There Was A Father, Gosfilmofond Print

September 1, 2010 Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Film Center 1. News Reel; Yomiuri News, No. 164 (1940) 2. News Reel; Japan News, No. 177 (1943) 3. Fighting Tuberculosis (1951) 4. There Was A Father (1942), Gosfilmofond Print, Directed by Yasujiro Ozu Apart from 3, this screening was very disorienting. In 2, there is a footage of aircraft carrier Hornet attacked by Japanese, followed by send-off rally of young soldiers. And “There was a Father”. It was like sitting in the movie theater in 1943 Japan. “There Was A Father” The history of this particular print is here. Finally I …

Then and Now, and In Between (Part 1)

Absence of Tokyo Between now and then, transformation is staggering. Yasujiro Ozu made 5 “Tokyo” films. “Tokyo Chorus”, “Woman of Tokyo”, “An Inn in Tokyo”, “Tokyo Story” and “Tokyo Twilight”. In addition to these films, his films make frequent reference to Tokyo. “I Was Born But …” is the story of a “salary man” in the Tokyo suburb, “The Only Son” is another story of disillusion in metropolis, and “Ohayo” tells the parallel stories of men, women and children of Tokyo, to name the few. However, his recurring reference to this ever-growing megacity provides the limited view of “Tokyo”. Most …

Jazz Operetta in Edo

The year was 1939. The entry into the grim era. But for the New Year Film Fest, Nikkatsu released “Oshidori Utagassen“, one of the most delightful Japanese musicals ever. It was directed by Masahiro Makino in about 10 days. In fact the star of the film Chiezo Kataoka was ill at the time, so his screen time is minimum (shooting was only 2 hours long, it was said), and the rest of the film was filled with the most delightful examples of cinema making ….