Lost In Translation

Poem

Akio Jissosoji's third installment in the Buddhist Trilogy, Poem (1972), continues with some of the themes from the previous films while introducing some new ones. There's plenty of nudity, sex, but also close ups of everyday living such as eating, drinking, and cleaning of an old Japanese style house. The film is about a houseboy, Jun (Saboro Shinoda) with a passion for calligraphy who is entangled into the schemes of two brothers. It has much of the same production crew as the two previous films: the screen play by Toshiro Ishido, music from Toru Fuyuki and the excellent cinematography was from Masao Nakabori who was part of the team that filmed This Transient Life. he Arrow extras include: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of This Transient Life, Mandara and Poem, Original uncompressed LPCM mono 1.0 audio on all three films, newly translated optional English subtitles, introductions to all three films by David Desser, author of Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave, Scene-select commentaries on all three films by Desser, Theatrical trailer for Mandara, Theatrical trailer for Poem, limited edition packaging, fully illustrated by maarko phntm and an illustrated 80-page perfect-bound collector s book featuring new writings on the film by Anton Bitel and Tom Mes.

American Factory

American Factory (2019) is a new Netflix documentary that looks at a factory in Dayton, Ohio that was bought by a Chinese glass manufacturer Fuyao. It's a concept that was first investigated by Gary Shytngart in his high-concept futuristic novel Super Sad True Love Story, an alternative reality where America is at war and the dollar is pegged to the yuan. It is a fascinating story that is in reversal from how things are done usually in the world. Americans are seen as unskilled and poor workers by their Chinese colleagues and co-workers. I'm not sure what conclusions to take away from the film, but it does provoke some thought about the global economy.

Riff-Raff

Riff-Raff (1991) is an early Ken Loach film about the working class in London. In this film we see a young Robert Carlyle playing Stevie, a construction worker living in a squat with his junkie singer girlfriend, Susan (Emer Court). Most of the film is about Stevie's precarious life at work. But it's not all poverty porn and has many comedic scenes mixed in with some serious dramatic ones as well. I have to admit I didn't catch all the dialogue as most of the performers had strong accents. I'm a fan of Loach's work overall and was surprised I hadn't seen this one since I'm a pretty big Carlyle fan.

Tora-san Goes North (38)

Yoji Yamada's 38th entry in the Tora-san series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi, Tora-San Goes North (1987) features legendary guest star Toshiro Mifune (Akira Kurosawa's favorite leading man) and is one of the best episodes in the series. I noticed that this film did not have the usual pre-credits dream sequence but an ode to cherry blossom season in Shibamata by Tora. After the usual family fight Tora heads off to Shiretoko, a beautiful rural region in the northern most island. Yamada uses many stunning scenic shots to the bring the region into the film with a message of taking care of nature and preserving them for the future. There he befriends a gruff vet Uneo (played by Mifune) whose absent daughter, Rinko (Keiko Takeshita), turns up recently divorced from a man her father didn't approve of several years earlier in Tokyo. Tora eases relations between them and acts as something of a cupid bringing the vet and a snack bar madame named Etsuko (Keiko Awaji) together as a couple. Yamada manages to make a statement about the hardscrabble lives of people in rural locations such as those highlighted in Hokkaido.

Mandala

Mandala (1971) is the second film Akio Jissoji's Buddhist Trilogy and another uncompromising film that has controversial content. This film, Jissoji's first with scenes in color as well as black and white is about a cult who recruits through rape and look to achieve true ecstasy through sexual release. The films opens with a somewhat graphic sexual act and meanders for 132 minutes. Once again there is striking cinematography from Yuzo Inagaki. The Arrow extras include: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of This Transient Life, Mandara and Poem, Original uncompressed LPCM mono 1.0 audio on all three films, newly translated optional English subtitles, introductions to all three films by David Desser, author of Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave, Scene-select commentaries on all three films by Desser, Theatrical trailer for Mandara, Theatrical trailer for Poem, limited edition packaging, fully illustrated by maarko phntm and an illustrated 80-page perfect-bound collector s book featuring new writings on the film by Anton Bitel and Tom Mes.

Ears, Eyes and Throats: Restored Classic and Lost Punk Films 1976-1981

Ears, Eyes and Throats: Restored Classic and Lost Punk Films 1976-1981 was on MUBI so I thought I'd check it out. It was collection of short films that represent a hint of the tectonic shift in the underground film world in connection with the punk rock “movement.” It was restored from original negatives, it showcases the reasonably well-known alongside the extremely rare, from music shorts to impressionistic documentary. It was of middling interest to me.

The Woman Chaser

I recently learned that Charles Willeford's entertaining novel The Woman Chaser was made into a film by Robinson Devor in 1997. Patrick Wharburton (who I know best as one of Elaine's ex-boyfriends in Seinfeld) plays the car salesman, Richard Hudson, who has a dream of making a film, The Man Who Got Away, a bleak, noncommercial film about a truck driver who goes berserk, runs over a little girl and dies fending off a platoon of police officers. He isn't willing to make any changes to the film and therefore the studio chief who helped finance it rejects the 63 minute cut. He chases some women along the way and has various antics with other unusual characters including his mother along the way. Devor decided that the film noir story needed to be shot in black and white-the correct choice.

Yebisu Beer x Ebisu Food 2019

I went out with a friend to try some of the beer food pairings for this year's grand Prix Yebisu Beer x Ebisu Food campaign. We started with onion stuffed yakiniku at Yakiniku Motoyama.

Then a spicy soup curry at Kiryuu.

This Transient Life

Akio Jissou is an interesting figure in Japanese cinema since he cut his teeth on the kids Ultraman series on TV and then followed that up with challenging artistic New Wave film offerings produced by the Art Theater Guild (ATG). The first of these and the first of his Buddhist trilogy was This Transient Life (1970). It is part of a four film collection that was recently released by Arrow. It was the winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Lorcano Film Festival and was one of the ATG's biggest successes. The film is about a brother and sister from a rich family who  defy the expectations of their father, the son, Ryo Tamura, by refusing to go to college and pursue his father's business. He has an obsession with Buddhist statues. His sister, Michiko Tsubasa, refuses to marry the numerous proposals made to her from introductions. In their isolation they are drawn together into a doomed incestuous relationship. This film has exceptional cinematography from the team of Yuzo Inagaki, Masao Nakabori, and Kazumi Oneda. The Arrow extras include: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of This Transient Life, Mandara and Poem, Original uncompressed LPCM mono 1.0 audio on all three films, newly translated optional English subtitles, introductions to all three films by David Desser, author of Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave, Scene-select commentaries on all three films by Desser, Theatrical trailer for Mandara, Theatrical trailer for Poem, limited edition packaging, fully illustrated by maarko phntm and an illustrated 80-page perfect-bound collector s book featuring new writings on the film by Anton Bitel and Tom Mes.

The Seventh Continent

The Seventh Continent (1989) is Austrian director Michael Haneke's debut feature film and an assured debut at that. Handeke comes out of the gates with a foreboding tale of alienation in modern society. A seemingly normal family is depicted often their actions without seeing their faces in a deadening ritual bereft of joy as they go about their daily business. This disconnect between people and possessions underscores the alienation they are experiencing. These meaningless rituals continue until the family has made a decision to emigrate to a new life in Australia. The execution of the family's withdrawal from normal daily life is dark and sinister and calls to mind the tone of other Handeke classics such as Cache. It is a very mature and impressive debut from one of the contemporary masters of cinema.