Lost In Translation

A Woman Under The Influence

The next film in the John Cassavetes box set was the 1974 A Woman Under The Influence with breakout performances by the two leads Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk. It's an unsettling film about a family that is dealing with several issues related to the raising of the family with a mother who has mental health issues and a rough working class father who is prone to his own particular flights of fancy. There's no definitive statement, but like most good films it ends on a note of hope without resolving much in the way of the conflicts that plague the married couple. The Criterion special features include: an interview with Cassavetes from a "Filmmakers Newsletter" from 1975, an essay "The War At Home" by critic Kent Jones from 2004, an audio commentary by sound recordist and composer Bo Harwood and camera operator Mike Ferris, conversations between actors Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk from 2004, an audio interview with Cassavetes from 1975, stills gallery, and trailer.

Mikio Naruse: "Not a Monumental Cinema: Wartime Venacular, 1938-1945"

Catherine Russell in her book, The Cinema of Mikio Naruse: Modernity and Women (2008), looks at the thirteen films Naruse made between 1938 and 1945 at the height of the China and Pacific wars in which the government held strict control of all film production in Chapter Three, "Not a Monumental Cinema: Wartime Venacular, 1938-1945." Thus there was an agreement within the film industry to "elevate" Japanese film culture above decadent foreign tendencies imported from foreign films. Of the thirteen, eleven are extant. The two missing films are Shanghai Moon (1941) and Until Victory Day (1945) sound like the most overt examples of kokusaku eiga (national policy films). In the last two years when he produced two films, the total national output was only 26. There were period films such as Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro (1938), The Song Lantern (1943), The Way of Drama (1944), and A Tale of Archers at the Sanjusangendo (1945) as well as contemporary films like The Whole Family Works (1939), Sincerity (1939), Traveling Actors (1940), A Face From the Past (1941), This Happy Life (1941), Hideko the Bus Conductor (1941), and Mother Never Dies (1942). Of these eleven I was able to find and watch seven of them.

Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro (1938) was adapted from a novel that was based on a 1934 Paramount film called Bolero starring George Raft and Carole Lombard. This story is about a couple (Isuzu Yamada and Kazuo Hasegawa) who perform ballads in variety show formats. They can't get along and complications arise and ends with the woman being left out of the performing life. The Whole Family Works (1939) (available with English subtitles on You Tube) is a story about a father of nine children cannot find a job. Despite their aspirations, the children are encouraged by both parents to hold down menial jobs and contribute to the family expenses. Eventually one rebels, with the support and sympathy of the other children. This film focuses on the importance of familial piety despite the individualistic impulses of the rebelling son. Traveling Actors (1940) is a kind of parody or the geido films (available with English subtitles on You Tube)and despite Naruse's claims of it being heavily edited by censors-one of his favorite films. it is the story of two actors who play a horse who are replaced by an actual horse. It has lots of scenes dedicated to the politics of these traveling troupes as well as several comedic gags throughout. Except for a single reference to a passing soldier, the setting is outside of time. A Face From The Past (1941) is a short film (available on You Tube with English subtitles) that deals directly with the culture of the war. It is set in in a village outside of Kameoka near Kyoto where the missing son/husband has been seen on the newsreel and the family goes to see it and deals with feelings of pride and loss when they see it. Hideko The Bus Conductor (1941) is another short film (under an hour-available with English subtitles on You Tube) that serves as Hideko Takamine's adult coming out film. It reminds one of Hirsohi Shimizu's Mr. Thankyou in the scenery of the rural parts of Japan seen from the bus. The two employees Takamine and the driver triumph over the corrupt boss to save the bus company with the help of a vacationing Tokyo writer. The Song Lantern (1943) (available on You Tube without English subtitles) stars Shotaro Hanayagi, who had recently starred in Mizoguchi's poignant Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939). It is based on a novel by Kyoka Izumi and involves the confluence of three dramatic forms: noh, shinpa, and film. It shows how "the back to Japan" helped directors like Naruse think through formal and aesthetic issues involved in adapting traditional arts for the screen. A Tale Of Archery At The Sanjusangendo (1945) is another period film, set in the Tokugawa era, about a competition between two archers who compete in kydo. This is just one of two samurai films Naruse would make in his career. Daichiro (Sensho Ichikawa) is teh son of a former champion who wants ot avenge his father's loss to the honorable Hoshino (Kazuo Hasegawa), whoi has sought out the young champion to teach him the true meaning of game: "not to compete with the number of arrows, but to dedicate one's life and to show what oen can do." As Russell points out: Kyudo is about discipline and dedication, principals familiar to the geido films, bushido, and kokutai policy. The film was shot on location in Kyoto, and used the Sanjusangendo temple well throughout. Kinuyo Tanaka (known for her work with Mizoguchi) plays the guardian, Okinu, of Daichiro.

They Call It Myanmar

They Call It Myanamar (2012) is a documentary from Robert H. Lieberman that focuses on hermit kingdom of Southeast Asia. To be honest I didn't find much revealing about the country that I visited in 2006 and that I have read some about. Much of the footage looks amateurish to me as well. It might be a good introduction to someone who knows little about the country, but it added little to my understanding of the country.

Tonki

I have heard good things about Tonki, a tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet) restaurant in Meguro. I guess I thought I had seen it all living near another legendary tonkatsu shop, Maisen, when I lived in Harajuku. But I decided to check it out since it is at the next station over from Ebisu, Meguro, and it was sublime. They only do two types of tonkatsu: rōsu (fatty pork) or hire (lean).

I went with the hire (lean) teishokua (dinner set with oshinko (pickles), miso soup, and rice. recommended.

The Cosmopolitans

Amazon has come up with an innovative TV format: three pilots have been filmed that viewers can watch and vote on to be made into full length TV series. One of them, The Cosmopolitans, is scripted and directed by one of my all-time favorite American film makers, White Stillman. it has many of the aspects of a Stillman film that I appreciate: witty and slightly absurd dialogue, specific character types (ingenue, rouge, playboy,worldly woman/man, etc..). an exotic locale (Paris), dancing, romance as the main topic and primary plot device. It seems to be another timeless comedic farce about yong adults trying to find their way in life via their romances. I could see how these things may not be so appealing to a non-Whit Stillman fan, but they constitute the reasons to watch this series if it si picked up. It seems to have some of the better elements from his best films: Metropolitan and Barcelona. Here's a quote form the review by Andrew O'Heir that I linked to that I completely agree with:

If I hope that Stillman gets to keep these characters and their stories going, it’s undoubtedly a hopeful construction, because I have always appreciated the guy’s worldview and his sparkling, semi-absurdist dialogue, and because making a TV show on the cheap in Europe seems like a highly realistic way to relaunch his stalled career. But the note Stillman strikes here also represents something that’s in short supply on TV...

The Trip

I am a big fan of the eclectic films of English director Michael Winterbottom and The Trip (2010), a comedy about two comedians traveling through the Lake District eating at fine dining stops seems unlikely even for him. These comedians, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have appeared in an earlier Winterbottm film, Tristram Shandy. And it is the interactions between theses two in which the success of the film is found-they both are adept at impersonations, and the bit about Michael Caine, in particular is pure comedy gold. There is some stunning scenery along the way and some bits about the fictional lives of the performers essentially playing themselves that may be stretched a bit thin since this project began as a TV series and was cobbled together for viewing outside Great Britain. i look forward to the next installment, The Trip Italy (2014).

Ways Of Forgetting, Ways Of Remembering

Historian John W. Dower has recently published a collection of fascinating essays related to modern Japanese history called, Ways Of Forgetting, Ways Of Remembering: Japan In The Modern World (2012). The first essay, "E. H. Norman, Japan, and the Uses of History," is an interesting look at an obscure Canadian historian and diplomat who died in 1957 by suicide from pressure coming from the U.S. because of early leftist views and associations. Dower discusses reservations about modernization by calling attention to the questions Norman raised in his work on modern Japan. The second essay in the collection, "Race, Language, and War in Two Cultures: World War II in Asia," has many of the same observations and concerns that he pursed in his book, War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War. The third chapter, "Japan's Beautiful War," was written to accompany a 2005 exhibition catalog at Bard College curated by Jacqueline Atkins that looked at the beautification of the war through the introduction of martial themes into textiles worn in the form of traditional garments. "'An Aptitude for Being Unloved': War And Memory In Japan," follows this chapter. It focuses on war memory and appeared in a 2002 book devoted to war crimes and denial in the twentieth century. Dower characterizes memory as following one of the five following forms: (1) denial (2) evocations of moral (or immoral) equivalence (3) victim consciousness (4) bi-national (U.S.-Japan) sanitizing of Japanese war crimes, and (5) popular discourses acknowledging guilt and responsibility. It is a fascinating discussion of national memory and historical perspectives. Chapter five, "The Bombed: Hiroshimas and Nagasakis In Japanese Memory," is spurred by Dower's idea that there is no monolithic way to of remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hence the title-it was published in a special anniversary issue on the bombs in a journal in 1995. This is followed by a memoir of the bombing at Hiroshima, chapter six, " A Doctor's Diary Of Hiroshima, Fifty Years Later." This engaging account of a survivor was published in English in 1955 by Michiko Hachiya. Hachiya covered the weeks between August 8th and the end of September-Dowers wrote this as an introduction to the reissue of the diary. Next up, chapter seven, "How A Genuine Democracy Should Celebrate Its Past," in which Dowers discusses the problems associated with the heroic narrative of dropping atomic bombs on Japan. Chapter eight is entitled, "Peace And Democracy In Two Systems: External Policy And Internal Conflict," in which Dowers tries to come to terms historically with two systems and the dialectical relationship between domestic and international structures, policies, and conflicts. ""Mocking Misery: Grassroots Satire In Defeated Japan," is a missing chapter from his influential and thorough book on the occupation, Embracing Defeat. "Lessons from Japan About War's Aftermath" is editorial that again focuses on the misuses of history in regard to the U.S. "war on terror" and invasion of Iraq following the events of 9-11. The last chapter, "The Other Japanese Occupation" draws a connection between America's invasion of Iraq with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. All in all, this collection has a number of thoroughly researched and interesting and provocative perspectives on Japan since the end of WWII. 

Silkroad Tarim

I had the chance to sample some Uygyhur food in Hatsudai at Silkroad Tarim. We started with flavorful lamb kebabs. I have previously eaten at a Uyghur restaurant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, but this is a first in Japan.

Gosh nan, filled with minced lamb.

Handmade leghmen noodles, long thick noodles topped with stir-fried meats and vegetables.

Lamb chops.

Home-made booze, much like shochu.

Deep fried dumplings.

More dumplings.

The Straits

I first heard about The Straits (2012) when talking to a friend about new TV series to watch for summer break. It sounded like an interesting concept: a crime series, think Sopranos, that takes place in the Gold Coast of Queensland and the Torres Straits that separates it from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The family smuggles and sells drugs and engages in various other illegal activities to support themselves. Of course there are various problems with the Australian biker gang the DC, flashes of Sons of Anarchy, and the Raskol Papua New Guinea gangs they deal with. The patriarch Harry Montabello is played by the biggest star in the series, Brian Cox. He has four adopted children, three boys and a girl of whom he wants to turn the day to day business of the family over to and he makes it an open competition. The series starts promising, especially with all the local details associated with the region, but it quickly falls into the melodramatic with fantastic storyline after storyline designed to create interest while detracting from the believability of the series.

Kyoto Summer 2014: Day Three

The final day was focused on the Higashiyama area of Kyoto. A huge torii gate for the approach to Heian shrine.

The Kyoto Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Unfortunately there was some construction taking place.

Outside Shorenin temple.

Next up Chioin temple, which unfortunately had some construction going on the main hall.

Yasaka shrine.

Maruyama park.

Shops along the approach to Kiyo mizudera temple.

The approach to Kodaiji temple, which despite construction was one of my favorite temples of the trip for the beauty and variety of the grounds.

Ryozen Kanno dedicated to the unknown war dead of WWII.

Supposedly if you rub the ox where you have an aliment, he will cure you of it.

Entokuin temple on the Higashiyama approach.

Yasaka pagoda.

Up the hill.

Main gate to Kiyomizudera temple.

Staute near Sanjo subway station.

Daishogu shrine, near the machiya I was staying.

Bungalow, Kyoto's priemium craft beer bar.

Yoshikawa Inn Tempura for dinner.