JAPANESE FILMS

Calligraphy and Propaganda

Chishu Ryu said “Ozu-san didn’t make any heroic movie during the war”. This is true. He did not make any combat films, heroic military action films nor pseudo-historical drama to support totalitarian political agenda. But it does not mean he was making films in vacuum. “I was born, but … (1932)” may seem the last place for anyone to find any war propaganda, but, remember, it was filmed in 1932, the year of Shanghai Incident. During the scene in the classroom, you can see a rather large frame of Japanese calligraphy on the wall. It says “Bakudan Sanyu-shi”, or “Three …

 
JAPANESE FILMS

Another bus trip

Criterion released Hiroshi Shimizu’s prewar works, including “Mr. Thank You (有がとうさん)”. This is very exciting, since Hiroshi Shimizu, contemporary of Yasujiro Ozu, is not well-known even in Japan and this release will inspire many people to watch his films and enjoy his humor and relaxed atmosphere. “Mr. Thank You” is probably the most accessible to modern viewers, being a road movie in the countryside of prewar Japan. There is another movie on the bus by Shimizu in 1941, called “Akatsuki no gassho (暁の合唱)”. It is not a road movie like “Mr. Thank You” made five years earlier, but it tried …

 
Uncategorized

An Error of objective fact

Over at Roger Ebert’s blog, he contemplates about the film criticism and Rotten Tomatoes. It is very interesting reading and makes you think about how you appreciate films, as always. Especially, I find two passages very interesting. Mr. Ebert writes: “I’ve taught both (“Citizen Kane” and “The Rules of the Game”) shot-by-shot and had many students who confessed they didn’t feel the greatness. ” Even though I admire both films, I can understand many people, even those who are conscious about visual aspect of the film art, find them boring. Is it because passing of time made their “greatness” mundane …