2022 Blind Spot Series: Dreams

 

Written and directed by Akira Kurosawa, Yume (Dreams) is a collection of stories based on Kurosawa’s own dreams as it play into the life of a man who goes through many journeys in his life from childhood to adult hood. The film is an epic of sorts that follow eight different stories that all revolve around the ideas of humanity all seen through the eyes of a boy who then becomes a man. Starring Akira Terao, Chishu Ryu, Mieko Harada, Mitsuko Baisho, and Martin Scorsese as Vincent Van Gogh. Yume is a ravishing and intoxicating film from Akira Kurosawa.

The film is essentially a collection of eight different stories all based on the dreams of a man that play into his development of his life that include encounters with nature, the dead, life away from modernism, and apocalyptic nightmares. It is a film that explore a man’s journey through humanity as well as the many ideas on life from the wonders he saw as a boy and what he would experience as a man all told in eight different stories by its creator in Akira Kurosawa. Featuring additional contributions from Ishiro Honda, all eight stories are seen from the eyes of its protagonist known as I (Akira Terao) who would encounter these events with the first two shows him as a child (Toshihiko Nakano) and as an adolescent (Mitsunori Isaki). The first segment entitled Sunshine Through the Rain is about the child encountering an event he’s not supposed to see involving a wedding between two foxes as his mother (Mitsuko Baisho) warned him not to watch this event. The second segment entitled The Peach Orchard has the adolescent I encounter a ghostly fairy (Misato Tate) mistaking her for one of his sister’s friends. There, he encounters ghosts who want to punish him for being associated with those that destroyed the peach orchard when he begs them not to where he watches a ceremony.

The remaining six episodes involve I as an adult with The Blizzard being about his time as a mountaineer with three other mountaineers trying to reach camp in a blizzard where I encounters a mysterious ghost (Mieko Harada). The Tunnel has I walking into a tunnel where he once again encounters the dead in the form of Private Noguchi (Yoshitaka Zuki) as well as the entire regiment of his platoon who all appear where I begs for their forgiveness blaming himself for being the only man that lived during the war. Crows has I as an art student where he finds himself in the world where Vincent Van Gogh is creating paintings with Van Gogh commenting on what it means to be an artist. The next two segments in Mount Fuji in Red and The Weeping Demon are both these apocalyptic segments with the former revolving around nuclear catastrophe where I tries to protect a woman (Toshie Negishi) from the radiation while the latter has I meeting this demon (Chosuke Ikariya) with a horn on his head who laments over the state of his surroundings and his own impending doom. The final segment in Village of the Watermills is this tranquil setting where I walks into this peaceful village as if it is completely disconnected with modern society where he befriends an old man (Chishu Ryu) who talks about the things he has and why he has no use for modern conveniences.

Kurosawa’s direction is definitely grand in terms of the overall presentation of the film as it is shot on various locations in Japan with the final segment shot on location at the Daio Wasabi Farm. Each segment Kurosawa presents all have some kind of personal ideas as the Sunshine Through the Rain segment is shot near a forest where this child watches a ceremony that is choreographed by Michiyo Hata as there is a richness in the presentation where Kurosawa utilizes a lot of wide and medium shots of these scenes. Most notably in The Peach Orchard where the adolescent watches this ceremony that would revive all of these peach orchards as there are these meticulous imagery into the way Kurosawa would present these naturalistic moments. The segments in The Blizzard and The Tunnel do play into the idea of death with the former being this battle against nature in this furious blizzard while the latter is about grief following the aftermath of war where I is near the home of a private he was with in his final hours.

The segment for Crows is a lush and almost surreal sequence where Kurosawa would recreate the world that Van Gogh would make his paintings as well as these sequences with these grand visual effects where I is walking on painting sketches. The segments for Mount Fuji in Red and The Weeping Demon are among Kurosawa’s most intense as the former is shot near gray beaches as if Mount Fuji is surrounded by these nuclear reactors that are exploding as there’s loads of people trying to run from the explosions as there is this sense of real fear that is emerging. Even with the radiation as the color of red drowns a lot of what is happening as a man (Hisashi Igawa) laments over his role in the nuclear power plant. The Weeping Demon segment is shot on a mountain where there are these large dandelions towering over the man and demon as this strange form of beauty that is deformed while the land of the demons is one of great horror as it also has this commentary on the many fallacies of capitalism.

The final segment in Village of the Watermills is definitely the most somber as Kurosawa would shoot a lot of long and gazing monologues where he doesn’t employ a lot of close-ups in order to get conversations be presented. Instead, Kurosawa aims for simplicity in the final segment while it would also feature an elaborate parade of sorts with I watching it from afar. It is a moment in the film that parallels with the parade in the first segment yet it plays into the protagonist’s own journey in life as well as the fact that these are all ideas based on dreams about humanity, nature, life, and death. Overall, Kurosawa crafts a majestic yet rapturous film about a collection of dreams that play into a man’s journey through life.

Cinematographers Takao Saito and Shoji Ueda do amazing work with the film’s luscious and colorful cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting for some of the daytime exterior scenes with additional lighting by Takeji Sano for some scenes set at night such as the scenes at the blizzard and in the tunnel. Editor Tome Minami does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with bits of style in a few slow-motion cuts and a few other stylish bits to play into the drama and suspense. Art directors Yoshiro Muraki and Akira Sakuragi, with set decorator Koichi Hamamura, does amazing work with the look of the home where the young child and adolescent lived in as well as the look of deformed giant-flowers. Costume designer Emi Wada does fantastic work with the costumes in the look of the robes for some of the parades as it has a lot of vibrancy in the colors of the robes as well as a sense of feeling and idea of what they’re representing.

Special effects supervisor Mark Sullivan and visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston do terrific work with the visual effects as it play into some scenes involving rainbows, nuclear terror, and the Van Gogh sketches as it is a major highlight of the film. The sound work of Kenichi Benitani is superb for its approach to natural sound as well as sound effects for the scenes at Mount Fuji. The film’s music by Shinichiro Ikebe is incredible for its mixture of traditional Japanese folk music with some orchestral flourishes as it play into not just some of the intense and dramatic moments but also lighter moments while its soundtrack also include some classical compositions from Frederic Chopin and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles such as members of the 20-ki No Kai as I’s former platoon, the trio of Masayuki Yui, Shu Nakajima, and Sakae Kimura as mountaineers dealing with the blizzard, Tessho Yamashita as I’s former lieutenant, Mieko Suzuki as the adolescent’s sister, Misato Tate as the peach fairy, and the Kiku-no Kai dancers as dancers at the fox wedding. Other noteworthy small roles include Hisashi Igawa as a remorseful power plant worker looking at the chaos at Mount Fuji, Toshie Negishi as a woman with two kids watching the horror at Mount Fuji, Mitsunori Isaki as the adolescent I who laments over the loss of the peach orchard, and Toshihiko Nakano as I as a young boy whose curiosity over the fox wedding parade gets him in trouble. Mitsuko Baisho is terrific as I’s mother in the first segment who warns her son about watching the fox parade.

The duo of Mieko Harada and Chosuke Ikariya are superb in their respective roles as the ghostly figures as the Snow Woman and Weeping Demon with the former being this silent figure that would guide I during the blizzard while the latter is a figure is someone who laments over his role in the world as he is filled with regret. Yoshitaka Zushi is fantastic as the ghostly figure of Private Noguchi as a former soldier that I took care of back in World War II who asks him about his death. Martin Scorsese is excellent in his small role as Vincent Van Gogh as he is covered largely by makeup yet brings this offbeat approach to his take on the artist as someone that is just trying to find ideas in his surroundings. Chishu Ryu is amazing in his small role as an old man fixing a wheel at a watermill as he converses with I as he talks about what he has and the contentment he has in his life. Finally, there’s Akira Terao in a brilliant performance as the character known as I as a man who would endure many different adventures and encounters as it relates to life and death but also meaning as he tries to find himself as well as his role in the world.

Yume is a tremendous film from Akira Kurosawa. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous images, a rich music score and soundtrack, and themes of life, death, meaning, and environment all told through the idea of dreams. It is a film that isn’t just one of Kurosawa’s great films but is also one of his most accessible in terms of the themes he explores as well as showcasing a world when things were simple and can be again but also the horrors brought on by the darkest aspects of humanity. In the end, Yume is a spectacular film from Akira Kurosawa.

Akira Kurosawa Films: (Sanshiro Sugata) – (The Most Beautiful) – (Sanshiro Sugata Part II) – (The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail) – No Regrets for Our Youth - (Those Who Make Tomorrow) – (One Wonderful Sunday) – Drunken Angel - (The Quiet Duel) – Stray Dog - Scandal (1950 film) - Rashomon - The Idiot (1951 film) - Ikiru - The Seven Samurai - (I Live in Fear) – Throne of Blood - (The Lower Depths (1957 film)) – The Hidden Fortress - The Bad Sleep Well - Yojimbo - Sanjuro - High and Low - Red Beard - Dodesukaden - Dersu Uzala - Kagemusha - Ran - (Rhapsody in August) – (Madadayo)

© thevoid99 2022

2019 Blind Spot Series: Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Directed by Paul Schrader and screenplay by Paul and Leonard Schrader that are based on the works of Yukio Mishima, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is the story on the life and work of the Japanese writer through four different segments. The film uses a few of his books as guidelines into his life as Yukio Mishima is portrayed by Ken Ogata who also narrates the film. Also starring Kenji Sawada, Toshiyuki Nagashima, and Yasosuke Bando. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a ravishing and evocative film from Paul Schrader.

Set on the final day in the life of Yukio Mishima on November 25, 1970 as he is traveling to a building with a few of his cadets from his private army, the film revolves the life of a man as he is about to meet a general while he reflects on his life and the events that would shape him and his work as a writer. It’s a film that doesn’t have much plot as it is mainly told through an unconventional narrative that rely on flashbacks and dramatizations of Mishima’s work. The film’s screenplay by Paul and Leonard Schrader with contributions by Chieko Schrader and research by Akiko Hitomi focus on this last day of Mishima’s life and other aspects of his life in flashbacks that are inter-cut with three sections based on Mishima’s books as the four chapters of the film each represent a subject that Mishima would explore throughout his life in beauty, art, action, and harmony of pen and sword.

Beauty is represented through the first segment based on his novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion that follows a young stuttering student enamored by the beauty of this golden temple as he questions his own shortcomings as a person that parallels with Mishima’s own struggles growing up and trying to be a writer. Art is shown in the story Kyoko’s House as it plays into a young man who is trying to help his mother as he would become a lover to this older woman who agreed to wipe his mother’s debt to have him in this strange sadomasochistic relationship that would play into Mishima’s own growth as a writer and struggles with his own homosexuality. Action is presented in the story Runaway Horses that follow a group of fanatical students trying to overthrow its government in favor of a more nationalist view which play into Mishima’s own disdain towards capitalism and trying to create his own platform to help Japan. The fourth chapter that represents harmony of pen and sword is about Mishima’s final day as it play into the event of what he is trying to do as a way to balance his art and his actions in the hopes of a new future for Japan.

Paul Schrader’s direction is definitely stylish in his overall presentation of the film where he definitely aims for different tones for not just the sections of the films but also in the flashbacks. Shot partially in Tokyo for some scenes set during Mishima’s final day with some shots in Kyoto for the flashbacks, Schrader would also use soundstages to shoot dramatic interpretations of Mishima’s work. The three chapters that dramatize Mishima’s work has this air of artificiality in its look but also a theatricality to the intimacy of the setting. The three sections would all have different color palettes in its visuals and tone while the flashbacks are shot in black-and-white. Schrader’s compositions do play into the world that Mishima has created but also this disconnect from aspects of reality as he is trying to present himself as something bigger. The usage of the wide and medium shots play into the world that Mishima and his characters are in as well as some unique camera angles for some of the scenes that his own protagonists endure that parallel to Mishima’s own journey in his flashbacks.

Schrader would use close-ups for some scenes as it play into some of the dramatic plight that the characters from Mishima’s stories would face. Even as the fate of these characters would mirror Mishima’s own downfall in his own attempts to rid some of the modernity of post-war Japan. There is a beauty into Schrader’s direction where some of the visuals play into Mishima’s own idea of Japan at its most pure but it also play into this disconnect he has with Japan in 1970. The film’s climax that is set on his final day is about the dramatic state of what he’s trying to accomplish with his cadets but the collision he has with reality and modern Japan would force him to come to terms with this reality. Even as he would want to retain a sense of dignity amidst the ideas of a world he has no connection with. Overall, Schrader crafts an intoxicating and riveting film about the life of an author told through his works and on his final day in life.

Cinematographer John Bailey does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of black-and-white for the flashback scenes, a straightforward look for Mishima’s final day, and array of colors and lighting for dramatic sections of his work as it is a highlight of the film. Editors Michael Chandler and Tomoyo Oshima do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the intense dramatic moments of the film. Production/costume designer Eiko Ishioka, with set decorator Kyoji Sasaki plus art director Kazuo Takenaka and co-costume designer Etsuko Yagyu, is incredible for its intricate attention to detail in the sets of the dramatic fantasy scenes as well as the usage of colors to play into its look as well as the costumes in those sequences including Mishima’s robe in the film’s opening scene.

Sound designer Leslie Shatz does fantastic work with the sound in capturing the atmosphere of the locations that Mishima is in as well as the mixing of sounds in the dramatic fantasy sections of the film. The film’s music by Philip Glass does amazing work with the film’s music score with its rich and shimmering usage of strings with its arrangements adding to the drama as it is a major highlight of the film.

The film’s terrific ensemble cast feature notable small roles from Hiroshi Mikami, Junya Fukuda, Shigeto Tachihara as three of Mishima’s cadets from his private army and Junkichi Orimoto as General Mashita whom Mishima would take hostage for his speech on his final day of his life. For the flashback scenes, the performances of Yuki Nagahara as the five-year old Mishima, Masato Aizawa as the 9-14 year old Mishima, Go Riju as the 18-19 year old Mishima, Kyuzo Kobayashi and Yuki Kitazaume as a couple Mishima’s friends, Haruko Kato as Mishima’s grandmother, and Naoko Otani as Mishima’s mother are superb in the way they play into Mishima’s development as a man. From The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, the fantastic performances of Naomi Oki and Miki Takahara as a couple of girls Mariko try to flirt with, Imari Tsuji as a brothel madame, Chishu Ryu as a priest, and Hisako Manda as Mizoguchi’s friend Mariko. From Kyoko’s House, the excellent performances of Setsuko Karasuma as Osamu’s mother, Tadanori Yokoo and Yasuaki Kurata as friends of Osamu, and Mitsuru Hirata as a thug.

From Runaway Horses, the brilliant performances of Naoya Makoto as a kendo instructor, Jun Negami as a target of the students, and Ryo Ikebe as an interrogator. Yasosuke Bando is amazing as the stuttering Mizoguchi as a young student enamored with the beauty of the golden pavilion as it play into his love of Japan’s nationalist identity while Toshiyuki Nagashima is marvelous as the student Isao who wants to start a revolution against the growing capitalism of Japan. The performances of Kenji Sawada and Reisen Lee in their respective roles as Osamu and the crime figure Kiyomi are remarkable with Osamu as a man who represents masculinity and Kiyomi as a woman who buys Osamu for her own sadomasochistic pleasure. Masayuki Shionoya is incredible as Mishima’s aide Morita who would assist Mishima in his duties as well as the events of Mishima’s final day. Finally, there’s Ken Ogata in a phenomenal performance as Yukio Mishima as the celebrated author, playwright, and artist who would endure a lot of roles while coping with the journey he has in wanting to make changes for Japan and restore some of its old identity in a new world only to become more disconnected with what the world had become.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a magnificent film from Paul Schrader. Featuring Ken Ogata’s riveting performance as well as Eiko Ishioka’s tremendous art direction, John Bailey’s gorgeous cinematography, an inventive script, and Philip Glass’ eerie music score. The film is truly an unconventional yet entrancing bio-pic that explore a man’s life and work as well as his own flaws that would lead to the last day of his life. In the end, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is an outstanding film from Paul Schrader.

Paul Schrader Films: Blue Collar - Hardcore – American Gigolo - Cat People (1982 film) - (Light of Day) – (Patty Hearst) – (The Comfort of Strangers) – (Light Sleeper) – (Witch Hunt) – (Touch) – Affliction - (Forever Mine) – (Auto Focus) – (Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist) – (The Walker) – (Adam Resurrected) – (The Canyons) – Dying of the Light - (Dog Eat Dog) – First Reformed - (The Card Counter)

© thevoid99 2019

An Autumn Afternoon

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu and written by Ozu and Kogo Noda, Sanma no aji (An Autumn Afternoon) is the story of a family patriarch who is aware that his time is coming as he devotes his final moments by arranging a marriage for his daughter in the hope she can have a future. Ozu’s final film of his illustrious career is an exploration of modernism and a man keeping hold on tradition as he is aware that he has to let his daughter go and have a life of her own while hoping she retains his values. Starring Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada, Teruo Yoshida, Shinichiro Mikami, and Eijiro Tono. Sanma no aji is a ravishing and touching film from Yasujiro Ozu.

The film follows a widower who is aware that he’s in the final years of his life where he decides that it is time for his daughter to find a husband after seeing a mentor of his drunkenly reveal his own regrets in life. It’s a film with a simple premise by writers Yasujiro Ozu and Kogo Noda as it’s also about a family growing and adjusting to the changes in their lives. Notably in Shuhei Hirayama (Chishu Ryu) who works at a nearby factory in an office while he shares his home with his youngest son Kazuo (Shinichiro Mikami) and his 24-year old daughter Michiko (Shima Iwashita). His eldest son Koichi (Keiji Sada) is already married to Akiko (Mariko Okada) as they’re living their own lives while they endure a few problems of their own as Koichi is given some used golf clubs at a bargain price that Akiko disapproves of. Yet, Shuhei is concerned about trying to find a husband for Michiko during a night out with friends along with their old teacher of Chinese classics in Sakuma (Eijiro Tono) that would spur Shuhei to make plans for the future after seeing Sakuma extremely drunk as well as how his daughter Tomoko (Haruko Sugimura) reacts to her father.

Ozu’s direction which doesn’t aim for anything stylized or flashy does play into the simplicity of the story. Notably with his stationary static shot where he never moves the camera at all just to get enough coverage of what is happening during the course of the film. Shot on location in Tokyo, Ozu does use some wide shots of the location but also some precise compositions of the factories as well as certain locations including a bar that Shuhei goes to often as well as sushi restaurants. Ozu doesn’t use any close-ups in favor of just simplistic medium shots where the camera is often in front of the actor to talk to another actor or in a shot where there’s more than one character in a frame. Ozu would also play into this sense of loss but also acceptance of a new world in a scene at a bar that Shuhei goes to where he meets a sailor from his past in Yoshitaro Sakamoto (Daisuke Kato) who reminisces with him about the war and muse about what happened if Japan had won.

While there are elements of humor in the film, there is also this air of melancholia that Ozu would use throughout the film as it relates to what is the end of something. Notably as Shuhei saw what happened to Sakuma and how far he’s fallen with little to show for in the end just as he and a couple of his friends have done well. Shuhei realizes what he must do for Michiko as it’s not just about the acceptance that he’ll have to do things by himself once Michiko and Kazuo leave for their own lives. It’s also about Michiko needing to let go of taking care of her father though she admits to be unsure about wanting to get married. The film’s final images is about that acceptance but also the end of something as it relates to Shuhei yet Ozu manages to maintain a semblance of dignity knowing that even though a man’s life is to end. It at least has created a new beginning for those who are important to him. Overall, Ozu crafts a rapturous and intoxicating film about a man trying to find a suitable husband for his daughter.

Cinematographer Yuharu Atsuta does incredible work with the film’s colorful cinematography with its emphasis on naturalistic lighting for many of the daytime scenes while using low-key lights from Kenzo Ishiwatari for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night including the bar that Shuhei goes to. Editor Yoshiyasu Hamamura does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into the conversation scenes. Art directors Tatsuo Hamada and Shigeo Ogiwara do brilliant work with the look of the sushi restaurant and the bar that Shuhei goes to as well as the noodle shop that Sakuma runs and Shuhei’s home.

Costume designer Yuji Nagashima does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largey straightforward with the suits the men wear and the modern clothes of the time that the women wear along with traditional Japanese robes. Sound editor Ichiro Ishii does superb work with the sound as it is largely straightforward as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as the sounds of television showing baseball games. The film’s music by Kojun Saito is amazing for its lush and somber orchestral score with its usage of strings that sweep into its arrangements to play up the melancholic tone of the film while music coordinator Takanobu Saito provide a few traditional pieces as well as a war march piece that play into Shuhei’s fondness for his military past.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Fujio Suga and Zen’ichi Inagawa as a couple of drunks that Shuhei talks to at the bar, Shinobu Asaji as Shuhei’s secretary, Toyo Takahashi as the waitress at the sushi restaurant, Daisuke Kato as a former sailor in Yoshitaro Sakamoto that Shuhei remembered and chatted with at the bar, Ryuji Kita as an old friend of Shuhei in Shin Horie, Michiyo Kan as Horie’s young wife Tamako, Nobuo Nakamura and Kuniko Miyake in their respective roles as family friends Shuzo and Nobuko Kawai, and Kyoko Kushida as the bar proprietor whom Shuhei believes looks like his late wife. Eijiro Tono is superb as Shuhei’s former Naval mentor Seitaro Sukuma as a man who has fallen on hard times and is coping with his own failures while Haruko Sugimura is terrific as his daughter Tomoko as a middle-aged woman running a low-level noodle shop that is struggling as she copes with missed opportunities for herself. Shinichiro Mikami is fantastic as Shuhei’s 21-year old son Kazuo who works nearby at a factory as he is more concerned about what is for dinner rather than do something for himself. Teruo Yoshida is excellent as Yukata Miura as a friend of Koichi who gives Koichi some golf clubs while also having interest towards Michiko despite being attached to another woman.

Mariko Okada is brilliant as Koichi’s wife Akiko who is concerned with the money that Koichi spends knowing that they need it for more important things while Keiji Sada is amazing as Koichi as a man trying to live his own life and help his father find a husband for Michiko despite his own shortcomings in spending money he doesn’t have. Shima Iwashita is incredible as Michiko as a young woman in her 20s who is reluctant about getting married as she runs the household but also worries about what her father will do when she leaves and he’s on his own. Finally, there’s Chishu Ryu in a phenomenal performance as Shuhei Hirayama as a man knowing that he is facing the final years of his life as he also thinks about his past and his daughter’s future knowing what will happen to her if she stays home where it is a performance of grace and sensitivity as a man who has accepted his fate but also thinks about the incredible life he’s had.

Sanma no aji is an outstanding film from Yasujiro Ozu that features a tremendous performance from Chishu Ryu. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous images, a potent music score, and touching themes of life and family. It is a film that is a family drama that is told with such restraint and tenderness as well as being a great final film from one of cinema’s great storytellers. In the end, Sanma no aji is a magnificent film from Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) – (Days of Youth) – Tokyo Chorus - I Was Born, But... - (Dragnet Girl) – Passing Fancy - (A Mother Should Be Loved) – A Story of Floating Weeds - (An Inn in Tokyo) – (The Only Son) – (What Did the Lady Forget?) – (Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family) – (There Was a Father) – Record of a Tenement Gentleman - (A Hen in the Wind) – Late Spring - Early Summer - (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) – Tokyo Story - Early Spring - Tokyo Twilight - (Equinox Flower) – Good Morning - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - The End of Summer

© thevoid99 2019

The End of Summer

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu and written by Ozu and Kogo Noda, Kohayagawa-ke no aki (The End of Summer) is the story of a sake brewery family whose lives are shattered by discoveries relating to their patriarch and his secret life with a mistress. The film is a comedy-drama that relates to a family where a group of women deal with the news about their father while they try to adjust to the changes relating to their sake brewery. Starring Ganjiro Nakamura, Setsuko Hara, Yoko Tsukasa, Michiyo Aratama, Keiju Kobayashi, Masahiko Shimazu, Daisuke Kato, Haruko Sugimura, Hisaya Morishige, Chieko Naniwa, Reiko Dan, and Chishu Ryu. Kohayagawa-ke no aki is an evocative and somber film from Yasujiro Ozu.

The film follows a family who run a small sake brewery that is dealing with bigger companies as two women both deal with potential suitors recommended by their family patriarch who has just renewed his relationship with his old mistress. It’s a film that play into a family dealing with changes during a summer as a family patriarch is trying to ensure that his two daughters be wed to men while his widowed daughter-in-law Akiko (Setsuko Hara) is raising her child alone as she has little interest in getting remarried. With his son-in-law Hisao (Keiju Kobayashi) trying to run the brewery that is competing with a bigger sake competitor, the patriarch Kohayagawa Manbei (Ganjiro Nakamura) spends much of his time at home and would sneak out to visit his old mistress Sasaki Tsune (Chieko Naniwa) whom he’s rekindled a relationship with since the passing of his wife.

The film’s script by Yasujiro Ozu and Kogo Noda play into these family relationships where Akiko is being pursued as is the youngest daughter Noriko (Yoko Tsukasa) as the latter is concerned about her own suitor just as she is interested in a lecturer. It play into the different directions of the family as Noriko’s older sister Fumiko (Michiyo Aratama) learns about her father renewing his relationship with Sasaki as it is believed that he also fathered Sasaki’s daughter Yuriko (Reiko Dan) whom his family hadn’t met. The script also play into this idea of death as it relates to Manbei as he is aware that his brewery might go out of his business as he also thinks about what will happen to his daughters and daughter-in-law.

Ozu’s direction is understated in terms of the simplicity that he maintains throughout the course of the film. Shot largely in Kyoto, the film does play into this world that shows Japan becoming modernized and more vibrant but also retaining elements of the past including some of its traditions. While there aren’t many close-ups in the film, Ozu’s direction is ravishing in his approach to simple compositions whether it’s in a wide or in a medium shot as he captures so much attention to detail on a location, a room, an office, or at a bar. The fact that he doesn’t move the camera at all as well as positioning it one or two feet off the ground which is a visual style that Ozu is known for adds to the simplicity of the film. Even in a wide shot where the camera would look down from a house where Noriko and Akiko are having a conversation at the beachside area of a river as it would then cut to a medium shot of the two on the beachside with Noriko watching her son play in the river.

Ozu would also play up the drama in a low-key approach where he doesn’t aim for melodrama but something that is straightforward but also filled with sadness as it relates to the news about Manbei and his ailing health. The film’s third act doesn’t just explore the idea of mortality but also the decisions a family would have to make as it relates to their business and future. Even as Noriko and Akiko have to find husbands so they won’t be alone and play up to the ideas of tradition though the suitors they’re set-up with don’t really have much to offer to them emotionally. Though the film’s ending is about the end of something, it is also the start of something new where Ozu’s precise framing and gorgeous compositions play into this idea of life and death. Overall, Ozu crafts a rapturous and heartfelt film about a family dealing with changes and their patriarch’s decision to rekindle his relationship with his mistress.

Cinematographer Asakazu Nakai does brilliant work with the film’s colorful cinematography with its gorgeous approach to natural lighting for the scenes set at the day as well as the usage of low-key lighting for some of the scenes set at night. Editor Koichi Iwashita does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into some of the conversations between characters. Art director Tomoo Shimogawara does amazing work with the look of the home that Manbei lives in with Fumiko and Hisao as well as the home of Sasaki and the office that Hisao works at. Sound mixer Hisashi Shimonga does nice work with the sound as it is largely straightforward as it includes music that is being played from a certain location as well as sparse and natural sounds of a location. The film’s music by Toshiro Mayuzumi is fantastic for its usage of traditional woodwinds and flutes with some lush string arrangements in some parts of the film as it add to the film’s somber tone.

The film’s superb cast feature some notable small roles from Chishu Ryu and Yuko Mochizuki as a farming couple appearing towards the end of the film commenting on a building, Kyu Sazanka as a clerk working with Hisao, Hisaya Morishige as Akiko’s suitor Isomura, Akira Takadara as the lecturer Teramoto Tadashi whom Noriko is interested in, Haruko Sugimura as a sister-in-law of Manbei in Kato Shige, Daisuke Kato and Haruko Togo in their respective roles as Manbei’s brother-in-law and sister in Kitagawa Yanosuke and Kitagawa Teruko who try to help Akiko find a suitor, Masahiko Shimazu as Hisao and Fumiko’s son Masao, and Reiko Dan as Sasaki’s daughter Yuriko who is more interested in Western culture while wondering if Manbei is really her father. Keiju Kobayashi is terrific as Manbei’s son-in-law Hisao as a man who is trying to keep the family sake brewery afloat knowing that it is futile where he tries to find ways to save it but also face the reality of what he must do. Michiyo Aratama is fantastic as Fumiko as Manbei’s eldest daughter and Hisao’s wife who spends time taking care of her father while being disapproving over his relationship with Sasaki.

Chieko Naniwa is excellent as Sasaki as an old flame of Manbei who is happy about spending time with him while knowing that his family doesn’t know about this new relationship as she agrees to keep it private until the rest of his family is ready to accept her. Yoko Tsukasa is brilliant as Noriko as Manbei’s youngest daughter who deals with the prospect of having to marry someone just as she is falling for a lecturer she’s known for years as she also deals with the idea of being alone. Setsuko Hara is amazing as Akiko as Manbei’s widowed daughter-in-law as a woman that is trying to raise her son but also help Noriko with dealing with the idea of marriage as well as pondering about getting married again. Finally, there’s Ganjiro Nakamura in a remarkable performance as Kohayagawa Manbei as a sake brewery owner who is trying to help figure out what to do for Noriko and Akiko while trying to renew a relationship with a former flame in the hope he can bring the people he love together.

Kohayagawa-ke no aki is a phenomenal film from Yasujiro Ozu. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, an understated approach to narrative, and themes on life and death. It’s a film that explores a family dealing with secrets but also uncertainty as it relates to the future and their family business as well as themselves. In the end, Kohayagawa-ke no aki is a sensational film from Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) – (Days of Youth) – Tokyo Chorus - I Was Born, But... - (Dragnet Girl) – Passing Fancy - (A Mother Should Be Loved) – A Story of Floating Weeds - (An Inn in Tokyo) – (The Only Son) – (What Did the Lady Forget?) – (Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family) – (There Was a Father) – Record of a Tenement Gentleman - (A Hen in the Wind) – Late Spring - Early Summer - (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) – Tokyo Story - Early Spring - Tokyo Twilight - (Equinox Flower) – Good Morning - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - An Autumn Afternoon

© thevoid99 2019

Passing Fancy

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu and screenplay by Tadao Ikeda from a story by Ozu, Dekigokoro (Passing Fancy) is the story of a two co-workers who both meet a young woman looking for a place to living as it would later cause problems. The film is a silent drama that explore two men who both find themselves falling for this young woman as it would later cause trouble in their friendship. Starring Takeshi Sakamoto, Nobuko Fushimi, Den Obinata, Chouko Iida, and Chishu Ryu. Dekigokoro is an interesting yet lightweight film from Yasujiro Ozu.

The film revolves around a love-triangle between two co-workers at a brewery over a young woman they met at a theater as they both try to pursue her in their own ways only for things to get troubling as the son of one of the co-workers isn’t fond of his father’s pursuit for this woman. It’s a film with a simple premise although screenwriter Tadao Ikeda creates a narrative that doesn’t really do much to flesh out the relationships and characters. Notably as the first act is about the friendship between Kihachi (Takeshi Sakamoto) and Jiro (Den Obinata) as they attend a rokyoku play with Kihachi’s son Tomio (Tokkan Kozo) where they would meet the destitute young woman Harue (Nobuko Fushimi). Harue would get a job working for a restaurant owner in Otome (Chouko Iida) as Kihachi would pursue Harue slowly though Jiro isn’t fond of her which is a front as he secretly is in love with her leading to all sorts of problems. Even as Tomio doesn’t seem fond of Harue due to his grief towards his mom as the script doesn’t really do much to play into the drama as it tries to put in some humor where some of it doesn’t work.

Yasujiro Ozu’s direction is quite simple in its compositions though it wouldn’t feature the restrained and extremely simplistic style that he would be known for in his later films. Still, there are some gorgeous compositions that Ozu would create in its close-ups and medium shots where he gets a look at a certain location or room but also in capturing some of the emotional aspects of the film. The film does have Ozu use dolly-tracking shots to get a view of a certain location or environment as it’s one of the few moments of Ozu moving the camera as it help play into some of the drama and humor. Though the story’s lack of a strong plot and moments where the story meanders would slow things down to a sluggish pace. Ozu is able to maintain that sense of realism as it relates to the drama as it relates to events in the third act involving Tomio. Notably as it help bring some revelation to some characters as well as a sense of duty despite Kihachi’s own illiteracy. Overall, Ozu crafts a compelling although underwhelming film about two men vying for a destitute young woman.

Cinematographer Hideo Shigehara does amazing work with the film’s black-and-white photography as it play into some of the interiors including how a restaurant or a home is lit as well as the natural approach to photography for some of the daytime exteriors. Editor Kazuo Ishikawa does terrific work with the editing in creating some straightforward cuts despite its sluggish pacing due to the story’s lack of plot. Set decorator Yonekazu Wakita does excellent work with the look of Kihachi’s home that he shares with his son and Jiro as well as the restaurant that Harue would work at. The film’s music by Donald Sosin from a 2008 restored edition is brilliant for its piano-based music that is common in silent films as it help play into the humor as well as some somber pieces in the dramatic moments of the film.

The film’s wonderful cast feature some notable small roles from Ozu regular Chishu Ryu as a boat passenger at the end of the film, Chouko Iida as the restaurant owner Otome, and Tokkan Kozuo as Kihachi’s son Tomio who has a hard time dealing with his father’s love of alcohol and the attention towards Harue. Nobuku Fushimi is fantastic as Harue as a young woman seeking work as she finds herself in a love triangle though she enjoys her time with Kihachi while is confused about Jiro’s behavior. Den Onibata is superb as Jiro as a young brewer who is intrigued by Harue though he isn’t initially fond of her as he tries to get work but also do what he can to help Kihachi despite issues he would have with him over Harue. Finally, there’s Takeshi Sakamoto in a brilliant performance as Kihachi as a widower who is trying to watch over his young son as he also deals with his feelings for Harue and uncertainty in trying to find work and his friendship with Jiro.

Dekigokoro is a good although meandering film from Yasujiro Ozu. While it features some good performances, nice visuals, and a terrific music score, it’s a film that anyone interested in Ozu would seek out as one of his earlier silent films that is available. Even if it doesn’t provide enough plot or intrigue in comparison to other films. In the end, Dekigokoro is a fine but unfulfilling film from Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) – (Days of Youth) – Tokyo Chorus - I Was Born, But... - (Dragnet Girl) – (A Mother Should Be Loved) – A Story of Floating Weeds - (An Inn in Tokyo) – (The Only Son) – (What Did the Lady Forget?) – (Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family) – (There Was a Father) – Record of a Tenement Gentleman - (A Hen in the Wind) – Late Spring - Early Summer - (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) – Tokyo Story - Early Spring - Tokyo Twilight - (Equinox Flower) – Good Morning (1959 film) - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - The End of Summer – An Autumn Afternoon

© thevoid99 2019

Tokyo Twilight

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu and written by Ozu and Kogo Noda, Tokyo Twilight is the story of two sisters who reunite with their mother after she had abandoned them when they were children as they both deal with their own lives. The film is a look into the life of a family as they cope with this sudden reunion as well as changes in their lives. Starring Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishu Ryu, Isuzu Yamada, Kamatari Fujiwara, Nobuo Nakamura, and Haruko Sugimura. Tokyo Twilight is an evocative and touching film from Yasujiro Ozu.

The film follows the life of a banker in Tokyo who has two adult daughters as the eldest had just moved in with him with her two-year-old daughter due to her unhappy marriage where she and her younger sister learn that their mother has returned to Tokyo having been presumed dead for years. It’s a family drama that explores a family life that goes into chaos though there are several things the two women in the family are both dealing with as the eldest sister in Takako (Setsuko Hara) is taking care of things at her father’s home while her father Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) continues to work at the bank as he is dealing with the death of a colleague. The script by Yasujiro Ozu and Kogo Noda also explores the private pain that Takako’s younger sister Akiko (Ineko Arima) is dealing with as she is pregnant as her college boyfriend Kenji (Masami Taura) wants nothing to do with her.

During a search to find Kenji, she goes to a mahjong parlor that is run by a woman name Kisako (Isuzu Yamada) where she claims to know Akiko as she doesn’t tell her that she’s her mother. When Shukichi and Takako invite Shukichi’s sister Shigeko (Haruko Sugimura) that she saw Kisako as Takako learned about what Akiko had been doing though she is unaware of Akiko’s pregnancy. The screenplay would show this meeting between Takako and Kisako as it is filled with tension with the former displaying some resentment over what Kisako had done. Yet, it would set the stage for the emotional journey that Akiko would endure not just her own pregnancy but also revelations about the woman at the mahjong parlor she met.

Ozu’s direction is understated as well as being simple in terms of the compositions he creates and the need to delve into anything stylistic. Shot on location in Tokyo, Ozu would devoid himself of camera movements for the film including no tracking shots or anything of movement. Instead, he just aims a simple static shot to play into the image that he presents where he would use some wide shots for some of the locations in and around Tokyo. Yet, much of what Ozu shoots is with medium shots for much of the film as there’s very little close-ups in order to capture the intimacy and interaction between the characters. Much of is to not dwell too much into the melodrama as it would increase by the film’s third act as it relates to the Takako, Akiko, and Kisako. Ozu would maintain his simple approach to visuals as well as know where to create some offbeat shifts in the story that would seem abrupt but also play into the drama. Especially into what would happen as Ozu is aware of the bleakness that is prevalent in the story but is also aware that life has to continue. Overall, Ozu crafts an intoxicating yet tender film about two women dealing with the re-emergence of their estranged mother.

Cinematographer Yuhara Atsuda does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography to capture the beauty of some of the daytime exteriors in Tokyo as well as use some lighting for the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Yoshiyasu Hamamura does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward with very little elements of style for something more direct. Art director Tatsuo Hamada does fantastic work with the look of the home of Shukichi as well as the mahjong parlor that Kisako runs. The sound work of Yoshisaburo Senoo is terrific for being very simple and natural without the need to embellish as it very understated and to-the-point. The film’s music by Takanobu Saito is amazing for its orchestral-based score that feature some somber string arrangements to play into the drama while the music also feature some traditional Japanese music and contemporary music played on location.

The film’s phenomenal cast include some notable small roles from Seiji Miyaguchi as a police officer, Kamatari Fujiwara as a noodle shop owner who lets Akiko drink at his restaurant during the third act, Kinzo Shin as Takako’s estranged husband who visits Shukichi early in the film, Nobuo Nakamura as Kisako’s new husband Sakae Soma, Masami Taura as Akiko’s cruel college boyfriend Kenji, and Haruko Sugimura in a wonderful performance as Shukichi’s sister Shigeko who would tell her brother and niece in her encounter with Kisako. Isuzu Yamada is fantastic as Kisako as Shukichi’s estranged ex-wife Kisako as a woman who has re-emerged in Tokyo with a new life as she recognizes Akiko though doesn’t tell her who she really is as it’s an understated performance that shows a woman trying to start over.

Chishu Ryu is excellent as Shukichi as a banker who is dealing with the death of his family as well as Akiko’s late arrivals at his home wondering what is happening with his family. Ineko Arima is brilliant as Akiko as a young woman trying to deal with an unwanted pregnancy and a troubled relationship with her boyfriend as well as the revelation about the woman she met at a mahjong parlor. Finally, there’s Setsuko Hara in a radiant performance as Takako as a woman who is separated from her husband as she’s trying to run her father’s house and take care of her two-year old daughter while learning about the re-appearance of her mother as she tries to make sure Akiko doesn’t get herself into any trouble as well as getting her mother to not see Akiko ever again.

Tokyo Twilight is an incredible film from Yasujiro Ozu. Featuring a great cast, a compelling story, evocative visuals, and a somber music score, the film is definitely one of Ozu’s finest films in its exploration of family and middle-class life. Especially as it play into two women dealing with the unexpected return of their estranged mother whom they had believed had died. In the end, Tokyo Twilight is a sensational film from Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) – (Days of Youth) – Tokyo Chorus - I Was Born, But... - (Dragnet Girl) – Passing Fancy – (A Mother Should Be Loved) – A Story of Floating Weeds - (An Inn in Tokyo) – (The Only Son) – (What Did the Lady Forget?) – (Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family) – (There Was a Father) – Record of a Tenement Gentleman - (A Hen in the Wind) – Late Spring - Early Summer - (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) – Tokyo Story - Early Spring - (Equinox Flower) – Good Morning - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - The End of Summer – An Autumn Afternoon

© thevoid99 2017

Record of a Tenement Gentleman

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu and written by Ozu and Tadao Ikeda, Record of a Tenement Gentleman is the story of a woman who reluctantly takes care of a boy who has been abandoned as she is helped by friends during the era of post-war Japan. The film is among one of the first post-war film in Japan that explains the struggle of daily life as a boy is lost as he copes with his abandonment and the care of a woman who initially wanted nothing to do with him. Starring Chishu Ryu, Chouko Iida, Reikichi Kawamura, and Hohi Aoki. Record of a Tenement Gentleman is an intimate yet touching film from Yasujiro Ozu.

The film revolves around the postwar life as a man comes home with a homeless boy who had been abandoned as the woman living at the house reluctantly takes him in. It’s a film with a simple story as it play into a woman living with two men as they struggle to make ends meet in rural Tokyo as one of them finds a boy who is lost as they have no idea what to do. The film’s screenplay doesn’t go for anything dramatic except in its second half as it’s more about this woman in O-tane (Chouko Iida) trying to sell things with the help of a street fortune teller in Tashiro (Chishu Ryu) and a repairman in Tamekichi (Reikichi Kawamura). Tashiro would be the one to find this boy named Kohei (Hohi Aoki) whose father had presumably abandoned him to find work in Tokyo. Tashiro and Tamekichi want to help but they feel that the boy is better suited in the care of O-tane who isn’t so sure if she is able to take care of him as she is frustrated with his stubbornness and the fact that he wets the futon he sleeps on. Still, she would grow to care for the boy as well as wonder where his father is and did he abandon his son on purpose.

Yasujiro Ozu’s direction definitely maintains that air of intimacy throughout the film as well as the fact that he eschews any form of style to create something that is simple and direct. While there are a few camera movements for a scene set on the beach, Ozu’s direction is often placed with some wide and medium shots for much of the film with very few close-ups as it’s all about the simple static shot. Ozu’s approach to compositions in the way he puts an actor into a frame as well as creating that sense of drama as it relates to O-tane’s relationship with Kohei who doesn’t say much throughout the film. The direction also play into moments where O-tane, Tashiro, and Tamekichi are having dinner with neighbors who had won some money from a lottery as it promises a sense of hope during this time of rebuilding. Yet, it’s something O-tane would want but she is forced to contend with reality as it relates to Kohei and his lack of education and social skills as she would be forced to make some realizations about the boy. Especially as Kohei would fulfill something O-tane had lost years ago as Kohei is in need of someone to guide him. Overall, Ozu crafts a very tender yet evocative film about a woman taking in an abandoned boy in postwar Japan.

Cinematographer Yuharu Atsuta does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography as it play into the gorgeous exteriors of the beaches in rural Tokyo with some lighting for some of the interior scenes at night. Editor Yoshi Sugihara does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward to play into the dramatic elements of the film as well as some of the dramatic tension between O-tane and Kohei. Art director Tatsuo Hamada, with set decorators Shotaro Hashimoto and Mototsugu Komaki, does fantastic work with the look of the home of O-tane as well as some of the places around the neighborhood that is in ruin.

Costume designer Taizo Saito does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly straightforward including the tattered clothes of Kohei. The sound work of Yoshisaburo Senoo does terrific work with the sound as it is play into the natural setting of the locations as well as create something that isn’t totally artificial with the sound effects. The film’s music by Ichiro Saito is superb for its somber yet enchanting score filled with string instruments and lush orchestration to play into the drama as it’s a highlight of the film.

The film’s amazing cast feature some notable small roles from Takeshi Sakamoto as a friendly neighbor, Eiko Takamatsu as the neighbor’s wife, Taiji Tonoyama as a photographer, Hideko Mimura as Tamekichi’s daughter Yukiko, and Eitaro Ozawa as Kohei’s father. Hohi Aoki is superb as Kohei as a seven-year old boy who is quite sensitive and very quiet as he struggles with being abandoned by his father. Chishu Ryu is excellent as Toshiro as the street fortune teller who would find Kohei as he laments over what would happen to the boy. Mitsuko Yoshikawa is fantastic as Kiku as a friend of O-tane who is intrigued about Kohei as well as showing some kindness for the boy. Reikichi Kawamura is brilliant as Tamekuchi as a pot/pans mender who would watch over Kohei as well as expressing concern over how he would be treated. Finally, there’s Chouko Iida in a remarkable performance as O-tane as a widowed woman who sells anything she has in a poor part of Tokyo as she copes with taking care of a boy she isn’t fond of initially only to see the sadness in the boy.

Record of a Tenement Gentleman is a marvelous film from Yasujiro Ozu. Featuring a great cast, a compelling story, and dazzling visuals, the film is definitely a low-key yet engrossing drama that explores postwar life and how a woman would watch over a young boy abandoned by his own father. In the end, Record of a Tenement Gentleman is a sensational film from Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) – (Days of Youth) – Tokyo Chorus - I Was Born, But... - (Dragnet Girl) – Passing Fancy – (A Mother Should Be Loved) – A Story of Floating Weeds - (An Inn in Tokyo) – (The Only Son) – (What Did the Lady Forget?) – (Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family) – (There Was a Father) – (A Hen in the Wind) – Late Spring - Early Summer - (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) – Tokyo Story - Early Spring - Tokyo Twilight – (Equinox Flower) – Good Morning - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - The End of Summer – An Autumn Afternoon

© thevoid99 2017

Until the End of the World

(In Memory of Jeanne Moreau (1928-2017) & Sam Shepard (1943-2017))

Directed by Wim Wenders and screenplay by Wenders and Peter Carey from a story by Wenders and Solveig Dommartin with ideas from Michael Almereyda, Until the End of the World is the story of a road trip involving two people as they drive around the world before it’s to end in the new millennium as a nuclear satellite is about to enter Earth. The film is considered the ultimate road film as it involve two people traveling through four continents carrying something that could help the world just as time is running out. Starring William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Sam Neill, Chishu Ryu, Lois Chiles, David Gulipill, Max von Sydow, Rudiger Volger, Ernie Dingo, and Jeanne Moreau. Until the End of the World is a sprawling and evocative film from Wim Wenders.

A nuclear satellite from India is malfunctioning as it is set to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere setting panic across the planet where a woman’s encounter with bank robbers and later a man on the run would take her to a journey around the world. It’s a film that is this massive journey in which a woman with self-destructive tendencies falls for this mysterious man she has met in the South of France as he would steal a cut of the money she’s gained for helping a couple of bank robbers as she would follow this man all over the world who is in trouble with the law. Amidst all of this is the idea of a world coming to an end as the world’s leaders try to figure out how to deal with the satellite that is to crash down on Earth and destroy civilization as it’s in the backdrop of this story of two people traveling around the world as one of them is carrying a machine that could help humanity.

The film’s screenplay Wim Wenders and Peter Carey is largely told from the perspective of the novelist Eugene Fitzpatrick (Sam Neill) who narrates the film from time to time as he reflects on the journey he would participate in as it relates to the protagonist in his girlfriend Claire Tourneur (Solveig Dommartin) who is this aimless party girl that is indifferent to what is happening in the world. Through a detour from a traffic jam, Claire would drive from Venice to Paris where her encounters with bank robbers in Raymond (Eddy Mitchell) and Chico (Chick Ortega) lead to a car crash as she would help them hide and given a cut of the money they stole unaware that there’s a tracking device in the bag she’s carrying. Upon getting her car repaired, she would meet this mysterious man named Trevor McPhee (William Hurt) who gets a ride to Paris as he would later steal a bit of the money she had prompting her to find him all over Europe for much of the film’s first act. The second act isn’t just a continuation of Tourneur following McPhee with the help of a private investigator in Philip Winter (Rudiger Volger) with Fitzgerald joining in the search later on. It’s about Tourneur falling for McPhee where Winter and Fitzgerald learn about his true identity and why he’s on the run.

Traveling to cities such as Lisbon, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, San Francisco, and eventually ending in the Australian outback, the film’s narrative showcase the search that Tourneur would endure where it’s not just this existential journey but also a way into a world that she might see for the last time as time is a factor in the film. The sense of the unknown about this nuclear satellite looms throughout the film as the film’s third act set in the Australian outback isn’t just about McPhee and his mission but the people he’s reaching out to in a scientist named Henry Farber (Max von Sydow) and Farber’s blind wife Edith (Jeanne Moreau). Especially at a time when the unthinkable has happened leading to those wondering how the end of the world could be the beginning of something new.

Wenders’ direction is definitely grand in terms of not just the ambition he took to shooting the film in different locations across four continents around the world. It’s a film that is constantly moving whether it’s by land, by air, or by sea as it play into a world that is doing what it needed to do despite the fact that a nuclear satellite is about to crash to hit the Earth’s atmosphere and land somewhere. Wenders would show this sense of impending doom in the background whether it’s on a TV program or on a newspaper as Tourneur is too distracted to notice what is happening as she is eager to find McPhee. While there are a lot of wide shots to establish some of the locations and places these characters go into. Wenders doesn’t make sure the different locations would deter from the story as there is an intimacy whether it’s through a small video camera that Tourneur would carry from her home movie in China or some of the scenes during the third act on the Australian outback.

Wenders’ direction also has this sense of style in the close-ups and medium shots while giving each location its own mood and visual style as the scenes in Tokyo and rural Japan showcase something quiet and transcendence where Tourneur knows who McPhee really is and why he’s on the run as he is also dealing blindness due to the machine he’s carrying. The machine itself is something that would showcase what McPhee is trying to do for the Farbers as it is a very personal mission for McPhee as he hopes the machine would do some good for humanity. The third act in Australia which takes place just after the event that is described as the end of the world in terms of what happens to technology and all of the things that used to run the world. There is a moment where amidst this sense of the unknown about whether the world is gone after all or nothing has happened. There is a scene just before the end of the 20th Century is where this mixture of Aborigines and foreigners are just playing and listening to music as they don’t dwell into the loss of technology or the need to communicate with people from the outside world. It is a very brief moment of pure simplicity and community that showcases what humanity could be as all of the characters who were part of Tourneur’s journey interact as one.

Yet, it’s a very brief moment that is followed by humanity’s own flaw as it play into the need to start again with technology as it play into not just the sense of immorality but also loss. It’s where Fitzgerald becomes the protagonist of sorts where he goes through his own development from being a lover of Tourneur obsessed with going after her into finding himself. He would observe into what Farber has created that leave Tourneur and McPhee not just lost but also display something that Wenders sees is absolutely dead-on about what the world would become in the 21st Century. It’s where the protagonists are once again traveling but instead in reality, it’s through the mind where they become completely lost and they need to go into a journey of self-discovery. Overall, Wenders creates a majestic yet intoxicating film about a couple going on a worldwide journey just before the world is about to end.

Cinematographer Robby Muller does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural lighting for many of the exteriors in the different locations with some lighting for some of the interior scenes including the party at Venice or the hotels in Lisbon, Berlin, and Moscow. Editor Peter Przygodda does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts in some places as well as montages to play into Fitzgerald’s narration and other elements to help play into the sense of movement of the film. Production designers Sally Campbell and Thierry Flamand, with set decorators Ze Branco and Tim Ferrier as well as a quartet of art directors in Steve Burns, Claudio Carrer, Ian Gracie, and Jan Schlubach, do fantastic work with the look of some of the places the characters go to such as the party in Venice, Fitzgerald’s Parisian apartment, the different hotel rooms through the different locations, and Farber’s lab inside the caves in Australia.

Costume designer Montserrat Casanova does superb work with the costumes from the array of dresses that Tourneur wears including the black wig as well as some of the stylish clothes the men wear throughout the film. The special effects work of Frank Schlegel is terrific for the look of the visuals from the machines that McPhee is carrying as well as what Farber is displaying from the big televisions to the computers at the lab. The sound work of Jean-Paul Mugel is amazing for the atmosphere of the locations as well as the sound of radios, televisions, and vehicles to create something natural and engaging. The film’s music by Graeme Revell is incredible for its mixture of jazz, ambient, and electronic music to play into this idea of a music of the future as it play into the sense of the unknown while the film’s music soundtrack features a diverse collection of acts and artists who all provide their own ideas of the music of the future. Among these acts and artists in the film’s soundtrack include music from Talking Heads, U2, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Neneh Cherry, Jane Sibbery and k.d. lang, Daniel Lanois, R.E.M., Can, T-Bone Burnett, Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith with Fred “Sonic” Smith, Crime & the City Solution, and Julee Cruise.

The film’s marvelous cast include an array of appearances and small roles from Adelle Lutz as a friend of Tourneur in Makiko, Ernie Dingo as a detective trying to find McPhee, Ernest Berk and Christine Oesterlein as relatives of Farber, Allen Garfield as a used car salesman in San Francisco, Lauren Graham (not the actress of Gilmore Girls fame) as Farber’s granddaughter, Jimmy Little as an Aboriginal assistant of Farber in Peter, Justine Saunders as Edith’s caretaker Maisie, Kylie Belling as an Aboriginal doctor who carries a radiation detector, Kuniko Miyake as a Japanese innkeeper, and Eddy Mitchell as a French bank robber who gets wounded during the escape as he thanks Tourneur for helping him. Chick Ortega is terrific as Chico as a French bank robber who befriends Tourneur as he would follow her around the world through his tracking device while aspires to be a drummer while Chishu Ryu is superb as a Japanese innkeeper who specializes in making herbs as he would help McPhee with his eye site.

Lois Chiles is wonderful as Farber’s daughter Elsa who would provide the images key to what Edith would see while David Gulipill is fantastic as an Aboriginal man named David who is a family friend that would help McPhee reach his destination. Rudiger Volger is excellent as the private detective Philip Winters as a man who specializes in finding missing children as he helps Tourneur find McPhee in the film’s first act only to discover his true identity where he and Fitzgerald would follow them. Max von Sydow is brilliant as Henry Farber as a scientist trying to create a machine that would allow the blind to see things based on memories only to go way over his head with his ambitions. Jeanne Moreau is radiant as Edith Farber as the scientist’s blind wife who laments over the experiment she is taking part of as well as wondering if what she’s participating will do any good for the world.

Sam Neill is amazing as Eugene Fitzgerald as the film’s narrator who is a lover of Tourneur that copes with the journey Tourneur is enduring as well as his own writer’s block as he tries to write a novel only to find something more in Australia as he would embrace the simplicity of life while watch Tourneur and McPhee descend toward their obsession with technology. William Hurt is incredible as Trevor McPhee as a mysterious man that is on the run from the law as he is carrying a machine from Farber where he would cope with blindness and the demands of his mission as it’s a very low-key yet engaging performance from Hurt. Finally, there’s Solveig Dommartin in a phenomenal performance as Claire Tourneur as an aimless party girl who embarks on a journey that would change her life as she copes with the things she is seeing as it’s this entrancing yet offbeat performance from Dommartin.

Until the End of the World is a tremendous film from Wim Wenders. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals set on many different locations, a riveting story on a world coming to an end, and an exhilarating music soundtrack. It’s a film, in its full-length near five-hour run time, truly lives up to the idea of the ultimate road movie in a lot of ways while also predicting what would happen during the end of the world as well as humanity becoming reliant on technology to find something that can’t be found. In the end, Until the End of the World is a magnificent film from Wim Wenders.

Wim Wenders Films: (Summer in the City) - (The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty) - (The Scarlet Letter (1973 film)) - Alice in the Cities - Wrong Move - Kings of the Road - The American Friend - (Lightning Over Water) - (Room 666) - (Hammett) - (The State of Things) – Paris, Texas - (Tokyo-Ga) – Wings of Desire - (Notebook on Cities and Clothes) - (Faraway, So Close!) - (Lisbon Story) - (Beyond the Clouds) - (A Trick of Light) - (The End of Violence) - (Buena Vista Social Club) - (The Million Dollar Hotel) - (The Soul of a Man) - (Land of Plenty) - (Don’t Come Knocking) - (The Palermo Shooting) - (Pina) - Salt of the Earth - (Every Thing Will Be Fine) – (The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez) – (Submergence) - (Pope Francis: A Man of His Word)

© thevoid99 2017

Army (1944 film)

Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita and screenplay by Tadao Ikeda from a story by Shohei Hino, Army is the story of a Japanese family who hope to be involved in the army to fulfill with the wishes of the generation before them. The film is a look into the legacy of a family as they cope with the ways of the world and what it means to serve their country during wartime. Starring Chishu Ryu, Kinuyo Tanaka, Kazumasa Hoshino, Eijiro Tono, Ken Uehara, Ken Mitsuda, and Haruko Sugimura. Army is a powerful and evocative film from Keisuke Kinoshita.

The film follows three generations of a family from the mid-19th Century to World War II as they all have desires to be part of the military and serve their country. Much of the film’s narrative is told during Japan’s occupation of Manchuria and into World War II as much of the first act is about a young man helping a militia soldier and in return is given a collection of books chronicling Japan’s history. Years later toward the end of the 19th Century, he passes the books to his son who would sign up to join the army and succeed but doesn’t see any action due to recurring illnesses. He hopes his son would follow in his footsteps but his son is wracked with fear yet would eventually sign up to be in the army but isn’t sure about stepping into the battlefield. Tadao Ikeda’s script follows mainly the life of Tomohiko (Chishu Ryu) who did serve his time as an army captain but never stepped foot in the battlefield as he is eager to instill everything he’s learned from the books he has inherited into the next generation of soldiers. Yet, Tomohiko finds himself at odds with the man who has hired him but also in the role his son Shintaro (Kazumasa Hoshino) has taken.

Keisuke Kinoshita’s direction is definitely mesmerizing in the way it approaches everything in a simple way. Though there’s moments in the film that do spout some Japanese propaganda due to the fact that the film was funded by the Japanese government during World War II. While much of the compositions in the film are very straightforward, Kinoshita does create some scenes that are still engaging such as a meeting between Tomohiko and an old man where Tomohiko’s wife Waka (Kinuyo Tanaka) is in the background from afar. Kinoshita’s usage of the wide shots are quite intense where it has a lot of coverage as it play into the evolution of Japan’s military as it’s more focused on training and trying to be part of something bigger than the individual.

Yet, the film is noted for an ending that was considered very controversial in its initial 1944 release as it relates to the role that Shintaro has to play for Japan. Notably as it’s shown from the perspective of someone close to Shintaro who see what he’s become and accomplished for the family but is it really worth it? Even as there is so much emphasis to honor the emperor and so much for the country unaware of the personal cost it would do to a family. Overall, Kinoshita creates a compelling and heartfelt film about a family’s desire to serve their country during wartime.

Cinematographer Yoshio Taketomi does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography as it is very straightforward with some lovely lighting for some of the film’s nighttime interior/exterior scenes. Production designer Isamu Motoki does excellent work with the film’s art direction from the pawn shop that Tomohiko runs that he’s inherited from his father and grandfather to places in the small town he and his family live at.

The film’s amazing cast include some notable small roles from Ken Mitsuda as Tomohiko’s father Tomonojo, Ken Uehara as an old military officer and friend of Tomohiko in Nishina, Haruko Sugimura as Shintaro’s friend Setsu, and Eijiro Tono as Setsu’s father Sakuragi who would give Tomohiko a job in teaching young soldiers. Kazumasa Hoshino is superb as Shintaro as a young man eager to please his father while coping with the expectations laid upon him as he also tries to find his own path into the world of the army. Kinuyo Tanaka is fantastic as Shintaro’s mother/Tomohiko’s wife Waka who deals with the expectations toward her family as well as steering Shintaro into the right path and pondering everything that is expected for the country. Finally, there’s Chishu Ryu in an incredible performance as Tomohiko as a man who is eager to fulfill his father’s wishes by serving in the army as he later copes with his own failure and hoping his son would be the one to fulfill the wishes only to deal that his ideas about service are becoming obsolete.

Army is a sensational film from Keisuke Kinoshita. It’s a film that explores the idea of servitude in the Japanese army during World War II and the pressure instilled upon those serving and the demands to honor its emperor. Even it means win at all cost. In the end, Army is a phenomenal film from Keisuke Kinoshita.

Keisuke Kinoshita Films: (Port of Flowers) - (The Living Magoroku) - (Jubilation Street) - (Morning for the Osone Family) – (Carmen Comes Home) - (A Japanese Tragedy) - (Twenty-Four Eyes) - (She Was like a Wild Chrysanthemum) - (Yorokobi mo kanashimi mo ikutoshitsuki) - The Ballad of Narayama (1958 film) - (The River Fuefuki) - Immortal Love

© thevoid99 2017