Eiga Diary

Not sure how I've managed to let it slip by for so long without posting on films, my last film diary entry was back in July 2010, (!),  my film viewing has slowed down considerably over the past year or so, I'm not too sure as to why, perhaps viewer's block?. Although, when if making it back to Japan I'll have to renew my Geo and Tsutaya cards, there are plenty of films that I'd like to catch up with, firstly Koji Wakamatsu's movie on Mishima, which has Arata as Mishima, the movie recounts the days leading up to the authors seppuku, a movie that Wakamatsu has deliberated over making for a number of years. A film that received awards last year from the Mainichi Film Awards was Sketches of Kaitan City/Kaitanshi Jokei, directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, with an award winning soundtrack by Jim O'Rourke, the film is based on an unfinished novel by Yasushi Sato. Shinji Aoyama is a director whose films have always fascinated me so I'd be interested in catching up with his latest, Tokyo Koen/Tokyo Park. A film that I've read alot about is Heaven's Story directed by Takahisa Zeze, the film comes in at a mammoth 280 minutes, I've not checked to see if the DVD of this is available yet but definitely a film I'd like to see, there is an in depth synopsis and interview with the director available to download via the film's page at the Berlin International Film Festival webpage. The films of Sono Sion both shock and compel although aside from films like Cold Fish, Suicide Club, Love Exposure, etc, Sono produces many film exploring social issues, although the films mentioned in their way do comment on society at large, Himizu follows a family facing the strains of life after the recent earthquake and tsunami. Toshiaki Toyada is a director I'm still catching up with, and much to my bewilderment I've still yet to see both Blue Spring and Nine Souls, Monsters Club looks to be another intriguing movie that I'd like to add to the list of films that I'd like to see, Toyoda also has another movie recently out called I'm Flash set in Okinawa. After recently watching Summer Wars, I'm intrigued to see The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki which is due in July, the website is up, here's what I've viewed recently, (well over the past few months):-

About Her Brother - directed by Yoji Yamada
Happiness of the Katakuris - directed by Miike Takashi
Kakera - A Piece of Our Life - directed by Ando Momoko
Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers! - directed by Daihachi Yoshida
Visitor Q - directed by Miike Takashi
Ikiru - directed by Akira Kurosawa
Red Angel - directed by Yasuzo Masumura
Goth - directed by Gen Takahashi
2/Duo - directed by Nobuhiro Suwa
Fish Story - directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura
TekkonKinkreet - directed by Michael Arias
Nausicaa - Valley of the Wind - directed by Hayao Miyazaki
The Face of Another - directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
Harakiri - directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Confessions of a Dog - directed by Gen Takahashi
I Live in Fear - directed by Akira Kurosawa
Red Beard - directed by Akira Kurosawa
Drive - directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka, (Sabu)
Norwegian Wood - directed by Tran Anh Hung
Gozu - directed by Miike Takashi
Cold Fish - directed by Sion Sono
The Sea is Watching - directed by Kei Kumai
Metropolis - directed by Shigeyuki Hayashi 
Outrage directed by Takeshi Kitano
Guilty of Romance - directed by Sion Sono
Devils on the Doorstep - directed by Jiang Wen
Villain - directed by Lee Sang-il
Summer Wars directed by Mamoru Hosoda
High and Low - directed by Akira Kurosawa
Profound Desires of the Gods - directed by Shohei Imamura
Arrietty - directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl - directed by Katsuhito Ishii























Its been something of a revelation to finally get around to filling in some of the gaps of the films of Kurosawa that I've not seen, in many ways I wish that I had watched these films before watching his samurai or Jidaigeki films, or at least to have watched them intermittently, there are still many of Kurosawa's films that I've yet to see, I think Kurosawa is a director that I wish that I could go back and watch as many of his movies in chronological order as they were released as possible. Another director that I've just started to make in roads with is Miike Takashi, I'd only seen Ichi and Audition before and there's obviously a great many more films from this director that I'd like to track out and see, Visitor Q and Gozu are both films that I'm not going to forget in the near future. Among my future viewing plans I'm hoping to watch the essential recent releases of Shohei Imamaru's back catalogue, it sometimes seems that perhaps outside of Japan, Japanese film appreciation goes in circles, but I sincerely hope that both Akio Jissoji and Yoshida Yoshihige get the same overhaul of re-releases of their films as Imamura has received recently. At the moment it seems that my film viewing comes in bursts, I'll watch a number of films in a row and then let it pass without watching anything, something I'll have to try and remedy.

The Reverse Side of Life

The Reverse Side of Life by Lee Seung - U, was originally published in Korean as Saeng-ui Imyeon back in 1992, it was awarded the first Daesan Literary Award, and translated into English by Yoo-Jung Kong. The novel is narrated, by a nameless journalist who reluctantly, (repaying an old favour to an editor), finds himself writing an 'Author Focus' piece about a writer named Bak Bugil. The novel uses a fascinating mixture of literary approaches and narrative techniques in presenting the initial years of the author, one of the first questions the reader finds themselves contemplating could be how bigger portion of the novel is taken from Seung-U's real life experiences, something the narrator finds himself reflecting upon through out his study of Bak Bugil. Immediately the author reads many of Bak Bugil's collections of stories and essays and exploring his novels for pointers, he meets the author twice, the second time ends up with him drinking too much. From a young age Bak is told that his father is a genius who is away studying, he is expected to pass an advanced examination, with the intention of becoming a judge. Bak is brought up in his Uncle's house, in the yard of which grows a persimmon tree, which he is told he must stay away from, and never to pick it's fruits. From an early age he is a voracious reader, Gide and Hesse are among writers who are referenced to within the novel, and in later parts also Endo, Borges and Lagerkvist, there's little mention of Korean Literature if any at all, as indeed there's very little if any reference to Korean culture as a whole within the novel, but as the novel progresses through the late sixties and into the nineteen seventies the narrative picks up with discontent the students feel, a planned protest is suppressed. The use of peoples name is something kept to a minimum, this fact in a way mirrors that of Baks unique and individualistic approach to his life and world view, he reads to keep the external world at bay -

In short, his engrossment in reading was not to discover a paradise within books. He just wanted to shut his eyes to his own reality. In this respect books were a kind of anaesthetic from early on. Hence now, writing as an adult, he confessed in a low voice while donning a slightly awkward smile, his writing could be considered a kind of anaesthetic.

The narrator is constantly addressing and questioning Baks motives and cross referencing episodes within his life with those in his writings, combining literary theory with a detective like inquisitiveness, the narrative does lean at times on repetition, and incorporates the novel, (or perhaps here novels), within a novel technique, at the same time the differing perspectives, that of the Bak appearing in his novels, the narrator trying to construct a portrait of the writer, with that of the narrators access to unpublished novels and stories, creates a highly compelling narrative, these juxtaposing viewpoints in a way contribute to the repetition, but are essential as the narrator sifts through the events. Young Bak is unable to stop himself from venturing into the yard and in one of the out buildings he discovers a man there kept in shackles, he is later told that the man is a servant of his uncles who has gone mad and that he should not talk to him, although Bak finds the man has a gentle aspect to him and forms a friendship with him, Bak suspects that the rule about the tree was a cover in order to prevent meeting this man. At around this time a man who was born in the village returns from studying and opens a church, many rumours circulate about the church and the motives of the pastor, people reportedly go in and out of the church late at night, his mother becomes involved with the church, and through using Bak's novels and stories the narrator tells the story of Bak's eventual detachment from his mother, also he learns that his father is studying at Jinnam, Bak makes a failed attempt at leaving the village to find his father but is caught and is severely punished by his Uncle, which further instilled in him the desire that he has to leave the village. The narrative follows Bak as he leaves the village and severs the links with his family and after a period of wandering finds himself in Seoul where after being assaulted by a guard he takes refugee in a church after hearing the music of a piano being played, this in turn leads him to meet, Jongdan, a young woman who he sees shares a similar world view to that of his own. It is difficult to describe in detail the events that occur within the novel without giving them away,  these discoveries as they are read are integral to appreciating it. The novel conveys the emotional difficulties Bak faces with addressing his past, his story is wrought with turmoil and upheaval.                        

The Reverse Side of Life at Peter Owen

Blinking and Flapping

An intriguing title that I'll be keeping an eye out for when funds allow is Blinking and Flapping from Yasuhiro Suzuki,

From Seigensha -

Focusing attention on small discoveries in everyday life and natural phenomena , Yasuhiro Suzuki makes works that are sensuous, using familiar materials and technology. Getting alot of attention both inside and outside Japan, this book introduces the thinking process of this talented artist. Photos, drawing, bilingual texts, (by himself and 4 contributors), included.

"Yasuhiro Suzuki's sketches resemble the mathematical formulas a mathematician scribbles all over the blackboard" - Kenya Hara, (Graphic Designer).

Blinking and Flapping at Seigensha Art Publishing

more at Spoon and Tamago.

Salvation of a Saint

A translation of  Keigo Higashino's 2008 novel Salvation of a Saint is set for publication by Minotaur Books in October 2012 in the U.S and then February 2013 in the U.K by Little Brown, the translation is again by Alexander O. Smith who previously translated Higashino's, The Devotion of Suspect X.     

A brief synopsis is up over at Powell's Books,

Keigo Higashino at Wikipedia  

Embracing Family by Nobuo Kojima

Embracing Family/Houyou kazoku won Nobuo Kojima the first Tanizaki Prize awarded back in 1965, like his earlier short story, The American School, (trans.William F.Sibley), the novel shares its setting immediately after the Pacific War, (although maybe a few years later), and explores the effects of the presence of the occupying forces, in The American School it is viewed through a group of teachers as they march towards the school they are scheduled to teach at, in Embracing Family it's seen through the domestic setting of the Miwa family. Shunsuke is a Professor who has lectured on Japanese Literature in America and also within Japan he lectures on the American way of life, he is married to Tokiko and they have a son, Ryoichi and a daughter, Noriko, with few characters to the novel it at times resembles the framework of a play. An addition to this family setting is a maid, Michiyo, and also an American soldier, (George), who has gone AWOL, his presence in the household has been initiated by another American called Henry whose mistress is Michiyo's sister. Through an accusation by Michiyo that Tokiko and George are having an affair the novel turns its attention to examine the fragilities of Tokiko and Shunsuke's marriage, the novel operates on different levels, addressing and presenting various issues, although in comparing it to The American School, in Embracing Family the differences, and to a degree the opposing aspects between American and Japanese culture appear more referentially. Tokiko persuades Shunsuke that perhaps Michiyo is manipulating the truth and that George had forced himself on her, she had kept quiet in order not to wake the children, Tokiko points out as well to the fact that Michiyo's accusations have the potential to ruin the family's reputation, but at the same time Tokiko seems to want to prolong her contact with George who represents an escape from the drudgery of her domestic servitude. Shunsuke arranges to meet George with Tokiko in an attempt to establish the truth but the meeting ends with Shunsuke yelling at George, "Yankee, Go home!".

After the turmoil of the affair eventually dissipates, through Tokiko's instigation the family purchases a plot of land, forty minutes from Shinjuku, (which slightly reveals the novel's age), to build a designer new home which features a Western bath room and other examples of Western design, radiators, etc, it acts as a kind of a hybrid between the two cultures, but Kojima adds a symbolical element to it's description in that the ceiling develops a leak when it rains. Shunsuke's impression of the American way of life appears more pragmatic as opposed to Tokiko's which remains slightly more idealistic. It becomes apparent that Shunsuke too had had an affair before he left for the war, although within the novel it doesn't seem to count as much as Tokiko's affair, Tokiko openly states that if she were younger she would have gone with George, and he counters that he had no feelings for the woman he had an affair with, the couples arguing is often reduced to Shunsuke and Tokiko equally accusing each other that - you don't understand what it's like to be a woman/you don't know what it is to be a man, their arguments are frustratingly unresolved, which give them an intense tangibility, to the extent that in the novel Shunsuke suffers physical pain at the things Tokiko says to him, he consults a doctor. Although I struggled to reconcile in places with the way that Shunsuke thinks about women, for instance at the end of the novel when he is looking for a second wife, and to degrees the perception of women within the novel as a whole is one that I'd like to think is something leftover from the old world, despite this Tokiko comes across as an incredibly strong character although her strength disguises a vulnerable and uncertain inner world, in the past we learn that she has had plastic surgery and her teeth strengthened, the fact that she and Shunsuke sleep in separate rooms adds another complex aspect to their married life, which is a taught one but at the same time quite open, Shunsuke ponders whether he should have actually allowed the affair to continue, and confesses that he perhaps regrets his marriage.

Not long after moving into the new house Tokiko discovers a lump in her breast and the novel begins to turn in a completely different direction and tone, events and things said in the past can be viewed and reassessed from the viewpoint of this new perspective, the novel carries a great sense that time is finite and is a constantly moving line crossing the lives of it's characters, pushing the reader unconsciously to contemplate these perspectives. Whilst Tokiko is in hospital the narrative follows the domestic scene continuing at home that Shunsuke struggles to maintain as well as following his inner anguish, at many points he has an almost uncontrollable desire to share his inner world with the external one, the narrative juxtaposes to palpable effect Shunsuke's inner turmoil with that of the indifferent world going on around him. The back of the book has a quote from novelist Shimada Masahiko  that, 'Embracing Family should be read by all American readers', obviously that between the forty odd years since its publication the novels contemporary message has faded somewhat but its has lost nothing in the power of its unflinching humanism.

Embracing Family at Dalkey Archive Press  

William F. Sibley Memorial Translation Prize Winners 2011 - 2012

Recently the winners of the 2011- 2012 William F. Sibley Memorial Prize were announced, the prize went to Matthew Fraleigh's translation of Narushima Ryuhoku's Gokunaibanashi - Super Secret Tales from the Slammer, and also Karen Thornber's translation of Toge Sankichi's Genbaku Shishu/Poems of Atomic Bomb. Mathew Fraleigh also recently received the 2011 Japan - U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature for his translation of Narushima Ryuhoku's New Chronicles of Yanagibashi and Diary of a Journey to the West: Narushima Ryuhoku Reports from Home and Abroad .


Both of the texts can be read at the Prize's website along with introductions from the translators.