JAPANESE FILMS

Incomplete Mediocrity

The year was 1938. For film lovers, it is the year of BRINGING UP BABY, ALEXANDER NEVSKY and THE LADY VANISHES. At the same time, it was anticipating the great year of 1939. In Japan, however, it was the year with few notable works. Sadao Yamanaka was drafted to military the previous year and died in China in September of 1938. Yasujiro Ozu was also drafted. Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi were struggling with minor works. But Japanese movie-going public at the time saw the most phenomenal film of the prewar era this year. In terms of popularity, no prewar …

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Ryo Ikebe (1918 – 2010)

Ryo Ikebe, a popular Japanese actor from forties through seventies, passed away last week. He was 92. Internationally, he is probably best known for the lead character in Ozu’s EARLY SPRING (1956). In Japan, he was considered to be a very versatile actor, from melodrama (AOI SANMYAKU (1949)) to Yakuza movies (SHOWA ZANKYO DEN (1965)). Also, he acted as a conscience in Japanese film actor circles. However, in later years, he gradually shifted his activities from acting to writing. He published dozens of books, mostly essays and his experience during the war. But to me, he is always Gohei in …

 
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Then And Now, Again

In Ozu’s “There Was A Father”, the pivotal moment early in the film was the school trip to Hakone. Below is the Ashinoko, the Lake in Hakone area. Hakone has been one of the most popular resorts in Japan, being close to Tokyo metropolis. This is 1942, almost 70 years ago. Ashinoko and Mt. Fuji, “There Was A Father (1942)” This is Ashinoko now. A Pirate Ship ans Mt.Fuji (via hakone-kankosen.co.jp) No, they are not shooting “Pirates of Caribbean : Final Chapter -There Was A Captain”. There are three pirates ships in operation as tourist attractions. I don’t know what …