Lost In Translation

A Hologram For A King (Film)

I enjoyed reading David Egger's novel, A Hologram For A King, and when presented with few appealing alternatives on a recent flight I decided to watch writer-director Tom Tykwer's adaptation of the novel, A Hologram For A King (2016), in spite of Tom Hanks being cast in the lead (not a fan). I have to admit I enjoyed it and was not too put off by Hanks' performance which sometimes can ruin a movie for me. In addition, as far I can remember it was fairly faithful to the novel-save the opening sequences which sort of didn't mesh with the rest of the film and the ending. Tykwer is somewhat known for his innovative approaches to film (Run Lola Run, Perfume, etc.) and does have flourishes in the film that are effective, and filming in the desert is always a dramatic visual feast.

UC Davis

I arrived in Davis after a delayed flight and several hours waiting for the students that I accompanied from TWCU to make their way through customs. The UC Davis campus is expansive and has well-maintained grounds.

There's a progressive vibe on campus related to not only the environment, but also to health. So it was interesting to see the award winning dinning facility after hearing Malcolm Gladwell's podcast on how universities spend money-the UC system ranked highest in the number of poor students that attended the university-they'd rather spend money on scholarships than impressive menus for student meals. In general I find it interesting to get a look at what the millennials are up to.

Not so impressed with university housing-few outlets, no refrigerator, houses three, shared bathrooms, no kitchen, etc... I guess it will encourage me to spend more time outside the room and I do have access to the gym and dining facilities. I had a walk around downtown Davis later in the evening and there are several great places to hang out, which I will be visiting throughout the week I am here.

Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open

Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open (2101) directed by Daniel Young is the third documentary on the great American writer and composer. This may be the best all-around documentary as well. It contains some of the last interviews Bowles gave and has slicker production values than the earlier two documentaries and features snippets of music that was composed by Bowles. I spent some time on line trying to find recordings to get a sense of what his music was like. In addition, Young interviews several celebrities-Gore Vidal, John Waters, and Bernardo Bertolucci among others. Another comprehensive look at one of my favorite writers of the 20th century.

The Player Redux

Robert Altman's The Player (1992) is a modern classic and recently got the Criterion Blu-ray treatment. A Hollywood producer playe dby Tim Robbins gets away with murder as Altman does a send up of contemporary Hollywood-full of cameos by the stars of the day. The Hollywood thriller was one of the best films of the 90s and this edition includes audio commentary from director Altman, writer Michael Tolkin, and cinematographer Jean Lepine, an interview with Altman from 1992, new interviews with Tolkin actor Tim Robbins, associate producer David Levy, and production designer Stephen Altman, Cannes Film Festival press conference from 1992 with cast and crew, Robert Altman's Players a short documentary about the shooting of the films's fund-raiser scene, Map to the Stars a gallery dedicated to the cameo appearances in the film, deleted scenes and out takes, the film's opening shot with alternate commentaries by Atlman, Lepine, and Tolkin, as well as an essay by Sam Wasson.

ZenVita: Kyu Asakura House

My second article for the ZenVita blog on Kyu Asakura House.

The Lobster

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos' latest film The Lobster (2015) won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and has been gathering much critical praise. Due to these factors I sought it out for viewing. I have never seen a Lanthimos film before, but from what I read, it seems he is a bit of a one-trick-pony giving similar treatments to the family and death in previous films as he does with relationships in this film. If this is true i see no need to go back and watch those other films. There are several top notch performers in the film like Colin Farrell, Rachel Wiez, and John C. Reilly, but I found most of the performances affected and unrealistic and ultimately unrelateable. I realize that this is supposed to be a kind of black comedy but I never laughed and had difficulty finding humor in it. Lanthimos was trying to make some statement about relationships and being alone in society without a partner. What exactly he was saying about this was unclear to me. Ultimately it was an "Emperor's New Clothes" experience for me. I don't see what all the fuss was about.

The Apollo

I've been meaning to check out the new Australian Greek restaurant import, The Apollo in Ginza. There is a dearth of Greek restaurants in Tokyo these days. I started off with a Greek martini.

Followed by deep fried shrimp. The Greek salad was not photographed (after all it's only cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives, but still was ¥1700).

This lamb shoulder with a yougurt sauce was quite tasty, but not such a value at ¥3400.

With Greek doughnuts for dessert. All in all, I was disappointed-I was hoping for a simpler, family style Greek restaurant that was more traditional. I'll try to get some family style Greek food while back in the states next week. I don't think this restaurant performed well in the cost-value index either. I won't be back soon.

Don't Think I've Forgotten

Several years ago when I first heard about Don't Think I've Forgotten (2014), a film about how the thriving Cambodian music scene of the 60s and 70s that was devastated by the rise to power of the Khmer Rouge, I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign for the film. It seemed like a fascinating subject. There have been several moving books and documentaries made about that harrowing time, but this one focuses on something that was an everyday joy in the lives of millions of Khmers and was first utilized by the ruling faction then completely obliterated. Some of the musicians managed to survive but many perished with other intellectuals and professionals. It was fascinating to see surf rock guitar bands, crooners, girl groups, and others take American music and shape it into Khmer music by filtering the music through their language and create individual interpretations of the songs. Even then then the world was global and if records could be exported then the music could be incorporated into the local culture. I really enjoyed this documentary and felt it was artistically produced and edited to highlight the strengths of the story and give context as to why things happened the way they did. All the archival film footage and music is certainly impressive-I'm very surprised that as much as was shown in the filmed survived the Khmer Rouge years of control.

2016 Asagaya Tanabata Festival

This weekend is the annual Asagaya Tanabata Festival.

Mishima's Sword

I have to admit I am a fan of those non-fiction memoir/unclassifiliable books that must be hard to market. Christopher Ross' Mishima's Sword (2006) is exactly one of those kinds of books. Ross decides to track down the sword celebrated writer Yukio Mishima used to commit seppuku in 1970. But to say that is what the book is about is too reductive. It is a sort of memoir, Ross explains his attraction long time interest in martial arts as well as provides a sort of contemporary travelogue of mid 2000 Japan as well as some lesson in the history of Japan, martial arts, sword making, philosophy, and the life of Mishima. I was first attracted to this book because I had seen Paul Schrader's fascinating biographical film on Mishima, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters as well as have read Henry Scott Stokes' and John Nathan's biographies of Mishima. Additionally, I have read several of his major works-he remains an enigma to me and modern Japan. Furthermore, it seems that he belonged to the dojo that also produced another writer in Japan, Robert Twigger whose Angry White Pajamas in another unclassifiable memoir book on Japan and the martial arts. The book is divided into three sections, "Death in Tokyo," "Primary: WORD(S)," and "Secondary: (S)WORD." In the first section he explains Mishima's suicide attempt, and in the subsequent sections he tries to track down people close to Mishima and the sword that he used all of which is extremely elusive, but along the way he explains his history and attraction to martial arts and iaido (the Japanese art of drawing a sword quickly), the elusive nature of Mishima, aspects of his writing, Japanese history, sword making, and interspersed are apt quotes from Mishima and other various authors and philosophers. Ross opens the book with a particularly fitting quote, Oscar Wilde's famous quip: "In fact the whole of Japan is pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people." It might be appropriate to say that this book is probably only for those with an interest in Mishima or martial arts, which is a shame, because I think Ross has a lot more to offer the general reader.