An animation antidote.

This entry is meant as an antidote to the Oshima entry, but it's giving me guff.

As my friends have been hearing ad nauseum, I’ve been watching too many Japanese films from the 60’s. There aren’t a lot of positive female role models to be found; if there’s a film without a beating, humiliation, murder and/or rape, it’s because everyone’s too busy trying to defeat the giant monster. That's a sweeping statement, I know...but I can't even feel guily about it right now.

Thusly, I’ve decided to write about one of the more clever and charming animated shows to come out in recent years: Azumanga Daioh. A friend (a male friend no less) introduced me to the series; I watched several shows and then intended to purchase the dvd boxed set. Years later, I’ve finally gotten around to it!

The show is about school. And girls. And girls in school. It manages to touch on a lot of teen (and pre-teen) issues without going anywhere too dark…and yet doesn’t soften the subject matter either. It becomes almost sentimental at times, but manages to avoid it through the rather eccentric characters, who, while unique, also remind us of people we knew. Or were. Pile on this some very nice animation and an exceptionally charming soundtrack, and I have to say this is something that shouldn’t be missed. The show manages to remain somewhat timeless through anime flairs and school uniforms, and the subject matter never becomes dated. And if you went to school, ever… the show will speak to you.


TECHNICALLY

I may as well begin with a slightly technical approach. My aforementioned friend insisted I wouldn’t be able to find anything like what he had bootlegged – and so, of course, I had to prove him wrong. Which admittedly, was easy enough to do years later. The shows he’d copied had since gone from English-dub-only to a wonderful Japanese language w/English subtitles version (the Class Album boxed set). And it’s marvelous! Not only do you get excellent translations of what characters are saying, but it also translates titles, signs, and any newspaper, poster and random print in the background. Unlike many subtitled films, you feel you’re in on the mise-en-scène jokes. For instance, when the two female teachers (to be discussed later) go out drinking, and one has to carry the other down the alley, the sign in the background says “Please sort your trash.” It’s little things like this that an audience misses when they rely on (sometimes dubious) translation. The show itself is also filled with cultural references and nigh training sessions for the uninitiated. Highly useful for someone intending to visit or live in Japan. I've learned more spoken Japanese from this show than from any cd or book.



And now, on to the characters.


SAKAKI

Sakaki is one of many high school archetypes, the huge girl who scares everyone simply because she’s more developed. She’s taller than anyone in the class, her hair longer, her breasts are bigger, she’s more athletic (despite not belonging to any teams), and in the beginning, people assume she’s a rough, getting into fights outside school (they see the bandages on her hands). Sakaki is a terrifically sweet person and has a vivid imagination that often runs away with her. She’s very shy, quiet and monosyllabic, and it’s especially touching as she begins to enter the group of friends. Everyone thinks she’s cool, but you get the impression she’d rather not be noticed at all. She's always surprised and modest when someone invites her along on an outing...it's nearly heartbreaking. She’s an interesting play on all the poetic romantic stuff we know, with her long hair and quiet manner, and yet is indeed terribly cool.



Sakaki is terribly embarrassed of her large breasts. There’s one entertaining discussion in an early show where Osaka states that Sakaki is an American because her breasts are so huge, and that Tomo is Japanese because hers are so small. This is an ongoing concern for all girls, and women, everywhere…hell, I’m 38 and still feel bad when someone points out another woman with (what I perceive to be) a nicer chest. But when you’re a maturing girl, the fact you have breasts at all can be quite traumatizing; people around you suddenly treat you differently, sexually. Dependent upon whether you start developing early or late, that spins off into its own sets of stressors and trauma as people tease you about being too big (if you started early) or being too small (if you started late, if at all). And bras are a challenge for a little while. I remember the exact turning point for me: walking down a school hall one day in a white blouse, and a boy took me to the side and told me my nipples were visible through the shirt. It hadn’t occurred to me that this might be an issue until that very moment. Rest of day spent with book clutched at chest. And I wore bras from then onward.




KAORIN

One must follow the note on Sakaki with Kaorin. Kaorin is another character easy to identify with. In school, it’s common for both girls and boys to have crushes on peers of the same sex…it might be because of a perceived “coolness” or for other reasons, and isn’t always acted on, but is there nonetheless. Kaorin is a great play on this. She admires Sakaki from afar at first, spouting about how cool she is: “Kakkoii!”

I think Kaorin goes a little beyond the typical girl-girl crushy stuff where you practice kissing each other because you’re learning how to kiss boys (supposedly), and may be a baby lesbian in development - which is a lovely inclusion for a children’s cartoon. She adores Sakaki, and in true crush style, freaks out whenever she misses the chance to see her, get a photo, attend a sleepover, etc. There are some very cute ultra-gay fantasies including showers of petals and rainbows in the back while she and Sakaki dance together, ride a horse together, walk together...in one episode about New Year dreams, she has a fantasy-dream where Sakaki rides in on a horse and saves her from bandits, with Sakaki in the traditional male role and Kaorin gleefully clutching her; so happy! - until her mother wakes her.





KIMURA

The male teacher who’s “fond” of his female students is a problem most girls have to face. I myself went to a school with a rather infamous coach who was overly fond of wrapping girls ankles and giving them "massages". All in the name of sports, of course. This character is brilliantly inserted into the show via Kimura-sensei, the classic lit professor. Much like in any school, he hasn’t done enough to cause real trouble, but everyone knows about his proclivities. The teachers feel they have to put up with him (to a point) and the students, while a little clueless, know enough to realize he’s a bit creepy and start to hypothesize about his personal life (in one episode, the girls suppose he’s a killer who's hiding bodies in the bushes). There’s great shock and perturbation when it’s discovered he has a beautiful and kind wife…no one can quite put it together. This temporarily gains him renewed sympathy and trust from a few of the girls. They finally come to the conclusion that his wife is an unfortunate person with bad judgement and is to be pitied. No one is quite sure how to report him, or whether he’s done anything to truly warrant it (or whether he is indeed a bad person) so he slides by time and time again.

In the end, inside and outside cartoons, the problematic male teacher is a rite of passage for every young woman. I gather from male friends that there's a sort of polar parallel in "the female teacher who was my first time (or who should have been)".





NYAMO and YUKARI

Yukari is the English teacher. She's self-involved and lazy (to the point of having all the same people from her first year class in her second year class because she doesn't want to learn new names); she's a risk-taker, a gambler, a drinker and a loudmouth. Nyamo Kurosawa is the girls’ Physical Education teacher, and is perceived to be inutterably cool by most of the students. She’s very sensitive to the needs of the students and supportive whenever she can be.

Nyamo's amiable rivalry with Yukari is evident at the school, and the girls sometimes wonder about what their relationship could possibly be. Nyamo is prone to admit mistakes, and follows through on promises. This of course provides the “straight man” for Yukari-chan, who is loud, excitable, fun-loving and duplicitous. She’s deeply envious of Nyamo’s popularity among the students and tries to throw a wrench in the works whenever she can (as long as the results are to her advantage). She’s another person the girls have to weigh, deciding what her motivations are and whether they (should) like her. She and Nyamo were peers at the same school, and this lends to their weary acceptance of one another - in this way, foreshadowing Tomo and Yomi's relationship. Nyamo and Yukari add a slightly more adult, if no less immature, flavor to certain stories...and point out that, despite being older, women still have many of the same problems the girls do themselves. Some things never change.




OSAKA

"Osaka" is the spaciest of space cadets. Another type we can all remember from school (and in fact I may have fit into this category). She is sweet and soft-voiced, and prone to believe or hypothesize the most outstanding things. She's intelligent, and can be quite clever at times - or is she clever all the time, and it's us who doesn't get it? Osaka (who gained her nickname because she's a new student from, well, Osaka) has a goal to improve herself, to be more aware, to learn more, to be more like her idols. To "get it together". In reality, she falls asleep often; everywhere, in fact. She's easily distracted and muses on strange things. To be honest, this character is a little too close to me to be fair about ^^ I remember having a boyfriend in early college who called me...hm-mmm, Space Girl? Something like that. He wasn't too fond of the art thing either. Which is fine, as he in turn taught me exactly what I didn't want in men. A call out to all men! Appreciate your artistic spacey girls!




YOMI

Yomi is the other character I'd identify with most...wish I could say it was Sakaki and Chiyo-chan, but nope. Yomi is very studious and serious; she's generally classified in the show as being second in smarts after Chiyo. She's tall, reasonably athletic and has a good shape, but is constantly worried about being fat (something she's relentlessly teased about by Tomo). She seems to me to be the Velma of the show, bright, quick on the uptake, but not as cool as Sakaki, as smart as Chiyo or as sporty as Kagura. I think this is a pretty typical stance for most students; not everyone can be the best at something. Being surrounded by talented and/or attractive peers can be devastating. But she holds herself well - she's strong and is the one who keeps everybody else balanced. Yomi's there to provide support and common sense when the others can't. She and Tomo have been together since the beginning of grade school, although you discover it's not necessarily because of friendship that they still interact. Tomo aggravates Yomi to no end with her skittish fantasies and ennui, but in the end, they're indulgent toward each other. It might be the glasses that make me identify so solidly with her.




TOMO

Tomo is described in the show as being the class wildcat idiot, which isn't too far off. She's the perfect expression of those people who are ruled by their chemistry, off-the-charts energy and twitchiness, lack of patience and focus. She too has a strong fantasy-life, invariably having dreams in which she is somehow better than everyone else. She's insanely competitive even though she excels at nothing. However, her energy lends itself to the others and can be infectious...and deep down, she is kind and can (rarely) have moments of insight. Tomo and Yomi are inextricably linked throughout the series, Tomo relentlessly teasing and aggravating; Yomi frustrated and angry. As I mentioned, we see an early version of Nyamo and Yukari in these two.

Tomo reminds me of almost all the boys in school: legs bobbing at 200 bobs a minute, shaking the desks with energy, joking, teasing, doing malicious things without really thinking about it because they're so bored or frustrated. Except, in an odd play on the type, not only is she a girl, but she likes to think of herself as a particularly cute girl as well. Her fantasies regularly showcase her in bikinis and haute couture, or better yet, as manga-style superheroes (and she seems to have a fixation on Lupin). Tomo is that jittery up-the-wall friend you always hoped you'd see on the playground because they always came up with the best games. And later, the friend who'd con you into going to a college frat party and leave without you.




KAGURA

Kagura is a later addition to the main cast - she's introduced early on, but you don't get to really meet her until the second year. Kagura is the physical type who's struggling in school. She excels at sports and is the best on the swim team - she feels strongly competitive with Sakaki, who beat her in a race the first year, and in fact is in the running with Sakaki for being the coolest girl in school (and also the one with the biggest chest). While they could have fallen completely for the "dumb jock" stereotype, the show manages to develop her character with those facets we miss when we slap labels around. Although I must admit one of my favorite moments is when she, Tomo and Osaka form the "Knuckleheads" to spite Yomi, who won't show them her schoolwork. They play the stupidity up a bit in that segment! Kagura is good-natured and means well, although this doesn't always work out to the advantage of everyone involved, as she has the empathy of a brick.





CHIYO

And finally we get to Chiyo-chan ^^ Chiyo could be said to be the main character...I feel she's far and away the eye of the show. Chiyo is a 10 year-old prodigy who's receiving higher schooling. She's mature for her age, and yet is still a little girl at heart. Ten is right on that cusp between jumping rope and your first menstrual cycle, and she's an excellent representation if this. Chiyo is a peace-maker and organizer. At times she's shown seeing her grade school friends in the street, and she feels the difference and mourns her childhood just a little. But she brushes herself off and realizes she's off to better - or at least different - things. Chiyo worries terribly about dragging her class down in some ways. She's hyper-aware of her small size and poor performance in sports. She looks at her grown friends and can't wait to grow up. Chiyo is the smartest in her class, and the most responsible. Her family is quite wealthy; the house is nearly a mansion. These things might work to a person's disadvantage, but Chiyo is a sparkling individual. She always sees the best in her friends, although at times her age doesn't allow her to see the bigger picture.

It is very touching how she worries that she and the others will grow apart after school is over. It reminds me of similar concerns as grade school moves to junior high; your classes are shuffled, another whole school of kids is mixed with the people you knew and your best friend is in a different lunch period. Times like this, one finds new friends and perhaps grows out of old. You're aware of the changes but can't help it. Circumstance. And certainly when high school ends and college begins, that's a true test of friendship. So her worries seem valid, but in the end, unnecessary.




KAWAII and NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS

There are other characters in the show nearly as important as the humans: Tadakichi-san, Chiyo's dog; Kamineko, the evil stray cat forever cutting Sakaki up; Nekokoneko, the absurdly cute kitten-on-cat plushie; and "Father", which is a very surreal addition to the show, a stuffed cat Sakaki dreams is Chiyo's father. He occurs quite randomly, more often than not floating through the background or shown as a stuffed toy on a shelf. These characters add a sense of the fantastic to the show (for instance, Kamineko bolting 100 miles per minute around an alley, Father inviting Sakaki in for tomatoes, or Tadakichi-san running across a field of multicolored clouds), and an opportunity for more development of the girls personalities (as Sakaki bonds with Tadakichi-san, or Chiyo throws her kawaii Nekokoneko towel over the fence to dry). Animals, live and stuffed, make up a huge portion of the show.




Boy oh boy, I've gone on too much - but this was a hard post to write. I could either create a concise summary of the show and feel I'd cheated you, or do what I've done, which is to go on ad nauseum about something other than Oshima ;) No matter how much I write, I don't feel it lends any strength to the show, which is plenty strong on its own. If you have a chance, watch it.

On an ending note, here's some group shots - these more than anything express the distinct and sometimes eccentric comeraderie of the characters:




Bye y'all! Until soon.

Nagisa Oshima brought me daisies.

I'm ruefully acquainting myself with Nagisa Oshima's filmography.

LACMA has been presenting the retrospective "In The Realm Of Oshima"...an amazing opportunity to see some very rare films. However, I must admit that watching ten films by Oshima in eight days (I missed three last week) has been brutal.

Today I've seen his "100 Years Of Japanese Cinema" and so must revise and review the blog entry I'd originally intended. There's no pretense to my having the writing skill a true movie reviewer would require; I have a passion for film, but it's scattered, erratic; my knowledge regarding Japanese film is thin ice, and my knowledge of Japanese history laughable. I can pretend to understand certain references, metaphors and allegories, but it's unlikely to be well-informed understanding. What you're getting here are responses from the belly, first impressions, immediate reactions.

I started with Boy, which at the time felt quite heavy to me. Little did I know it would almost seem a light-hearted romp compared to some of the other films. Oshima infuses the blackest humor, which I enjoy. And I can handle mind-numbing cynicism and critique of the social milieu. I might agree with him. He's taken ideas that I can feel in my gut, and expressed them so eloquently they're hard to deny. I don't agree with what he does to his female characters, but we'll come to that in the blow-by-blow.

So, in order of viewing:

Shonen aka Boy, 1969

Regarding Boy: a respected friend recommended it, stating it was one of his favorite films. I can see how it would be. It contains a melange of emotional detritus, real thought, not much in the way of sentimentality. [Perhaps this is what's difficult for me when watching these films: they are too real. People make bizarre decisions, sometimes amazingly cruel and whimsical. They base their actions on love or fidelity to family or an ideal, no matter how absurd or contrary. And sometimes they do things for no reason at all, hard bloody things, just to do them. Perhaps to feel, or perhaps because they're so numb they can't perceive consequence anymore. Vengeance is petty and violent, sympathy tends to be punished. Love is crushed under heel.] In Boy (based on a true story), he is torn between escaping (the "grandparents" fantasy always there in his head somewhere) and that familial feeling we all have, much more realistic, of "I dislike you, but I must care for you, you are family". It smacks of adult children who abuse invalid parents. So he returns to crooked and abusive parents who need him for their con, and who (supposedly) can't sustain themselves without him. The con consists of being "hit" by cars and forcing the perturbed motorists to settle in cash to avoid a lawsuit or arrest. He fakes the accidents (even though he is regularly injured in reality) and his parents collect the money. He feels some real love for his little brother, and those moments between the two are touching, and a surprising gift and respite. Oshima has a knack for subtle side-stories, like flash fiction. While walking the streets alone, Boy watches another young boy beaten and bullied by two teens in an alley; when he finally moves in to show sympathy, the beaten boy in turn throws him into the mud. Humiliation begets humiliation.




Taiyo no hakaba aka The Sun's Burial, 1960

The Sun's Burial is the film that laid out the true landscape of what I was in for. It shows you people numbed and crazed by slum living, their choices making no sense to anyone not existing there at that moment. It reminds me of books I've read on internment camp behavior, where empathy is annihilated and the survival instinct takes over. In this film, any vague kindness (you have to look for it) or show of mercy is viciously attacked and snuffed out. I want to call Hanako the main character. She's a young slum-dwelling prostitute running a scam. The film rotates around her actions which are seemingly mindless and vengeful...but it comes back to survival of the fittest. If the other people involved with her hadn't tried to pull cons of their own, essentially manipulating her - which is DEEPLY resented - things may not have occurred as they do. Or maybe it would have played out exactly the same way. She burns everything to the ground, a devastation of bitterness, jealousy and child-like wrath. Honestly, despite the despicable and demonic nature of Hanako, I see a ray of hope in her that I don't see in many of Oshima's other female characters. She at least gets up and frantically tries to claw her way out of the pit.




Nihon no yoru to kiri aka Night and Fog in Japan, 1960

Oh, this was a doozy, as idealism attacks idealism, layered with the personal goals and self-interest of the participants. This film reminded me of a discussion I had with someone regarding non-profits and personal interests: everyone has a goal, and it may not fit cleanly within the larger ideology. The film spews a dog's breakfast of misunderstandings, suspicions and dogma onto the screen, not to make you believe or understand them, but to point them out in glaring relief. They're highlighted with supreme pessimism. It's a seething mass of philosophies and social intrigues. As an aside, I first recognized Oshima's incredible faithfulness to a particular cast while watching this film (notably actors like Kei Sato, Atsuko Kaku and Rokko Toura). You see the same faces again and again...which can be good or bad, depending. It distracts somewhat, perhaps more-so when glutting yourself during an unhealthy binge as I've been doing. These films were never meant to be viewed so closely together.




Ai to kibo no machi aka A Town Of Love And Hope, 1959

No YouTube reults for this one, which is a shame. Much like Boy, it has a sympathetic resonance some of the other films deeply lack. Oshima chooses the subject of a poor family living in a bad area; the characters are good people with slightly warped ethics - warped only because they can't exist any other way. The mother is ill and can't work, so the son takes the homing pigeons she'd purchased for his mentally challenged younger sister and sells them on the street for food money...trusting the pigeons will return in a few days. He doesn't feel right doing this and neither does the mother. But needs must as the devil drives. The film winds up being a statement on naive social sympathies, and misunderstanding motivations. It also has those earmarks of "no one comes out happy in the end". The well-to-do girl who sympathizes with the boy has her innocent ideals dashed when she realizes he's pulling a con (albeit a very small con). The boy - because the deception is discovered - can get neither a good job, nor can he attend school as he has to take care of his mother. I believe the phrase "class alienation" is much-used in reviews. Yet it manages to maintain some hope at the end, regardless of the biting title. And as a side story adding despondent flavor, the mentally challenged sister likes to draw the dead animals she finds in their neighborhood. The drawings are memorable, and one in particular (of a contorted rat) seemed to draw a pitying gasp from the audience.


Gishiki aka The Ceremony, 1971

Right around here is when I seriously started having problems with Oshima. Not because I disliked it, per se, but because I couldn't possibly understand. Each review I've read refers to his disappointment with and criticism of post-war Japan - the Sakurada family being the representation. It was unfortunate that I watched the film solely at face value, but points to Oshima for making it work either way. Although it's a difficult trip without the uber-intellectual platform to stand on. This film takes a difficult family and places it in a new realm of epic insidiousness. All the philandering and warped youth, hopeless women, mental illness and violence...it happens regardless of war. WWII in this particular film is simply a catalyst for certain scenarios. It's a bitter view of familial relations (and of Japan, as it turns out). The grandfather's incessant adultery means he has children by nearly every woman attached to the family, so there are hints of incest as the children become attracted to each other. The film begins with a sour look at one of these relationships, and the rest of the film tracks this path loosely via flashbacks and vignettes. The end is not surprising; weakness and madness reign.




Three Resurrected Drunkards aka Kaette kita yopparai, 1968

Ok, I can't say enough about this film. I adored it from beginning to end. What this says about me, I'm not sure. Three students on a "last fling" from school visit the beach and have their clothes stolen, only to be replaced by Korean uniforms. Thus begins a whirlwind of misunderstandings and evasions. I was delighted to discover that the three charming young men in the film are the gents who perform the title music...three members of the Folk Crusaders, a Japanese psych-folk band. An interesting choice for Oshima, but brilliant. You care for them in that pat-pat-pat-let's-get-you-home-to-your-mum way. It is a quirky and humorous film. But still dark. They're mistaken for stowaway Koreans; the Koreans who stole their clothes need to kill the Japanese boys in their clothes to stop the ongoing search; the beautiful Korean girl who helps them has a boorish husband who whores her out to Korean stowaways. There's a fascinating documentarian scene where the boys walk down city streets asking people if they're Japanese and the bulk of answers are "No, I'm Korean". This movie was certainly taking a hard look at xenophobia, and has a hard end. There's also rampant references to Vietnam, and especially a focus on the South Vietnamese General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong officer with a shot to the head which is an infamous and incriminating picture from Vietnam, although it has come to light the execution may have been warranted. I've read several variants of the story. At the time Three Resurrected Drunkards was made, that photo was the seminal representation of things gone wrong. This film could be considered an excellent example as well; even when the boys are given their second chance (a little tongue-in-cheek, that), nothing turns out right. I've included two separate YouTube clips below...I liked it that much. I gather from The Auteurs site that not everyone is as enthralled as I.






Nihon shunka-kô aka Sing A Song Of Sex, 1967

Personally, I felt this film should have been shown first (it was part of a double-feature with Three Resurrected Drunkards). On the other hand, many people may have left before Drunkards and that would have been a crying shame. Sing A Song Of Sex is not only looking at alienated youth and oppressed sexuality, but again is making a strong statement about Japanese xenophobia and the history of post-war Japan. The final scene was amazing, as old Japan tries to speak and reason with new Japan. However, it's a hard film. How many times have I said that in this entry? I should count. Out of the ten I saw, this was the most difficult. The film "begins" with a senseless act. There's no thought or remorse. A decision is made and you never know why. Someone dies. And the rest of the film stems from there. It is chock-full of unexplained acts. But in reality it isn't as though people turn to you and give graphic explanations or rationales for why they do something. And I found that refreshing, although the actions taken in the film could be quite repulsive (rapes aplenty in this one, even if some are imagined). The boys move from typical teenage responses to a more sociopathic level. Oshima overlaps several concerns, including the Japanese-Korean relationship, a critical look at Japan's youth, and the shallow nod given by many to protest and idealism....I found the protest-parody scene to be vicously accurate.




Gohatto aka Taboo

What a visually stunning film, and a piece of cruel period erotica not to be missed. It includes a breathtaking score by Ryuichi Sakamoto. And, if you read the article linked above, I have an argument to make. Upon first viewing, you say to yourself "Huh?" - this isn't the Oshima I've come to expect (the latter part of this day's double-feature, The Catch, would more than make up for that). However, I have two points to make. One: while it seems as though he is in fact creating a movie of the type he once despised, look at it through Oshima's allegorical lens: he has taken his infamous rape scenes and moved them one rung higher. I quibble a bit about a young man prettier than a girl (played by the surreal-looking Ryuhei Matsuda) gaining the vengeance that I would have liked to see the earlier of Oshima's female characters get, but that is neither here nor there. To refocus, Two: it aggravates me when people expect a director to langorously clutch the same ideals for four decades. That would bore either him or everyone else. People grow and change, thank god. Regardless of whether you feel this is worthy of being an "Oshima" (as he becomes his own definition), it is a striking and worthy piece. As is sadly typical, a few people walked out during the sex scene. Whether it was because it was sex, or because it was anal sex between two men...I try not to judge other than to ask how you could possibly leave such a beautiful film. I'm also trying to decide if Oshima was having a little fun at our expense, as his years have indeed been filled with revealing the skittering undersides of rocks. That he is giving homosexuality that same level of taboo, as it were...and pointing his finger at us to say, "You idiots."




Shiiku aka The Catch

Ah well, couldn't find a video for this either. A shame. This was the last Oshima film I watched; it was presented about ten minutes after Taboo, and I haven't heard a worse grinding of mental gears in a long time. You're swooning from the intoxicating beauty and violence of Taboo, and suddenly watching a black American GI with his leg still in a trap being marched to a tiny isolated Japanese village. I must admit that this film was an excellent choice as the last of the series. It sums up so many of the qualities I've come to look for in Oshima's earlier work. It reminds me of Elevator to the Gallows for some reason, perhaps in a "things can only get worse" way. You can tell immediately that nothing good is going to happen to that soldier, as all the villagers' personal faults, flaws and scandals are blamed on him. He is considered an ill omen, bad luck. This is a dark scrutiny of mob mentality and the ease of rationalizing violence (which, come to think of it, has been another running theme). Oshima does not dwell on certain subjects as you'd expect in contemporary cinema - there's no long running shot of the soldier's festering leg, no weepy lingering hold on the still form of the child at the bottom of the cliff. I think more than anything, the director reviles sentimentality and wants no part of it. But he's a HUGE fan of manipulation.


Nagisa Oshima's 100 Years of Japanese Cinema

Technically, I'm breaking my own rule here and placing this outside of my personal chronology. I saw this before Taboo. However, it seems a fine way to wrap up this entry. Regarding 100 Years of Japanese Cinema, here is a good article (one in a series of four) entitled, "His Will On Film" written by Rob Nelson. Regardless of Oshima's take on the history of Japanese film, I would like to see every example in his documentary. And, in fact, found a site that has a complete or near-complete listing. During the film, he says quite clearly that Japan has been too dependent upon Japan, and that once they break free of those conventions, Japanese cinema will be allowed to evolve. And here's the point where I can relate this film back to comments made about Taboo. It was certainly this sort of statement which made people arch an eyebrow at samurai and cherry blossoms. There was a small uncomfortable laugh that ran through the audience when he states how he dislikes being associated with La Nouvelle Vague. More interesting still that LACMA has decided to pointedly have a celebration of Nouvelle Vague directors once the Oshima retro is completed. Clever on the part of the museum's film program coordinator, and hopefully it will create an intelligent and curious contrast.

“My hatred for Japanese cinema includes absolutely all of it."