Japanese Movies Responses
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Japanese Movies Responses
I Was Born, But… [Umarete wa mita keredo, Yasujiro Ozu, 1932, 91 min.]
In this silent film of Yasujiro Ozu, the coming of age story is precisely depicted. The film begins as a tender comedy, but towards the end, it is kind of heartbreaking. Although the film is silent and is designed in the early 1900s setting, it is so entertaining. The protagonists of the film two young boys by the names Tomio Aoki and Hideo Sugawara made faces and moved about around the place in unison adding to the film’s uniqueness. As the film is mainly based on hierarchy, when the protagonists find out that their father is low-ranking to the father of one of their friends, they feel shamefaced. This, therefore, emphasizes the Japanese culture where the boys mostly believe and want their fathers to be great men in society. On the aspect of acting, the protagonists are pitch-perfect and outstanding while the shots of the director, Ozu are quite intelligent.
Perhaps what stands out most in this film is the complication of maturity with the innocence of a child. This is portrayed through the protagonists who are the domineering males of their Tokyo neighbourhood who are angered and shocked by their father’s submissive behaviour in the workplace. They, later on, realize that their father who they thought was a great man was not as they had imagined and as a result, the protagonists lose part of their innocence. This film is, therefore, an experience that can stick in the minds of the viewers through its portrayal of adulthood. The film explores the theme of children always picturing their elders to be perfect even though that is not usually the case as they are sometimes dependent and childish. At the end of this film, the viewer gains different values and ideals regarding the shared experience of getting older. The film illustrates role models who are not very perfect, goals of the protagonists to become army generals and the minimal control people have over their futures.
Ugetsu [Ugetsu Monogatari, Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953, 96 minutes]
This film was a story of romance, ambition and war in the 16th century when Japan was experiencing civil wars. This film was produced in a manner so uncanny to portray the absurdity of men who have bigger dreams than their potentials and the men’s women who suffer based on the absurdity. This tale of the 16th century Japan has color and panorama that makes this interesting film so rare. It is, therefore, a moving classic with full of sights that might make the viewer break down in emotions. The acting of the characters, including Genjuro and Tobei, is splendid as is the ability to intertwine fantasy and realism in the film. The cinematography is elegant together with the lighting and locations. The film can depict a ghostly story with themes that are quite universal because the westerners can easily understand it. This includes the endurance of the wicked enticement of money and even glory and the value of appreciating one’s spouse.
The film categorically has an answer to the issue of nonculture. The protagonist Genjuro’s story, who is a potter in the film, is used to convey the director Kenji’s artistic attestation. The film is therefore reduced to a single statement that is clear cut when Genjuro meets with the Lady Wakasa. The film is able to portray the great beauty that is considered very different from the non-culture of the Wakasa people. The film is two-sided as it aims at supporting the conventional myths of women while on the other hand, it also emphasizes the feminist concept. The actions that are illustrated by the protagonists, i.e. Genjuro and Tobei, are partly inspired by the values that are coerced on them by paternal capitalism. This is proven when both of the characters seek success one through the possession of massive wealth and the other through being a Samurai. The two do all this to make an impression on their spouses while in contrast, their spouses have entirely no interests in their husbands’ ambitions. The film, therefore, denounces the aspect of male egoism that patriarchal capitalist civilization tends to encourage.
Rashomon [Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa, 1950, 88 min.]
This film is described as an innovative structure, superb acting and a thorough analysis of reality versus perception. The film examines the personalized nature of the truth. The conception of the film is very brilliant while its central theme, which was passion, was intensely conveyed. The film is, therefore, a focus on human morality which can provoke thoughts and insights into the matter. The shooting is also near perfect and very inventive, making the film a classic as it also involves captivating plots and ideologies. The story contains duality in the essence that it is quite simple while at the same time technically complex. The central message in the story is the rape of the character Machiko Kyo together with the killing of the character Masayuki Mori. This tale is conveyed from the angle of four different narrators. The aspect of what such a horrendous happening tells about the nature of humans is also addressed. The viewers watching this film have the main focus of finding out what transpired. However, this proves to be quite a tough task since all the narrators are divergent in their narration of what happened.
Rashomon, therefore, focuses on the incapacity of an individual knowing the whole truth despite the clarity of the situation. The film thus portrays that perspectives can manipulate reality and as a result making the complete fact unfathomable. After completing the film, the viewer is left with the notion that objective truth does not exist. The film never unfolds what transpired leaving the viewers to make their conclusions. It is important to note that the film is more of visual poetry than a movie as utmost importance is laid on the sights and images as compared to the characters sounds and their conversations. The acting of the characters in the film is also magnificent, as seen by the four narrators to the story that transpired. The characters are robust, mesmerizing and quite brilliant. The film, therefore, presents its issues of objective truth uniquely and intensely, thus making it by another definition, a great classic.
Late Spring [Banshun Yasujiro Ozu, 1949, 108 min.]
This film repudiates melodrama, and therefore cameras are settled into the still, long take scrutiny. The story focuses on the life of a father (Somiya) and daughter (Noriko). The actual subject of the film is impermanence which gives it bittersweet resonance. Ozu uses a Japanese sense in this work to provide a more in-depth insight into the Country’s rich culture. In between the protagonist’s actions, Ozu poetically focuses on nature and dialogue. But perhaps what he is renowned for is his distinctive low camera height in which he films the movies. Thus, style is essential as it captures the feelings and also spaces that the characters in the film portray making the viewer feel a deep level of connection to the characters. It is important to note that the films convey a story that is quite simple and yet realistic, making it applicable in the today world. The centre of the relationships in the film makes the viewer be intensely moved and connected to the characters. The theme of sacrifice, i.e. being ready to sacrifice oneself for the other is portrayed in the film, something that in today’s world is not very common.
The film illustrating a story that is both modern and timeless is considered a masterpiece in the film industry. The typical visual style of Ozu, which includes shooting cameras that have minimal movements during shoots is what makes the film stand out. Wordlessness of space and time is used to illustrate the procedures of arrangements within the household of the protagonists, Noriko and Somiya. Another unique aspect of the film is that a lot of activity occurs out of sight that is merely mentioned but not visualized. An excellent example of this is where the character Noriko smiles, but the viewer knows very well that the character is not happy. The film also explores the culture whereby it is believed that women at a certain age need to have spouses, and how the protagonists in the story strive so hard to fight this notion.
Gojira (Godzilla) [Gojira, Ishiro Honda,1954, 98 min.]
This film by Honda is a sobering postwar commentary that is still talked about many years after its release back in the year 1954. The director uses a black and white metaphor to illustrate the destruction brought about by the bombing of the two cities of Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Honda, therefore, employs the use of a four-hundred-foot-tall dinosaur characterized by the name Gojira which rose from beneath the seas as a result of the nuclear bombing that occurred. The monster thus matches to the Country’s capital recking havoc until it is killed by another atomic bomb match worse than the first which led to its awakening. The film is thus captivating in a manner that can be described as chilling. The keen storytelling ability of Honda in this film manages to square up to tragedy through different angles. Although the film’s special effects are a bit outdated as to the today technology, the post-nuclear tale is very intense and ambiguous. Through the mixture of social commentary and intense action, the film delivers satisfaction to its viewers. The director uses satire that is considered very cutting as it is seen in the film that most characters live with the worry of constant calamities befalling them.
The film was, therefore, the forefather of criticism in the social context which was impersonated as entertainment. The story within the film is considerably easy to follow and understand. The ingenious destruction sequences and chilling images accompanied by the bleak black and white cinematography serve to emphasize the central theme of the film, which is a tragedy. The film not only focuses on the bombing but also the aftermath of it. This was shown through powerful imagery of makeshift shelters that made the film seem so dramatic and real at the same time. Above all the influence created by the film, it is essential to note that it refers to the bombing of Japan during the second world war and the destruction caused afterwards. It is as plain as it can be with no effort of making it subtle. The film is thus a timeless masterwork as it captures the theme in a manner that is dark and honest.
Live in Fear [Record of a Living Being/Ikimono no kiroku, Akira Kurosawa, 1955, 103 min.]
This film by Kurosawa portrays a society that is coming out of the shadows but is still tormented by the memories from the past and the apprehension of the future. However, I have the feeling that the director could have come up with a more constructive thought on how individuals should use their energies to a more certain purpose than the negative ones presented in this film. Apart from that, the film exposes the fault lines in an extended family and to be more precise, on Japan’s post-war society, through the disruptive effects of one man’s well-grounded but yet excessive fear. This being the case, the film is missing a little something, but despite this, it is worth watching. The film’s storyline is based on the protagonist Toshiro Mifune who acts as an Oldman that is insecure and irrationally anxious about the atomic bomb. The story, therefore, reflected on how people from Japan lived in constant fear of another country dropping a bomb to them that had the capacity of wiping out a whole city. Of great importance is the aspect of paranoia that the film depicts. It shows how a paranoid mind operates and stressed on how such a mind could not listen to reason but just linger over the fear that controls it.
This film was a bit interesting since it was a problematic choice siding with either the protagonist or his family. This is because both sides offer valid reasons for the viewer to provide a supportive hand towards them while at the very same time, both also give the viewer a specific reason to side with the opposing side. To the viewers, no team is totally right and worth enough to support. Apart from that, all the characters in the film gain the viewer’s sympathy due to the problematic situations they go through. The film tries to depict how the family difference of opinions exist in real life. Kurosawa’s depth of characters and talent is also conveyed through the film, a good example being the protagonist Mifune.
Fireworks [Hana-bi, Takeshi Kitano, 1997, 103 min.]
The ‘fireworks’ film otherwise known as Hana-bi is a magnificent masterpiece of poetry with fascinating interruptions of violence that is considered “beautiful” on the power of will to select forcefully over situations considered very tragic. Kitano thus directs an intense film where his usual trademark of violence is coated by calm beauty scenes and various magnificent paintings. The violence is also accompanied by some Joe Hisaishi music and different sceneries. The story in the film is about love which later led to loss and anger as a result. Takeshi himself plays the protagonist’s role of “Nishi” a cop who has a sick wife, and due to lack of funds, his wife’s medication bills are paid by the Yakuza loan sharks. However, what makes this film different from other Takeshi films is the presence of the character Hirobe who was also a police officer but was shot at one point forcing him to retire from the force and use a wheelchair the rest of his days. Due to this, he developed a liking for painting and thus the film is filled with artwork to demonstrate the weaker side of Kitano, people had only known his stronger violent side.
Many people have associated this masterpiece with cop films. However, this is not the case since cop films mainly liger over the action while in this case, the fireworks films disclose what happened little by little. This, therefore, emphasizes the point that this film was not merely about action but rather about repercussions and the state of mind. All the vital action scenes that may have been considered in other action films are gotten rid of in this scenario. The actions that are also illustrated are so short and brief that the viewers can hardly believe what they have seen. The design of the film, therefore, is a life that is quite ordinary and casual punctuated by a distinct episode of extreme violence. Dialogue in the film is very minimal as is portrayed by the protagonist Nishi.
Pigs and Battleships [Buta to gunkan, Shohei Imamura, 1961, 108 min.]
This film by Shohei Imamura is a sardonic drama making it an energetic genre piece that is full of uncontrolled crime and ill-fated romance; thus, entertaining from start to end. The director utilizes love tales that are quite dramatic to provide social and political comments regarding the era of the 20th century. Of importance is also the context of raising pigs as one of the concepts used in making if the comments deemed sociopolitical. What makes this film a classic is a notion by the director that pigs and battleships have neither happy nor sad endings proving that Shohei was indeed fascinated by the nether aspects of human life. This film was basically about the modernization of Japan after the second world war. The protagonist in this film Kinta is very poor and therefore decides to join the yakuza gang, and soon enough he is deep into dealing drugs and racketeering. Later on, he is offered a chance to start fresh by tending to the pigs in the farm of the Yakuza mob boss, but even after persuasion from his girlfriend, he refuses to do this job as he claims that it has no future. The film is intertwined with symbolism and commentary which all denounce the American treatment of the motherland, Japan.
The setting of this film is in one of the seaside towns of Japan, where the action revolves around the interaction of visiting sailors from America and the natives of the town. The director is able to blend location shoots and studio sets to bring about a carnival-like environment of lights that are flashing, and narrow streets. There is also the polluted blend of legal and illegal ventures within the film as satire runs unrestrained in this film. This film thus makes a strong case on how the United States military presence affected the seaport town of Yokosuka. As the film addresses serious themes, it is also entertaining through the adventures of the gangster Kinta and his girlfriend, Haruko. At the time this film was being produced, Shohei was a student to the master Ozu and this film, therefore, illustrated open rebellion against his master.
Rebellion [Joiuchi, Masaki Kobayashi, 1967, 128 min.]
This film by Kobayashi is an extreme samurai film surrounding the actions of the protagonist Toshiro Mifune who most of the times is wielding a sword. The plot of the tale revolves around a particular family which is very proud and therefore find it difficult to acknowledge a lady as their son’s spouse and as a result returning the woman to the district Lord. What makes this film stand apart from others of the same nature is the diligent telling of stories by the director Kobayashi. The director is also unpredictable in his storytelling role as it is seen towards the end of the film where Mifune the protagonist decides to stand up to his marriage which is very unhappy, the son to the protagonist finally loves his wife and the wife played by the character Yoko Tsukasa decides to cast her life with the family. The film thus focused on the issue of the individual in opposition to society. The director put a lot of focus on family and especially on women increasing the film’s potential in an emotional context. Kobayashi constructed horizontal compositions to restrict the camera movements, thus giving rise to a moving atmosphere.
It is also worth noting that the director used traditional artistic features, for instance, the gorgeous picture which was compared to the “suiboku ink painting.” He, therefore, utilizes Japanese art in the development of the film like for instance the precepts of the “official Kano School”. This was a select group of artists who were bet recognized for their ‘monumental screens.’ The ‘deception of history’ is a major underlying theme in this film. This is where a particular occurrence which might be considered of great importance happens but is not recorded; therefore, it is marked as if it did not exist. This is seen in the film where there is total cover-up at the end of the rebellion, the final individual who knew the whole situation as it unfolded, i.e. the protagonist Mifune is dead. In summary, the film plays close attention to detail, the surrounding environments and family to produce a different cinematic atmosphere.
Tampopo [Juzo Itami, 1985, 114 min.]
This film is a Japanese comedy about the art of noodles. Due to the fact that it is a comedy, it contains a lot of scenes considered funny as a strong emphasis is put on the silent noodle scene. As is illustrated in the film, every life’s aspect is filtered through the prism of food. This includes, its methods and rituals of preparation and consumption, its part as either a social unifier or social divider and its many health uses not leaving out pervasive abuses. An important fact to note is that a lot of love tales have been intertwined into this film. However, above all this, the “romance” of food has been particular attention as well as the excruciating devotion and hard labour required. The film’s plot revolves around a certain widow and a trucker in the process of trying to produce the perfect noodle. As pronounced, one may fail to find out the reason the film is so hilarious, but after watching it, one discovers that it is quite indescribable and entertaining. The director of the film thus based on funny satire of the culture in Japan. The film contains hilarious and Asian vignettes about the cultural importance of food in Japan. The sweetly understated chivalry between the characters Goro and Tampopo is also a delight.
The film is developed as a pathway towards the perfect noodle restaurant. Some of the scenes are hilarious; for instance, the scene where an individual dies in the process of hunting down the ideal bowl that he could use to hold the noodles. The film, therefore, is not of the practice of limiting itself to one genre satire. The film makes absolutely no effort to convey communication between various cultures as it uses cunning satirical pieces to add fun to the viewer which are excellently targeted that describing it is not enough, one must just view the film to get the full aspect of the funny tale.
Shoplifters [Manbiki kazoku, Hirokazu Koreeda, 2018, 121 min.]
Shoplifters is described as a film that grows and grows with the viewer. This, therefore, means that the film when viewing it seems so very quiet, but the viewer is completely hooked to it. The director Hirokazu is able to fill the film with grace notes, humor and subtle observations, circling and filling out each character while leaning more on innocence than corruption. Hirokazu thus marshals his considerable talents to tell what initially appears to be another story of family love and perseverance in the margins of society. He is therefore at his best when he is suppressing his sentimentality, and like the way he portrays his characters, the viewers of the film should learn to take the goof together with the bad. The story revolves around an ambitious philosophical journey to explore the fundamentals of family. The film is filled with compassion and profound, intelligent narratives that leave the viewer hooked. Reflecting on what family is and the ties that can grow between unrelated people, Koreeda gradually brings us close to his characters in this beautiful, bittersweet drama before hitting us with something quite unexpected (and brilliant) that only adds new layers of meaning to it.
The film begins with a perfectly orchestrated scene of a man and a boy in a particular store to lay the groundwork for the other scenes to come. They signal each other, and it is evident that they are in the store to shoplift. However, it is evident that they are not doing this for fun but rather for survival purposes. This film is also based on the themes around family and inequality that are seen throughout the works of Koreeda. The characters and plights raised in the film are issues that exist in the society and therefore continue even after the end of the film and also existed before the film.
The Ring [Ringu, Hideo Nakata, 1998, 96 min.]
This film by Nakata has indescribably disturbing moments that frightened me out of my wits. But like many of the Japanese horrors that followed, it sometimes has an elliptic and confusing storytelling style that can make plot-progression muddy. It is said that only lesser mortals have attempted to replicate the feeling that Reiko has plunged into something with which even her psychic powers can’t compete. While the story in the film is gripping, and the acting top-notch, Hideo Nakata’s direction is the primary reason to watch. Ringu has a minimalist intensity that can stop the heart with a simple flash-cut or a timely fillip in the musical score. There are quite a few moments throughout Ringu that the filmmakers should still be patting themselves on the back in today’s world. From the sound effects that are overused today, to the close-ups that make you want to turn your head away from the television, this film really knew how to get its audience.
This film is incredibly effective. In retrospect, a film like this should easily date itself after almost 20 years, but it remains the best in the long line of sequels, remakes, and reboots that it has had. Ringu remains one of my favorite horror films for building up its story and sprinkling in a few spine-tingling thrills throughout the film and never blowing its load early. Sure, the premise itself is a bit silly, but if you can buy into the mythology of it, it’s a damn effective horror flick. I have never been a massive fan of the horror genre, so when I praise a film for being scary, I feel like I am making a more significant statement than most. Ringu still terrifies me to this day, and I highly recommend it if you haven’t checked it out yet.
The Wind Rises [Kaze tachinu, Hayao Miyazaki, 2013, 126 min.]
The film by Miyazaki is excellent visually and story-wise. It is very gripping for an animated film. Doesn’t matter what age you are most people should enjoy this movie. The Wind Rises” is the last film by Hayao Miyazaki released in 2013 about the chief engineer at Mitsubishi named Jiro Horikoshi. He was responsible for the design for the Mitsubishi A5M aircraft and its successor which were used by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The film, like many Studio Ghibli animated films, are beautifully drawn with vivid colors and outstanding animation. Miyazaki has made some of the greatest animated films since Walt Disney in the 1930s leading up to his death. Horikoshi dreams of becoming a pilot, but due to his nearsightedness, he can never become a pilot. In one of his several dreams, he meets an Italian aircraft designer whose work he admires named Giovanni Battista Caproni.
Caproni tells young Horikoshi that although he can’t fly, building and designing planes are more fun. He encourages him to build beautiful planes even if they are used for ugly things like war. Horikoshi then attends Tokyo Imperial University and eventually graduates landing a job at Mitsubishi where he excels in designing planes. His friend Kiro Honjo also works with him. Honjo realizes the future of aircraft and lampoons Japan for always being ten or twenty years behind the rest of the world. After the two go on a trip to Germany to see the work of Hugo Junkers, Horikoshi has somewhat of an epiphany. But before he is sent back to work, he is sent on vacation where he runs into a woman he first met as a girl, Naoko. She has tuberculosis but agrees to marry him. Although most of the events in his life are fictionalized, it’s still an incredible story about passion for one’s job and aviation—the pursuit of achieving your dreams even after several failures.