Lost In Translation

The Japanese Film: Art and Industry

I think I put off reading The Japanese Film: Art and Industry(Expanded Edition) (1982) by Joseph L. Anderson and Donald Richie since I had already read Richie’s excellent overview, A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: A Concise History. And while that is a great overview, it seems that Anderson and Richie delve more into the origins and trends in the art and industry of cinema in Japan. The book is divided into two parts: “Background” and “Foreground.”  The “Background” part has 12 chapters: 1. “Slow Fade-In” (1986-1917), 2. “Establishing Story” (1917-1923), 3. “Wipe” (1923-1927), 4. “Costume and Property” (1927-1931), 5. & 6. “The Talkies, Exterior / The Talkies, Interior” (1931-1939), 7. “Shooting Script” / 8. “Background projection,” 9. “New Sequence” (1945-1949), 10. “Adaptation and Atmosphere” (1949-1959), 11. “Soft Focus” /  12. “Long-Shot” (1954-1959).  The “Foreground” has six chapters: 13. “Content,” 14. “Technique,” 15. “Directors,” 16. “Actors,” 17. “Theaters and Audiences.” In addition there are several supplementary sections at the end of the book: “Appendix A, Second and Third Thoughts about the Japanese Film” by J.L. Anderson, “Appendix B, “Terminal Essay” by Donald Richie, “Selected Bibliography: Japanese Language,” “Selected Bibliography: Non-Japanese Language,” “Chart 1. Directors as Pupil and Teachers,” “Chart 2. Development of Major Companies,” and an Index. I found the Long-Shot” (1954-1959) section particularly interesting since there are several films and directors (that might be considered of secondary importance to the great masters)that are singled out for their vision and accomplishments such as: Sadao Yamanaka, Tadashi Imai, Kimisaburo Yoshimura, Heibosuke Gosho, Yasuki Chiba, and Shiro Toyoda for example. Chapter 15, “Directors” was also informative as the authors singles out nine directors for discussion and identified their best and most influential films: Kenji Mizoguchi, Heinosuke Gosho, Yasujiro Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Shiro Toyoda, Keisuke Kinoshita, Akira Kurosawa, Kimisaburo Yoshimura, and Tadashi Imai. In the “Actors” section there is a discussion of acting techniques and styles through the years as well as some descriptions of leading actors of the day, including some of my favorites like: Setsuko Hara, Sachiko Hidari, Kyoko Kagawa, Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Hideko Takamine, etc. There is a discussion of the film industry in the section on “Theaters and Audiences.” I was not so interested in Anderson’s essay “Second Thoughts About the Japanese Film” with praise for the benshi (film narrator). However, Richie’s essay, “Terminal Essay,” is an essential part of the book since he discussed how that only Imai of the nine directors discussed in the “The Directors” section of the book was still making films at the time of the writing: 1982. He also introduces directors and films that he feels are important at the time of the 1982 expansion: Kon Ichikawa, Masayuki Kobayashi, Yasuzo Masumura, Nagisa Oshima, Masahiro Shinoda, Yoshige Yoshida, Susumu Hani, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Kaneto Shindo, Kihachi Okamoto, Seijun Suzuki, Yoji Yamada, and Shohei Imamura among others. I was amused to see some editorial comments in the “Selected Bibliography: Non-Japanese Language” about Joan Mellen’s two contributions:  Voices from the Japanese Cinema (“When questions are germane to the filmmaker the results are valuable,; when germane mainly to the interviewer, they are not.”) and Waves at Genji’s Door (“An attempt to explain Japan’s social history through its film and vice versa. The results are readable, but simplistic.”). Obviously this is outdated, but it contains a lot of good information about the early era of cinema and some curated opinions on several directors and eras of film-so extremely useful in that regard.

Brazil In Flight Films

As usual I was able to catch up with a number of films while flying to Brazil. Her (2013) directed Spike Jonze was a film that did not appeal to me due to its premise. And I didn’t enjoy it. Joacquim Phoenix did a great job essentially talking to himself, but I didn’t find the characters sympathetic. It was essentially a romance and not even a romantic comedy. I had to admire the ways in which Jonze made it interesting to watch despite the fact that it was essentially a talking head film.

Captain Phillips (2013) was another Oscar nominated film that I was hesitant to see because it stars Tom Hanks, who always plays himself-this film is not an exception (he and Katherine Keener have the worst southern accents I’ve ever heard in a major film). That being, said it is a thrilling concept: based on a real story, modern day pirates off the coast of Somalia capture a ship and its captain. The Somali pirates were the best thing about the film, which was not whitewashed in its violent ending.

I had heard many good things about Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Like Father, Like Son (2014). It is a powerful family drama that raises some interesting questions about what family is in a country where it is strictly regulated by blood ties and legal register. There was some suggestion that one of the fathers had a stepmother (possibly through divorce-which is never confirmed). I think it would have been more realistic and interesting if he had brought up the idea of severing ties with one parent through the draconian single custody laws. The idea of mixing children at birth at this day and age is somewhat ridiculous, but the reason in the film is the malicious act of an angst ridden nurse make sit seem somewhat more likely. That being said it does not detract from the film’s effectiveness as a drama. There are great performances form the parents and children throughout.

Seeing Shield of Straw (2014) by Takashi Miike confirmed the beating it took from critics. The concept of a hated child killer being transported across Japan overland with a large bounty protected by a crack team of detectives was preposterous. Several other fanciful plot contrivances muck up the story. And its mediocrity is rounded out by the amateurish TV style overacting.

The romantic comedy is one of my least favorite genres of film, but it can be charming if done correctly as it was done in Stanley Doren’s 1963 classic Charade. In this film we have the witty repartee between Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in a sort of cold war thriller about retrieving stolen gold from WWII with a all-star cast of villains and supporting actors led by the likes of James Colburn, Walter Matthew, and George Kennedy.

I have to say I enjoyed the camp aspects of Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows (2012). And this was almost entirely due to Johny Depp’s commanding performance, but there was great work from Michele Pfeiffer, Helen Bonham Carter, and Eva Green among others.

I had never heard of the documentary, Good Ol’ Freda (2013), about The Beatles Fan Club secretary Freda Kelly. It must have been a blast to have come of age in the swinging 60s as rock-n-roll established itself as the definitive youth movement of the day.

I had heard good things about The Lego Movie (2014) and agreed with all those things. It was a great satire with great effects and clever adult jokes throughout the film that seems to owe something to Terry Gillian’s classic film Brazil.

BFI: L'Avventura

I first became interested in Michelangelo Antonioni when I read that Wong Kar-wai was influenced by him and one of my favorite musicians, Dean Wareham named an album after his influential film, L'Avventura. After that I felt compelled ot see his subsequent classic films: La Notte, L'Eclisse, and Red Desert. Geoffrey Nowell-Smith takes a comprehensive look at BFI: L'Avventura (2008), the classic revolutionary film by Antonioni. After the introduction the book is divided into six chapters: 1. The Scandal of 'L'Avventura' 2. The Director 3. The Adventure 4. A viewing 5. The World of 'L'Avventura' 6. Fortunes. There is an Appendix with the text of a speech by Roland Barthes for an honor bestowed on Antonioni by the city of Bologna. This is another well-researched analysis of a classic film that has been the hallmark of the BFI Classics series. Smith talks about the production, the film, and its reception in context of Antonioni's career as well as in the world of cinema.  

A Story of Chikamatsu

The Story Of Chikamatsu (1954) was one of three films Kenji Mizoguchi made in 1954 and is over shadowed by the success of Sansho The Baliff, also made in 1954, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival that year. Japanese film critic Tadao Sato suggested that it is as good as any of his other films including other award winners such as Ugetsu and Life Of Oharu. This coupled with critic Donald Richie's praise of the film inspired me to search it out and evaluate it in relation to those three excellent films. In The Japanese Film: Art and Industry, the authors discuss Chikamatsu thus:

Chikamatsu's lovers always face a problem surmountable by death. They are always tormented by inescapable pressures of society, which drive them to destruction. Many of the pressures in Chikamatsu resolve around money, the recognition of the development of a capitalist society from a feudal society. By merely showing the death of hero and heroine, there is protest in his work though it never comes near the surface.

This vision differs from Mizoguchi's usual story patterns where women are constantly suffering from their sacrifices. I like the fact that, in this story, the heroine refuses to give into societal and family pressures for the sake of others and chooses her own free will even though it will lead to death. Kazuo Haegawa (star of Ichikaswa's An Actor's Revenge) stars as Mohei the devoted servant who gets caught up in legal trouble when he tries to forge his boss', Ishun's, (Eitaro Shindo) approval for a loan for the mistress of the household, Osan (Kyoko Kagawa). I found the visual presentation of the crucified lovers at the beginning of the film somewhat shocking for the time period. It is a powerful film, and it is among Mizoguchi's greatest films.

Sao Paulo Redux

The Luz train station.

Luz park.

Jackfruit tree.

Pinacoteca modern art museum in Luz Park,

There was an exhibition on the Olympics in Torino in 1911. I just visited Turin for the first time in March, there are some great posters and art.

This image will resurface.

Centro Cultural Banco do Basil, now a cultural space .

The foyer inside.

Teatro Municipal.

Seen earlier inthe Pinacoteca.

Republica.

Copa apartnment building by Oscar Niemeyer.

MASP, Museum of Art Sao Pualo.

Sake Caipiriniha.

Gourmet burgers have arrived in Sao Paulo.

Surprised to see this Japanese beef bowl chain store in Sao Paulo.

 

Stumbled across this cool cocktail bar, Bar Z, on Saturday night.

On Sunday I visited Liberdade, the Japan town In Sao Paulo. It has the largest population of Japanese outisde of Japan.

There was a street fair going on this Sunday.

Mango juice and a ground beef pastel.

Joao Pessoa

The beach front outside my hotel. It runs several miles in either direction, and as a result is much more spread out than Mar del Plata, Argentina (the location of last year's international conference I attended). There were many people walking, jogging, hanging out on the beach, eating at cafes and restaurants along this road. It is about 20-25 minutes from the city center, so a car would be nice in this town. However, I will stick with cabs since almost one full day will be spent at the conference.

The weather is supposed to be in the 90s everyday with 80% humidity and intermittent squalls everyday. It must be great in the summer without the squalls.

Lush vegetation nearby.

Acai smoothie, becoming a favorite.

Inside the buffet restaurant Mangai, which has lot sof local specialities that you pay for by the kilo. I thought would be a good place to eat solo, but he quanity over quality should have been a warning. I'll eat seafood somewhere local next time.

I sampled several meat and potato dishes as well as some prawns.

Outside Mangai.

Streetside beer with a large beer coozy for a big bottle.

At the BRAZ-TESOL at Cidade Viva.

The beach at Branco.

Lunch at the highly rated seafood raestaurant Maritimos.

Camaro scolari, deep fried shrimp with mango rice and tomatoes.

Basilica NS das Neves.

Praca Sao Francisco.

Emporio Cafe in Tambau is one of the best places I've eaten at so far. It's got a balcony overloking the boardwalk.

This caipirinha is made from pineapple and ginger-that hint of spice was nice.

A three pork sandwich with roasted onions and red peppers also hit the spot.

Old style transport.

There are some beautiful houses along the coast.

Apparently not as unusual as I thought.

The beach at Tambau.

There is some exotic landscaping going on here.

At Churrasquinho do Gaucho, Frango with bacon and Linguica mista and a caipririhina.

Picabha, beef rump and beer.

Granta 121: Best of Young Brazilian Novelists

Granta 121: The Best Of Young Brazilian Novelists edited by John Freeman was first published in autumn of 2012 and I thought it might offer a nice introduction to modern Brazilian society. That is if that is at all possible, since it is, as Jorge Amado said “not a country, but a continent,” huge, diverse in race and social standing. Like all collections there will be hits and misses for me as a reader, but there were quite a few stories that made the grade in my opinion. The book is organized by age, so the eldest writers come first, but I have to say that my favorite story in the whole collection was the last story, “Apnoea,” by 35 year old Daniel Galera. It was a story about fathers and sons and living and dying. There were several references to Jorge Luis Borges classic short story “The South,” which prompted me to find it and read it on the internet, all in all a powerful and engaging story. For example, there’s Ricardo Lisias’ compelling story of a Brazilian chess champion’s crack up involving his suspect friendship with a Bolivian President. In “Animals” by Michael Lamb, he remembers his father and growing up with his father’s wisdom and pet dog. “Lettuce Nights” by Vanessa Barbara is story about a man trying to get on in life after the death of his long-time wife. There were several coming of age stories that I felt were heartfelt and resonated well, one of them was “A Temporary Stay” by Emilio Frian about a Brazilian tennis player unsure about his future in London. Another was, “Valdir Peres, Juanito and Polseki” about a status war among 10 year olds and their toys and possessions. “”Tomorrow, Upon Awakening” by Antonio Xexenesky was also a coming of age story about a teenage boy getting away with his younger girlfriend as he is trying to find himself and what it all means. “Rat Fever” by Javier Arancibia is an unusual story about an injured translator’s conflict with a giant coke-sniffing rat in his country house. “Sparks” written by 32 year old Carol Benismon was entertaining and was contemporary in away that was startling for some reason with references to Doc Martens, iPods, and indie music. Overall, I felt the collection was pretty solid, there were few stories that failed to interest me at all. I look forward to reading more of some of these authors in English in the future.

House of Sand

The House of Sand (2005) by Brazilian director Andrucha Waddington joins the ranks of evocative films that use sand as a character as much as a location (see Teshigahara's Woman in the Dunes and Bertolucci's The Sheltering Sky). This films is about mothers and daughters, survival, the passage of time, and has two very powerful performances from the female leads who play multiple generational roles in the film: Fernanda Montenagro and Fernanda Torres. It is a visually and emotionally powerful film.