Classic Japanese Cinema - Jung

Another couple of busy sessions took place last night as the 14th Japanese Film Festival continued its march forward. We hope you are all enjoying the experience, and most of all the films. Today we have a first time entry from KOFFIA (Korean Film Festival in Australia) Director of Programming, Jungyeob Ji. Jung shares his wealth of knowledge of classic Japanese cinema with a bit of a history piece behind the original 'Zero Focus' and other thrillers of the time.  Read on to solve the mystery!

"I don’t really know much about Isshin Inudo. Unfortunately I haven’t seen any of his films, but "Zero Focus" is based on the novel by the one of the greatest Japanese crime mystery writers, Matsumoto Seicho. You might not have heard the name, Matsumoto Seicho, but if you happen to follow a Japanese TV drama series, you have probably seen some of his work. I am not sure exactly how many times "Zero Focus" has been adapted either for TV or screen. As far as I know "Zero Focus" directed in 1961 by Nomura Yoshitaro is the only one; incidentally Yoji Yamada apparently started his career as an assistant director to Nomura Yoshitaro, and also co-wrote the script of the film.

Nomura Yoshitaro’s "Zero Focus" is a great film and a psychological thriller at that. He was a prolific Matsumoto Seicho adapter. In fact, he closely collaborated with Seicho himself. Their best collaborative work is arguably "Castle of Sand" (1974) which is also considered as Nomura Yoshitaro’s best film. The film, obviously, was based on Seicho’s novel of the same title; there is also a 2005 TV drama adaptation of "Castle of Sand" if you want the modernized one.

In "Zero Focus", a newly wed man disappears. His wife goes on searching for him, but the search becomes more than just a man-hunt. Her own investigation reveals to her that he is not exactly what she thought he was. Matsumoto Seicho, however, never lets his novels become a simple whodunit story. He is profoundly interested in human behavior and motives behind crime. Also he never forgets to make his novels relevant in contemporary society. Especially, this is prominent in ‘the inspector Imanishi’ series.

In "Castle of Sand" (read a great review of it here), devils breed a devil, and a man tries to escape from that vicious circle, but in his desperation, he murders the only human being who ever showed him kindness and generosity in the world. For detectives, the investigation is an dead-end. The clues seem all simply isolated without any connection to the other. But as they persistently reach to where each clue independently leads them to, the brutal social layers of post-war Japan is unraveled.

 

Matsumoto Seicho                           Nomura Yoshitaro

Through his novels, Seicho shows primordial human goodness, and evilness at the same time, but when the relentless fear of this very evil overcomes human goodness, his characters resort to violence. In this sense, Seicho isn’t just a mystery novel writer with social consciousness. He is also a writer who deeply engages with the theme of human bondage by using a crime mystery genre. In his novels, a murder is not just there simply to be solved, but to be contemplated." by Jungyeob Ji, Hardboiled Land

Thanks to that terrific piece from Jung, another welcome contributor to the JFF Blog. Remember to head out tonight to catch the remake of "Zero Focus", starring a wealth of Japanese acting talent, with the likes of Ryoko Hirosue ("Departures" - 12th JFF, "Flowers" - 14th JFF), Miki Nakatani ("Flavor of Happiness" - 14th JFF) and Tae Kimura ("All Around Us" 13th JFF). It will be a great night and we hope to see you there!

See you at the festival!

(About Her Brother) Family Matters - Karen

To celebrate opening night of the festival we are covering the wonderful performances of Japanese starlet, Yu Aoi. She can be seen up on the big screen for the first 2 nights of the festival, in "About Her Brother" and "Flowers" respectively. You can catch Joseph's review of "Flowers" here, or read on below to see first time contributor Karen Michelmore's piece on "About Her Brother".

I don’t know anyone who has a normal family. 

Usually there is one crazy cousin somewhere, or sibling who is eccentrically and outlandishly always themselves. 

There’s also usually a wide array of personality types, and issues bubbling away, which can combine on occasion into a powder keg of emotion. 

'About Her Brother' is no different. It’s pretty real in this way. 

It’s the story of a small family in a quiet part of Tokyo.

Three generations of women in one house, and the result of this situation.

"Gingko is a pharmacist and a widow. Her daughter Koharu (Yu Aoi) – and the film’s sometimes narrator - marries and divorces a pretty ordinary doctor. And her mother complains constantly about her own loneliness and lack of companionship. But no one’s listening. But the film isn’t a story about the relationships between these women. They are not really explored in any meaningful way. As the title suggests, it’s all about Gingko (Sayuri Yoshinaga - Kabei Our Mother - 12th JFF) and her alcoholic brother, Tetsuro.

Tetsuro is the kind of person who bumbles through life, blissfully unaware of the mayhem he’s created. Or seemingly so. The 126-minute film – directed by veteran Yoji Yamada – is dotted with comedy from Tetsuro, played by Tsurube Shofukutei (also seen in Dear Doctor - 14th JFF). During one particularly memorable wedding scene, you’ll probably laugh out loud (well I did), as he gets drunk and wreaks a trail of destruction at a rather staid event, much to the horror of guests. He challenges the fuddy-duddy nature of some Tokyo traditions, reminding us in his own unconventional way that it is supposed to be a celebration after all.

His initial scenes reminded me of the old black and white Jerry Lewis movies and are a pleasant injection of humor and sparkle into a film that has a poignant underlying message, and takes quite a depressing turn when Tetsuro becomes ill. Behind Tetsuro’s mirth is a subtle but sad story of addiction and isolation. This film will make you think about the family dynamics of guilt, obligation and frustration. The message is pretty simple. Sometimes family members infuriate us. Most of the time we love them unconditionally anyway." by Karen Michelmore

Thanks to Karen for that piece. While the main story arc of the film is the relationship between Gingko and 'Her Brother', the plot of the film revolves around Aoi's Koharu, and her perofrmance can not be discounted. She has a strong bond with Tetsuro (he named her afterall) and this is tried and tested throughout. Aoi is able to play the innocent girl being married off to a new family quite profoundly, something she does in both "About Her Brother" and "Flowers". The 2 roles differ slightly in their outcome, but both portray the trials and tribulations of a young woman in Japanese society, and the life choices that are presented to them.

Having won best supporting actress for three films in a row (Honey and Clover, Hula Girls and Rainbow Song) and with these two emerging roles, Yu Aoi is one to watch for the future. Don't miss her at the 14th Japanese Film Festival in Sydney tonight!

See you at the festival!

(Kyoto Story) The Renaissance Of Film - Richard

It's official, the JFF Blog is a big hit! With over 1,000 views in just under a month, we are glad to provide some exciting content for you all to read over. Thank you for your passion of all things Japanese! Today we have our first entry from Richard Gray, editor of DVD Bits, who takes a look at the Tsutomu Abe & Yoji Yamada directed "Kyoto Story".

Kyoto Story will screen as part of our Special Double Screening session that takes place on Tuesday November 23rd at Event Cinemas on George St. This will include the feature film, plus an award winning short film "Wish You Were Here" and Panel Discussion with Tsutomu Abe (Happy Family Plan), Tadao Sato (Japan's leading film critic) and Shigeki Chiba (Vice Principal of JAMI).

A note to film students and lecturers, FREE tickets to this session are still available, with details about how you can get them here, thanks to Metro Screen.



"Uzumasa Daiei was one of the most famous shopping arcades in Kyoto, housing the now defunct Daiei Studios, producers of such films as Rashomon with Akira Kurosawa and the monster-mashes of Gamera. Now it forms the focal point of an experiment, combining the efforts of some up and coming filmmakers with some veterans in the field. Working with Ritsumeikan University's College of Image Arts and Sciences and Shochiku Co., Ltd., one of the worlds oldest film studios,  directors Yoji Yamada (About Her Brother, the opening night film of this year's Japanese Film Festival) and  his protege Tsutomu Abe (Happy Family Plan, 13th JFF) have guided this simple love story into cinemas across the world.

Using a combination of real conversations with local residents and a screenplay by Yoji Yamada ("Love and Honour" - 12th JFF), Kyoto Story weaves a beautifully simplistic tale of love in a small town. Kyoko (Hana Ebise) is a librarian (yay!) who is fairly settled with the idea that she will live in her small town with her laundromat owning parents until her dying days. However, she soon finds that her affections are torn between boyfriend and aspiring stand-up comedian (USA (EXILE)) and a bumbling visiting academic from Tokyo (Sotaro Tanaka - "About Her Brother") who has fallen head over heels in love with Kyoko. She must decide which path she will follow, and where her heart lies.

The title Kyoto Story naturally brings to mind the work of Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story). In many of his films, Ozu explored the disintegration of traditional family life in post-war Japan. However, in the wake of the economic downturn of the 1990s, many Japanese filmmakers (including Tsutomu Abe) returned to reflect upon the importance of the family unit and the comforting joys it brings (as he so aptly did in Happy Family Plan).

So too is the case with Kyoto Story, a film that gently takes us through the lives of two families and reminds us all that there is no place like home. Kyoko's decision about deciding whether to leave the flock is reminiscent of Ozu's "Late Spring", where everybody seemed to have an idea of what was best for its lead character Noriko. Kyoko's ultimate decision shows that the men around her are far more dependent on her than she will ever be on them.

There is little about Kyoto Story that jumps out and screams at you of its brilliance, but it really isn't a jumpy-out-screamy kind of film. It is a sweet story that is as much a nostalgic love-letter to a bygone era as it is about the love triangle at the heart of the film. It is a rare thing that a film captures the slow vibe of a place yet simultaneously manages to be entertaining and charming all in one neat bundle. Kyoto Story is that bundle, a joyous one at that.

Kyoto Story is screening at the 14th Annual Japanese Film Festival with Eriko Onishi's "Wish You Were Here". Check out the website for further details." - Richard Gray, DVD Bits

Thanks again to Richard for that piece on the interesting production that was Kyoto Story. Does anybody else know of Student / Industry crewed films? Matt Newton's "Three Blind Mice" had a large contingent of Sydney Film School students amongst its crew, and Participate Film Academy has produced the likes of "Sweet Marshall", but it seems to be a very rare thing.

It must have been a wonderful opportunity for the students to work with the likes of Abe and Yamada, make sure you ask Abe-san about it during the Panel Discussion!

See you at the festival!