadao Sato, four short films by Teshigahara: Hokusai (1953), Ikebana (1956), Tokyo 1958 (1958), and Ako (1965), a booklet featuring an essay by Peter Grilli, Howard Hampton, Audie Bock, and James Quandt, as well as a Max Tessier interview with Teshigahara, and theatrical trailers.

San Francisco Peak

I stumbled across San Francisco Peak, a restaurant/fashion store in Harajuku specializing in gourmet hot dogs and craft beer and knew I had to make a visit. I was surprised to find that it was located very close to where I used to live in Harajuku. It has a stylish interior and a small balcony overlooking the street. It is connected to Hokohum Cafe, which does great gourmet burgers-so I knew it should be good.  The hot dogs are made from pork, beef, chicken, lamb and venison, and livened up with flavorings like Wild Rosemary and Garlic or Chipotle with Smoked Cheese - more than ten varieties in all. There's also a choice of toppings (grilled onions, sauerkraut, jalapenos) and potatoes (chips, fries or hash-brown) on the side. As you can see I got a jalapeno and Santa Fe Monterey Jack Cheese sausage, topped with jalapenos and grilled onions with fries. It was good, but I was expecting more fire, perhaps next time I'll go with the red hot chili pepper sausage. I paired it with a Baird Brewery Suguru Bay IPA. There were 10 local and import beers on tap. There are also several other offerings from buffalo wings and clam chowder to omelets  So I need to come back to try some other dishes and sausages.

Kenji Mizoguchi And The Art Of Japanese Cinema

Japanese art critic Tadao Sato's study of Kenji Mizoguci, Kenji Mizoguchi And The Art Of Japanese Cinema (1982), was my next foray into understanding the films and legacy of Mizoguchi after reading Mark Le Fanu's study, Mizoguchi And Japan. Sato's book is a good companion, because he brings an understanding of traditional Japanese culture  (i.e. Noh, shimpa dramas, bunraku puppet shows,etc.) and values that inform much of Mizoguchi's work. Furthermore, since he is working in his own native tongue he is able to draw from a variety of primary sources to give insights about Mizoguchi and his film making techniques. There was an interesting revelation he made in the chapter entitled "Encountering the New School of Theater," in which he discusses how in the past crimes against women (rape, incest, etc.) were heard in court the judgements were quite severe and the victims were also punished for bringing the men to trial. Sato also makes clear his judgements about Mizoguchi's works; identifying those that he feels are classics (he adds A Story From Chikamatsu (1954) as one his best films along with those that are universally praised-The Life Of Ohara, Ugetsu, and Sansho The Baliff) and those that he feels are flawed or minor works in Mizoguchi's oeuvre. His chapters that analyze the camera techniques used by Mizoguchi are also illuminating: ("The Dialectic of Camera and Performance" and  "Looking Up, Looking Down"). This is a useful and informative book for anyone interested in Mizoguchi or Japanese cinema. I was somewhat apprehensive about the English translation that was completed in India before reading it, but had no qualms about it while reading, however, two stills were mislabeled, however I encountered few other errors.

Citizen Kane

I recently re-watched Orson Welles' celebrated first film Citizen Kane (1941). It has often been called the greatest film of all time, but lost out to Hitchcock's Vertigo this year in Sight & Sounds critic's poll. For the record, I prefer it to Vertigo. I am planning on showing it to my Literature Reading class in order to compare it to F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Welles does some really groundbreaking things with the story structure as well as employing some astounding effects and deep focus camera shots along with a classic opening sequence. There's so much going on in the film that is ground breaking. This 70th anniversary edition has lots of great extras including commentaries form Peter Bogdonavich and Roger Ebert, a TV program called The Battle Over Citizen Kane, and a film about the making of the film by HBO starring Leiv Schreiber as Orson Welles called RKO 281.

Blue Papaya

My quest for the default Thai restaurant in Ebisu brought me to Blue Papaya. Not spicy enough for me and not a native Thai to be seen, but there's a mini buffet on weekends with salad, soup, drinks and dessert that's not bad. The search is still on.