Nipponkoku VS Sennan Ishiwatamura (Sennan Asbestos Disaster) MOMA's Kazuo Hara retrospective

This is a documentary that follows ten years in the fight to get justice and compensation for the people of Sennan, Osaka who were put into harm’s way by not only working for the various companies that made asbestos but lived around the factories themselves. After almost a hundred of exposure thousands are sick and dying but no one is paying attention. It was a danger that the Japanese government knew about well before the Second World War but chose to willfully cover up the fact.

I’m going to mention that Sennan Asbestos Disaster runs almost four hours to start because the extreme running time maybe a factor in whether you decide to see it. I also mention it because I was lucky enough to be able to watch the film at home at my leisure so I got to stop and start the film as needed. Don’t get me wrong this is a very good, probably great, film but there is a lot of information and it can be a bit overwhelming.

Decidedly not a neutral telling of events, Sennan Asbestos Disaster wears it’s heart on the sleeve and the filmmakers are very much part of what transpires.This is a blood brother to director Kazuo Hara earlier The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On. Frankly the fact that the film covers so much time and makes so many of the victims out to be real people it would be hard for the filmmakers to disappear into the background. They are on the front line from start to finish whether the government and company officials like it or not. While normally one would like a sense of distance, in this case there is no way to really side against those fighting for compensation, after all everyone knew there were problems 80 years ago, they simply refused to let anyone know. There is not mitigation.

I like Sennan Asbestos Disater a great deal but it is a long film. As I mentioned above I got to take time away from my viewing of the film. I think that helped my connecting with the film and allowed me not to get overwhelmed to the point my eyes glazed over. While I heartily recommend the film when it plays this weekend at MOMA,  I think you should consider the run time before you dive in.

For ticket and more information go here.

Yukiyukite Shingun (The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On). 1987. Moma's Kazuo Hara Retrospective

Here is my review of The Emperor's Named Army Marches On from right after Unseen Films started. It is being reposted because the film is being played on June 6th as the opener for MOMA's Kazuo Hara retrospective (For tickets and more information go here)

This is the story of Kenzo Okuzai a very strange man who is haunted by what happened back in New Guinea during the Second World War. What happened was that while all the men were starving the officers had several soldiers executed on trumped up charges so that they could be used for food. This is a documentary about his long lonely crusade to put the souls of the dead to rest (ie.to give himself some peace of mind).

This is a very in your face film. Okuzai drives a car with a loudspeaker on the top and is covered with what I can only assume is an explanation of his cause. He challenges authority at every turn (he went to prison a couple of times; first for shooting ball bearings at the Emperor... and later murder) and does what ever he can to get his point across. Its makes you laugh and it makes you cringe (a case in point in the opening wedding ceremony where he gives a speech that is not to be believed, which is funny for what it says, but cringe inducing for when he says it). Okuzai forces you to consider how far would you go to correct a wrong that happened even 40 years before.

Watching the movie I was forced to reflect not only what it may have been like in the jungles during the war and what I would do to survive. What is the moral obligations we should follow when we are near death and trying to stay alive? The film also forces you to think about the role of a camera in the proceedings. We are with Kenzo Okuzai all along his odd trip as he attempts to comfort the families of the dead and as he confronts (and assaults) the officers who ordered the executions. There is no doubt that he is aware he is being filmed, so does that make him more or less confrontational? Is his behavior more or less genuine than it would be had the camera not been there? Its a tough call and as you watch it you really do have to reflect on what is the role of a film crew in filming actual events? Can we trust the actions of those being filmed? Its all something to think about.

If you get the chance see this film. Its an interesting look at a very odd man. I'm not sure that I liked Okuzai (which is the problem with the movie, he isn't really likable), but he did force me to think about life and film in several new ways.

MOMA is doing a retrospective of the work of Kazuo Hara (June 6–16, 2019)

From the MOMA email I received on the series:

Rounding out the summer programs at MOMA is a retrospective of the eminent Japanese filmmaker Kazuo Hara (June 6–16, 2019), with the director himself in attendance, as well as documentary filmmaker Michael Moore for an opening night discussion.

The series opens with Hara’s infamous The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987), about an aging Japanese veteran’s monomaniacal efforts to expose the war crimes of his commanders. Hara’s compassionate pursuit of justice for society’s weak and vulnerable is also evident in Goodbye CP (1972), a devastating film about people with cerebral palsy and their struggle to be acknowledged; Extreme Private Eros: Love Song (1974), the story of an independent activist becoming a single mother; A Dedicated Life (1994), in which preeminent postwar novelist Mitsuhari Inuoe remains courageous in the face of cancer; and Sennan Asbestos Disaster (2017), about a dwindling community of former asbestos workers, dying of cancer and other diseases, who sue the Japanese government. Other series highlights include excerpts from Hara’s latest project, Minimata Now, which he intends to finish later this year.

For more information and details go here

Venerable W plays MOMA January 4 through the 10

Watching Barbet Schroeder's THE VENERABLE W is like being woken up by having cold water sprayed on you from a fire hose while someone with spiked gloves smacks you into consciousness. It is a film full of the full weight of history and it crushes us with the sense we've been here before (this really is similar to what happened with the Nazis). It is also a film that is a cinematic fire alarm about the road we all could end up traveling down. It shows how words can and will inflame people to the point of genocide. It is a warning to everyone, both now living and future generations that genocide could happen "here", where ever your here is.

Schroeder's film documents the crimes against humanity being committed by the monk known as The Venerable Wirathu in Myanmar. W is turning many Buddhists against the Muslim minority via carefully worded sermons and outright lies. It is a never ending cycle of violence as W's words spark killings which spark revenge killings which then cause more violence and more violence and....

THE VENERABLE W is just down right scary. It is a film that clearly shows what unchecked hatred can do- we see the bodies of the dead and dying. We see how, step by step, W gained prominence and how he gets his message of hatred out. Schroeder gives us video of important events, tracts by W and his followers and commentary by experts. It is a portrait of a truly evil man doing what he can to spread his mindset of unbridled hatred.

Most importantly Schroeder talks to the man himself. Full of certainty and the "right" answers W told Schroeder that he could ask any question he wanted. Knowing that he was going to be fed bullshit Schroeder didn't ask the obvious questions such as how he reconciles the hatred he spews with the Buddhist notion of not hating. Instead he simply lets the man talk and hang himself with his own words.

The combination of words and images presented here is crushing and the portrait of a man of peace having gone so far afield is damning. Sitting in the front row with nothing to separate me from the carnage I felt bludgeoned.I had to look away.

How is that so many seemingly good people can be lead by such a sociopath? Why would a man of peace turn to violence?

There are no easy answers and Schroeder doesn't pretend to have them. In the Q&A that followed the New York Film Festival screening he refused suggest a reason why W preaches hatred. Schroeder refuses to speculate because he doesn't have all the information. Similarly he refused to say outright that W is somehow connected to the military who ruled the country for years and who has tried to wipe out the Muslims themselves for decades. All he would say is that many of the money men who circle the military looking for contracts can be tentatively connected to W via donations to certain monasteries.

Watching the film one can not help but see the parallels to the course of human events both past and present. As I said above what W is doing is very similar to how the Nazi's spread their hate. His quietly fanning any already held prejudices into full on hatred is turning good men and women into bad ones. The horrific violence not only frightens the Muslims but in its way also anyone who would speak against it. It is frightening because the ones committing the acts of terror are not the police or military but friends and neighbors.

As for the future all one sees is how the suspicion and distrust of Muslims is running rampant in the world. It is a false feeling of fear (Schroeder shows us stats) fanned by the media who get viewership by fear. However the danger doesn't need be a turning against Muslims, but any group. Living here in what is now a divided America, one need only watch how the President stokes the fires of hatred toward anyone he and his base dislikes to see that it could happen here (why else suggest building a border wall).

THE VENERABLE W is a film that will leave you broken and angry. It is a film of rare power, and singular filmmaking. Barbet Schroeder has made a masterpiece that will move you to try to do something even if it is to preach it's warnings and make you want to get word ot by talking the film up and pressing copies into the hands of people around you because word must be spread.

It is a singular achievement...

...even more so when you consider that the New York Film Festival screened the film with the short WHAT ARE YOU UP TO BARBET SCHROEDER? about the reasons behind the making of VENERABLE W.

Made for a complete career retrospective of Schroder's films WHAT ARE YOU UP TO... beautifully explains how Schroeder's deeply felt Buddhist beliefs resulted in him needing to go to see how a religion that is about love and non-violence could be perverted into something so black.

What I loved about the film is that in 13 minutes not only does the film explain THE VENERABLE W but it also explains Schroeder's feelings for Buddhism and the religion itself. I have been studying Buddhism for decades and watching the film I had several wonderful "ah ha" moments. I was so moved that I'd love to see Schroeder tackle a full on exploration of Buddhism.

Like the film it is nominally about, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO... is a singular achievement. And like that film it is improved and enhanced when seen with its companion.

THE VENERABLE W and WHAT ARE YOU UP TO... make up one of the most important and vital films of 2017, or any year. They are a cry for help for the Muslims of Myanmar and a warning that must be heard and answered.

See these films for they will change how you see the world.

Information from the Japan Society on their co-presentation with MOMA of: Kazuo Miyagawa: Japan's Greatest Cameraman

NYC's Most Comprehensive Celebration of Japanese Cinematographer Encompasses 30 Years and 27 Films of One of the Most Influential Film Artists in History

Retrospective Series at Japan Society and MoMA Features Masterpieces and Rarities in 35mm & a World Premiere Restoration of Yasujiro Ozu's Floating Weeds

Kazuo Miyagawa: Japan's Greatest Cameraman

April 12-29, 2018, at The Museum of Modern Art

April 13-28, 2018, at Japan Society

** Related Screenings March 2 & April 6 at Japan Society, and April 6-12 at Film Forum **

New York, NY – Working intimately with directors like Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa on some of their most important films, Kazuo Miyagawa (1908-99)pushed Japanese cinema to its highest artistic peaks through his lyrical, innovative, and technically flawless camerawork. Considered the greatest cinematographer of postwar Japanese cinema whose career endured through the 1990s, Miyagawa has influenced generations of leading filmmakers around the world.

In celebration of the 110th anniversary of Miyagawa's birth, and coinciding with Japan Society's 110th Anniversary season, the Society presents Kazuo Miyagawa: Japan's Greatest Cameraman. Co-organized and co-presented by The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), with additional titles screening at Film Forum and as part of the Society's Monthly Classics series, this career-spanning selection displays the preeminent cinematographer's great versatility, including major masterpieces and rarely shown titles, screening in 35mm and new digital restorations. Spanning two months and three venues, the citywide celebration encompasses 27 films, representing over 30 years of Miyagawa's career.

The series at Japan Society launches April 13 with a brand new 4K restoration of Ozu's Floating Weeds, featuring an introduction with Miyagawa's son Ichiro Miyagawa and Miyagawa's longtime camera assistant Masahiro Miyajima, followed by a public reception. Additional highlights among the Society's selection are very rarely screened 35mm prints imported from Japan unavailable on streaming or U.S. home video, including The Rickshaw Man, A Certain Killer, The Devil's Temple, and The Spider Tattoo. Also screening on 35mm are the seldom screened Ballad of Orin, Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold and Odd Obsession, as well as the 4K restoration of Tokyo Olympiad. Landmark classics Rashomon and Street of Shameround out the Society's presentation.

For its portion of the series, MoMA presents the World Premiere of the Floating Weeds restoration for the series launch on April 12, as well as repeat screenings of Japan Society's lineup and additional titles through April 29, including Bamboo Doll of Echizen, Children Hand in Hand, Conflagration, Gonza the Spearman, Her Brother, Silence, Singing Lovebirds, Suzakumon, Taira Clan Saga,  The Gay Masquerade, and Sisters of Nishijin.

Preceding the retrospective, new 4K restorations of Mizoguchi's A Story From Chikamatsu and Sansho the Bailiff, both shot by Miyagawa, run at Film Forum from April 6-12.  Additionally, Japan Society screens films featuring the work of Miyagawa as Monthly Classics, including Kurosawa's Yojimbo on March 2, and Mizoguchi's Ugestu on April 6.

"There hasn't seen a substantial retrospective of Miyagawa's incredible work in New York City since 1981 when Japan Society presented 25 films with Miyagawa in attendance," said Aiko Masubuchi, Senior Film Programmer at Japan Society. "On the occasion of his 110th birthday and our 110th anniversary, it is an honor to partner with MoMA and work with Film Forum to expand the line-up for the largest, most comprehensive retrospective dedicated to the master cinematographer, and give a new generation of New Yorkers an opportunity to fully appreciate one of the most seen but least known film artists in history."

"Kazuo Miyagawa is credited with having invented a filmmaking technology, the 'bleach bypass,' on Kon Ichikawa’s Her Brother (1960), a process by which he gained greater control over color saturation and tonality," said Joshua Siegel, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art. "For more than 50 years, such technological and artistic innovations have influenced cinematographers as far ranging as Vittorio Storaro and Roger Deakins, who have similarly used Miyagawa's bleach bypass technique to cast a silvery sheen over their color images, as well as other conceits like his use of mirrors outdoors to create dappled effects of sunlight and shadow."

Tickets for Japan Society Screenings: $13/$10 seniors and students/$9 Japan Society members, except for screening of Floating Weeds + reception: $17/$14/$13. Ticket buyers who purchase tickets for at least three different films in the same transaction receive $2 off each ticket.

For MoMA's full line up and ticket information, visit moma.org. For Film Forum's related selections, visit visit filmforum.org.

JAPAN SOCIETY SCREENING SCHEDULE

All films below screened at Japan Society and presented in Japanese with English subtitles.

Floating Weeds (Ukigusa)

Friday, April 13 at 7:00 pm

**New 4K restoration

**Introduction with Ichiro Miyagawa, Kazuo Miyagawa's son, and Masahiro Miyajima, Miyagawa's longtime camera assistant

**Followed by a reception

1959, 119 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. With Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyo, Ayako Wakao, Hiroshi Kawaguchi.

When an aging actor returns to a small seaside town with his travelling kabuki troupe, he is reunited with a former lover and their illegitimate son, bringing out the bitter jealousy of his current mistress. A remake of his own 1934 silent classic, Yasujiro Ozu's third foray into color filmmaking resulted in one his most visually evocative films—a late period masterpiece that marries the director's distinct style with Miyagawa's extraordinarily deep understanding of color and light. With this brand new restoration, the film is given dazzling new life. "In Floating Weeds, [Miyagawa] created the most pictorially beautiful of all of Ozu's pictures." —Donald Richie

Rashomon                         

Saturday, April 14 at 4:30 pm

1950, 88 min., DCP, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. With Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura.

Speaking about Miyagawa's camera work for Rashomon, director Akira Kurosawa said, "I think black-and-white photography reached its peak with that film." An international breakout success, Kurosawa's magnificently shot film about the unknowability of truth burst doors open for Japanese cinema when it won the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival. Working with the master director for the first time, Miyagawa pushed the possibilities of cinematographic expression and technique with elaborate tracking shots, expressive lighting with mirrors, and, most famously, by shooting straight into the sun. "Rashomon is a film where the camera has a starring role." —Akira Kurosawa

The Rickshaw Man (Muhomatsu no Issho)                                                                                          

Saturday, April 14 at 7:00 pm

1943, 80 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. With Tsumasaburo Bando, Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Keiko Sonoi, Kyoji Sugi. Co-presented with The Japan Foundation.

This seldom seen classic about a crude but honest rickshaw man who falls in love with an army captain's widow is an early highlight in Miyagawa's career, directed by his frequent collaborator Hiroshi Inagaki (whose 1958 color remake is better known). Marked by Miyagawa's ambitious camerawork, the film culminates in a tour-de-force display of technical skill with a meticulously planned 2 ½ minute sequence in which 46 individual shots are superimposed to create a sublime dream-like montage of light, shadow and movement—all accomplished without an optical printer or light meter.

A Certain Killer (Aru Koroshiya)                                               

Tuesday, April 17 at 7:00 pm

1967, 82 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kazuo Mori. With Raizo Ichikawa, Yumiko Nogawa, Mikio Narita, Mayumi Nagisa. Print courtesy of National Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

A stylish crime thriller by genre director Kazuo Mori from a script by Yasuzo Masumura, starring Daiei superstar Raizo Ichikawa as a nihilistic ex-kamikaze pilot restaurateur who moonlights as a contract killer for the yakuza. A solitary figure, the silent hitman's ascetic lifestyle is intruded upon by an insistent young woman and ambitious gangster who eventually plot to betray him. Shot amidst a backdrop of barren wastelands and equally stark interiors, Miyagawa's muted colors and precise widescreen framing visually match the icy, calculated persona of Ichikawa's killer in this little-known late '60s gem.

   

Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold (Zatoichi Senryo-kubi)                                                                                    

Friday, April 20 at 7:00 pm

1964, 83 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with live English subtitles. Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro. With Shintaro Katsu, Mikiko Tsubouchi, Machiko Hasegawa, Tomisaburo Wakayama.

In this sixth installment of the popular Zatoichi film series, the blind masseur is mistakenly accused of stealing a large sum of tax payments belonging to poor villagers. To clear his name, he sets out to find the actual thieves. Both working on the Zatoichi series for the first time, director Kazuo Ikehiro and Miyagawa inject a hefty dose of style with impressive visuals, including a flashy opening credit sequence and an unforgettable final showdown between Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi and a sadistic rival swordsman played by Katsu's brother Tomisaburo Wakayama.

Tokyo Olympiad (Tokyo Orinpikku)                                                                                        

Saturday, April 21 at 2:00 pm

** New 4K restoration

1965, 170 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kon Ichikawa.

Commissioned by the Japan Olympic Committee, director Kon Ichikawa and Miyagawa supervised a team of 164 cameramen, furnished with over 100 cameras and almost 250 lenses, to cover every angle of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Whittled down from over 70 hours of footage, the result is an epic yet intimate film that captures the human drama of the games with artistry and supreme technical skill. Initially rejected by the Olympic organizers, it nevertheless went on to become a huge international sensation and remains one of Ichikawa's (and Miyagawa's) greatest achievements. Winner, 1965 Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Award. "So singular and stylized is Ichikawa's approach to his record of the 1964 Olympics that it can hardly be called a documentary."—James Quandt, Cinematheque Ontario

The Devil's Temple (Oni no Sumu Yakata)                                                                                           

Saturday, April 21 at 6:00 pm

1967, 82 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with live English subtitles. Directed by Kenji Misumi. With Shintaro Katsu, Hideko Takamine, Michiyo Aratama, Kei Sato. Print courtesy of National Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

A woman visits an abandoned mountain temple outside Kyoto in medieval Japan where her husband, a fallen nobleman turned vicious killer, is living with his lover. Failing to win him back, she refuses to leave for months until a traveling priest seeking shelter enters the temple and unwittingly instigates a deadly battle of wills. Primarily known for his masterful chanbara films, director Kenji Misumi teamed with Miyagawa to transform this four-person chamber drama about exorcising evil into an operatic, visually flamboyant and psychologically charged masterpiece of mood and claustrophobic mise-en-scene.

The Spider Tattoo (Irezumi)                                                                                       

Saturday, April 21 at 8:00 pm

1966, 86 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Yasuzo Masumura. With Ayako Wakao, Akio Hasegawa, Gaku Yamamoto, Kei Sato. Print courtesy of National Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

In this darkly erotic Junichiro Tanizaki adaptation directed by Yasuzo Masumura, a beautiful young woman is abducted and sold to a geisha house where a large spider is unwittingly tattooed on her back. Motivated by a supernatural thirst for vengeance, she ruthlessly manipulates the men who lust after her, leaving a pile of bodies in her wake. Using Eastman stock, Miyagawa referenced the rich colors and sharp tones of ukiyo-e woodblock printing to create images that emphasize contrast and clarity, paying particular attention to vibrant whites and reds—especially blood.

  

Street of Shame (Akasen Chitai)                                                                                              

Saturday, April 28 at 2:00 pm

1956, 87 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. With Ayako Wakao, Aiko Mimasu, Machiko Kyo, Michiyo Kogure.

Kenji Mizoguchi's final collaboration with Miyagawa (after eight films together) was also his final film—a heart-wrenching drama about the lives of five women working at Dreamland, a brothel in Tokyo's red light district, who struggle to reconcile their dreams in the face of a grim socioeconomic reality. Primarily known for his elegant period films, Mizoguchi's swan song is startlingly contemporary, imbued with documentary-like realism that implements his eye for imaginative blocking and use of deep focus. A poignant summation of the great director's thematic and stylistic interests.

Odd Obsession (Kagi)                                                                                   

Saturday, April 28 at 4:30 pm

1959, 107 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kon Ichikawa. With Machiko Kyo, Ganjiro Nakamura, Junko Kano, Tatsuya Nakadai. Co-presented with The Japan Foundation.

When injections can no longer rejuvenate an aging man's declining virility, he discovers that jealousy offers a good substitute. Taking advantage of an attraction between his daughter's handsome lover and his younger wife, he orchestrates an affair between them to reawaken his once-insatiable libido. Adapted from Junichiro Tanizaki's famous novel, Kon Ichikawa's farcical black comedy about aging and male sexual anxiety features Miyagawa's uniquely subdued color cinematography, which emphasizes the contrast between black shadows and white light to illuminate the film's complex treatment of the conflict between private passions and public decorum. Winner, 1960 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize. "A beautifully stylized and highly original piece of filmmaking—perverse in the best sense of the word, and worked out with such finesse that each turn of the screw tightens the whole comic structure." —Pauline Kael

Ballad of Orin (Hanare Goze Orin)                                                                                           

Saturday, April 28 at 7:00 pm

1977, 117 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with live English subtitles. Directed by Masahiro Shinoda. Shima Iwashita, Yoshio Harada, Tomoko Naraoka, Tomoko Jinbo. Print courtesy of National Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

A late career highlight for Miyagawa, this gorgeously shot film about the life and tribulations of a wandering outcast goze (blind female musician) in early 20th century Japan had Miyagawa and director Masahiro Shinoda travel all over the country to scout picturesque locations. After interviewing surviving goze in preparation, Miyagawa (whom Shinoda suggested was the film's "real director") resolved to, "create a sense of the ideal beauty that these blind women had inwardly visualized." The result is some of most beautiful color photography in the veteran cameraman's large body of work. Winner, 1978 Japan Academy Prize and Mainichi Film Award for Best Cinematography. "If Ballad of Orin were photographed with the usual Japanese competence, it would be worth seeing. The camera of Kazuo Miyagawa raises it higher." —The New Republic

≥≥RELATED TALK AT JAPAN SOCIETY

Cameraman, Kazuo Miyagawa

Saturday, April 14 at 3 pm

During this special conversation, Ichiro Miyagawa, eldest son of Kazuo Miyagawa, and Masahiro Miyajima, Miyagawa’s longtime camera assistant, will discuss the legendary cinematographer’s life and work. The talk will be moderated by Joanne Bernardi, Professor of Japanese and Film and Media Studies at the University of Rochester, who studied with Miyagawa from 1976-77 at Osaka University of the Arts.

Approx. 60 min. This event is free with the purchase of a ticket to any film in the series. Seating is limited. Ticketholders will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis.

≥≥RELATED 'MONTHLY CLASSICS' SCREENINGS AT JAPAN SOCIETY

Yojimbo                                              

Friday, March 2 at 7:00 pm

1961, 110 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. With Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada.

In writing about Akira Kurosawa's scruffy samurai classic starring the iconic Toshiro Mifune, preeminent Japanese film historian Donald Richie matter-of-factly states, "Yojimbo is the best-filmed of any of Kurosawa's pictures." A masterclass in widescreen framing and composition, the black and white cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa (and second unit cameraman Takao Saito) maximizes the film's minimal set, mostly consisting of a small town's dusty main road, with ingenious use of deep focus and wide angle lenses. Hugely influential in style and subject,Yojimbo went on to inspire a number of reworkings, including Sergio Leone's career-catapulting western A Fistful of Dollars.                                                                                                                                                                                            

Ugetsu                 

Friday, April 6 at 7:00 pm

1953, 94 min., DCP, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. With Machiko Kyo, Mitsuko Mito, Kinuyo Tanaka, Masayuki Mori.

This new 4K restoration of Kenji Mizoguchi's towering masterpiece offers viewers an opportunity to appreciate the nuance of cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa's exquisite images. A haunting and elegant fable about the illusory nature of desire set during the civils wars of Japan's 16th century, Ugetsu seamlessly weaves reality and fantasy together with painterly images that unfurl like scenes from an emaki scroll. Among the film's many breathtaking moments, the waterfront picnic between a potter and the ghost of a noblewoman is reportedly the only scene Miyagawa shot for Mizoguchi (out of eight total films) for which the famously stone-faced director complimented him.

ABOUT KAZUO MIYAGAWA

  

"Naming the most skillful cinematographer of a country is often a difficult task. In Japan the job is simplified somewhat by the international reputation earned by Kazuo Miyagawa," wroteAmerican Cinematographer in 1960. By then a respected industry veteran renowned for his work on masterpieces like Rashomon and Ugetsu, Miyagawa would go on to solidify his standing as Japan's preeminent cinematographer throughout the rest of his extraordinary career, working on over 130 films, many of them among the best Japanese cinema has to offer.

Miyagawa, born in Kyoto in 1908, found the roots of his interest in image making through an early study of sumi-e ink painting, which informed his appreciation of the subtle tonal variations within black and white. This eventually led him to take up monochrome still photography as a teenager. After high school, Miyagawa landed a job at Nikkatsu's Kyoto studio. He worked in the film lab, developing and tinting prints until he joined the cinematography department in 1928, where he cut his teeth as a focus puller and second-unit cameraman.

Miyagawa continued to develop his technical expertise and ingenuity, receiving his first credit as cinematographer in 1935. Often working on comedies during this time, he earned the nickname "the comic cameraman." It was in 1943 that he had a major artistic breakthrough with The Rickshaw Man, directed by his early mentor Hiroshi Inagaki, with whom he learned to effectively use tracking shots, cranes and other cinematographic devices. The Rickshaw Man was produced by Daiei--who took over Nikkatsu's Kyoto studio that same year, and for whom Miyagawa continued to work almost exclusively until 1969.

After contributing to the immense success of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon in 1950, Miyagawa worked with Kenji Mizoguchi on several of his most well-known films--including Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff, A Story from Chikamatsu and his first color film, New Tales of the Taira Clan--helping perfect Mizoguchi's signature visual style. He continued to make his mark at Daiei with other major directors like Kozaburo Yoshimura and Kon Ichikawa, working on up to five films a year. Never hesitating to experiment with cinematic technique, Miyagawa tested the limits of new technologies such as anamorphic formats and color film stocks. Perhaps most notably, he is credited with innovating a bleach bypass film-developing technique for Ichikawa's Her Brother, resulting in a uniquely washed out color.

Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, Miyagawa also worked with several of Japan's most inventive genre directors such as Kazuo Mori and Kenji Misumi, tackling yakuza, chanbaraand exploitation films, including several entries in the popular Zatoichi series. In the later part of his career, he found a creative partner in Japanese New Wave auteur Masahiro Shinoda, with whom he continued to make visually superlative films that garnered international attention such as Silence and Ballad of Orin, the latter of which earned him a Japanese Academy Prize for Best Cinematography. In 1978, Miyagawa received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government for his contributions to Japanese art. In 1981, he was honored by members of the American Society of Cinematographers at a tribute hosted by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Miyagawa remained professionally active into his eighties, spending the last part of his life teaching film technique at Osaka University of the Arts, and passed away in Tokyo in 1999 at the age of 91.

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Japan Society Film offers a diverse selection of Japanese films, from classics to contemporary independent productions. Its aim is to entertain, educate and support activities in the Society's arts and culture programs. For more, visit www.japansociety.org/film.

Founded in 1907, Japan Society in New York City presents sophisticated, topical and accessible experiences of Japanese art and culture, and facilitates the exchange of ideas, knowledge and innovation between the U.S. and Japan. More than 200 events annually encompass world-class exhibitions, dynamic classical and cutting-edge contemporary performing arts, film premieres and retrospectives, workshops and demonstrations, tastings, family activities, language classes, and a range of high-profile talks and expert panels that present open, critical dialogue on issues of vital importance to the U.S., Japan and East Asia.

During the 2017-18 season, Japan Society celebrates its 110th anniversary with expanded programming that builds toward a richer, more globally interconnected 21st century: groundbreaking creativity in the visual and performing arts, unique access to business insiders and cultural influencers, and critical focus on social and educational innovation, illuminating our world beyond borders.

Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street between First and Second avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 and 7 subway at Grand Central or the E and M subway at Lexington Avenue). For more information, call 212-832-1155 or visit www.japansociety.org.

Kazuo Miyagawa: Japan's Greatest Cameraman at Japan Society is made possible through the generous support of The Globus Family. Japan Society Film is generously supported by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family, Masu Hiroshi Masuyama, James Read Levy, Geoff Matters, David S. Howe, Dr. Tatsuji Namba, Mr. and Mrs. Omar H. Al-Farisi, Laurel Gonsalves, and Akiko Koide and Shohei Koide.

The series at The Museum of Modern Art is sponsored by MUFG Union Bank.

Contemporary Philippine Cinema at MoMA: Clash

So, you think Donnie Trump is an authoritarian? Well then, what do you make of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte? This would be the former Davao City mayor who made of practice of reading lists of alleged criminals over the radio, many of whom were subsequently murdered by extralegal death squads. To be fair, the alleged vigilante killings predated the anti-American demagogue’s term as mayor, as did this searing dramatic expose. Timelier than ever, Pepe Diokno’s Clash screens during MoMA’s ongoing film series, A New Golden Age: Contemporary Philippine Cinema.

Richard is the older teen brother who wants out of the gangster life. Raymond is his younger teen brother, who wants in. Frankly, Richard may have waited too long. His gang has been decimated by their rivals and the death squad has publicly targeted him. The plan is to catch a boat to Manila with his prostitute girlfriend Jenny-Jane. However, he will have to raise 1,000 pesos for their fare. He would also like to set Raymond back on the straight-and-narrow before leaving, but his brother has already fallen under the sway of his nemesis, Tomas. All the while, Mayor Danilo Dularte Suarez’s blustery propaganda speeches blare out from every radio, like a veritable Big Brother.

Barely reaching the one-hour mark (including every last closing credit), Clash should still be considered a fully developed feature. Arguably, Diokno combines the social conscience of Brillante Mendoza with the snarling grit of Erik Matti’s noirs (such as On the Job, also included in MoMA’s series). Restless in the extreme, Diokno’s disorienting handheld hops from person to person like Linklater’s Slacker, but in need of a tetanus shot and some serious deodorant. Sometimes the shaky-cam is just too much, but the sense of urgency is always palpable.

This is a violent, predatory world, where anything could happen to anyone at any time, especially someone like Richard, who arguably has it coming. The conflict between brothers takes on almost Biblical symbolism, but they are based on real life siblings Diokno met while conducting research. Indeed, Clash is the sort of film where there does not seem to be any acting going on. Yet, that is rather a tribute to Felix Roco and Daniel Medrana, who are utterly convincing as Richard and Raymond, respectively. Eda Nolan similarly gives a brave yet completely natural and unaffected performance as Jenny-Jane.

We sort of know where Clash is headed, but not quite. There is an inescapable logic to the finale, but it still will turn your guts to ice. This is a powerful, pungent film that expresses Diokno’s rage at the dysfunctional political and legal systems that have continued unchecked since the film’s initial release in 2009. In fact, they have produced the nation’s president. Intense and unforgiving, Clash screens with the prison documentary Bunso this Thursday (6/8) and Friday the 23^rd, as part of MoMA’s Philippine film series.

Contemporary Philippine Cinema at MoMA: Gemini

If Tennessee Williams had the opportunity to write a Philippine horror movie, it might have gone something like this. Julia and Judith were always like the Corsican Brothers. If one suffered from some sort of pain, so did the other. Unfortunately, Judith is bold and curious about the world, whereas Julia is sickly and allergic to nearly everything. Due to her frail health, both sisters must live sequestered lives. As a result, Judith harbors a great deal of resentment for her sister. That bitterness and sexual repression leads to violence in Ato Bautista’s Gemini, which screens during MoMA’s new film series, A New Golden Age: Contemporary Philippine Cinema.

As Manuel’s interrogation begins, the detective acknowledges the slippery nature of truth, but we have to start somewhere. Julia finally wants to come clean. Her sister murdered Anton, the brother of their tutor, with whom the more forward Judith was romantically involved. When Anton eventually showed his true colors, it sparked a bloody altercation, after which Julia helped Judith dispose of the body. At least that is Julia’s story and she is sticking to it, for the time being. However, there are plenty of reasons to doubt her veracity, starting with the fact Manuel’s partner is a dead-ringer for Anton.

Gemini is filled with doubling, including the central twins, the odd doppelganger, and the frequent use of reflections. Frankly, the film is weird in just about every way. Somehow, Bautista uses techniques and motifs of experimental cinema to disorient and thoroughly creep out viewers. It is hard to say just what Gemini is, because it is probably too cerebral to be horror and too gory to be a straight psychological thriller. Regardless, it is certainly distinctive.

Sheena and Brigitte McBride are indeed identical twins, who are eerily cold and distant as Julia and Judith (or possibly Judith and Julia). Yet, we can vividly feel the fear of the former (presumably), as her constructed realities begin to collapse. However, it is Mon Confiado who really holds the film together and carries it through its twists and turns as the interrogator.

On top of all the surreal reality-problematizing, there is also a fair spot of body horror in Gemini. Yet, despite the profoundly warped perspective, there is a very human tragedy at the film’s center. Viewers have to be comfortable with all the gamesmanship, but experienced genre fans will find it is worth the effort. Recommended accordingly, Gemini screens this Sunday (6/4) and Saturday the 17^th at MoMA, as part of their upcoming Philippine film series.

Contemporary Philippine Cinema at MoMA: Expressway

If you thought it was Grinchy when terrorists took over Nakatomi Plaza during the annual holiday party in Die Hard, wait till you see how these two hitman spend their yuletide. It will be a sweaty, noir Christmas in Ato Bautista’s Expressway, which screens during MoMA’s new film series, A New Golden Age: Contemporary Philippine Cinema.

In the murky twilight world Ben and Morris inhabit, it is difficult to tell the difference between the government and organized crime. They are assassins who work for the “Colonel,” rubbing out honest cops and especially dishonest crooks, who think they can get away with skimming a little off the top. The world-weary Ben is sick of this line of work, but the young, sadistic Morris quite enjoys it. The former intends to retire after completing their latest batch of jobs, but these assignments will be particularly messy, in a soul-killing kind of way.

The fact that the aggressively talkative Morris never shuts up further sets Ben on edge, but that is rather the idea. As they pursue their bloody business, it becomes clear the two men share a secret connection. Ben also happens to know their final target, so small world, isn’t it?

Hardboiled crime just doesn’t get much darker than Expressway. It is a lethally efficient hitman anti-buddy movie that proudly proclaims its Tarantino influences with a visual hat-tip that should have fans howling in their seats, like a pack of wild dingoes. However, sensitive viewers should be warned the third act is amorally mean even by genre standards.

Regardless, Alvin Anson and Aljur Abrenica give tour de force performances as the stylistic opposites. Anson’s brooding Ben looks like a walking existential crisis, whereas Abrenica’s Morris is so aggressively obnoxious (intentionally so), viewers will be begging Ben to kill him after the first twenty minutes. Sparks fly as they play off each other.

Bautista’s execution is super slick and ominously warped. He keeps every second taut to the breaking point. If you enjoy shadowy underworld thrillers rife with revenge and betrayal than this is your catnip. Highly recommended for genre fans, Expressway screens this Friday (6/2) and Wednesday the 21^st at MoMA, as part of their upcoming Philippine film series.

Nightcap 5/28/17 We are covering SIX film festivals this week:Open Roads, Brooklyn, Art of Brooklyn, Dancing With Films and Greenwich

The festival box offices are open

This is going to be a crazy couple of weeks and as a result I have to apologize to a good number of film festivals. I need to apologize because the promised coverage is going to be slightly curtailed. The reduction is not due to my disapproval of the festivals rather there is simply too many going on all at the same time. There are at least 5 film festivals in the New York City Metro area plus one major one in LA all starting this Thursday or Friday and there is a similar amount the following week.

I realized how crazy it was going to be when I sat down to start to schedule the curtain raisers and realized that I was going to be in trouble since there was so much to write up- worse was the realization that I had agreed to review a good number of films at each festival. A couple weeks back I said that I was going to take a break from reviewing stuff only to found I jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Normally I would write up a curtain raiser for each festival but I this week and next I can't do that. There is simply too many things going on and I would have dimply done a cut and paste job for each so instead what I’m going to do is cut to the chase for each and give to the good parts curtain raiser for each.

I know this will bother some of the PR people who would have liked me to talk about their fest on its own but there is way too much inde cinema for me to do that. Actually the cool thing is that this is proof that despite this being the blockbuster season there are some awesome places to find great small films if you just look.
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Lincoln Center’s Open Roads is one of my favorite film festivals of the year. Every year it’s a stunning collection of films from Italy. While we get many “bigger” films released to the multiplexes the truly best film from the country are screened here. I’ve been covering the fest for the last five years and every year there are two or three films that end up in my film collection.

I love it to pieces

As it stands now I’ve seen four films (reviews to follow) and I’m hoping to get to a few of the festival screenings.

Based on what I’ve seen if you are interested just buy a ticket and go. Even the least film I’ve seen is better than most films coming out of Hollywood. They are also the least of a sterling bunch. As always Open Roads is an embarrassment of riches.

Open Roads Runs June 1 to 7. For tickets and more information go here.
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The Brooklyn Film Festival has been running for 20 years and every year it shines a light on some stunning examples of independent cinema. I have had some truly wonderful experiences at the festival and every year I look forward to seeing what sort of goodies the festival is putting forward.

While the festival has had a nomadic existence over the course of its history, it has settled down in to a few permanent locations in the Bushwick sections of Brooklyn.

I’ve seen a bunch of films and I’ve liked everything I’ve seen. I have a few more to see, but I recommend that you check out the schedule (found here) and buy a bunch of tickets.

The Brooklyn Film Festival runs from June 2 to 11. For more information and tickets go here.
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Next weekend, a short train ride from New York is the Greenwich Film Festival. Located in Greenwich Connecticut the festival is a killer collection of titles and events that are bringing some of the best of other fests to those north of NYC. The selection of films is so good that if I didn’t have commitments for other events I’d be on the train to be there in person.

As this posts I am trying to arrange screenings of some of the films showing. I’m not sure it’s going to happen, but I’m hopeful.

However I don’t want to leave you all hanging and below you’ll find a list of films that we’ve covered elsewhere with links to our reviews.

The festival runs June 1 to 4. For more information and tickets go here.

The films we’ve seen:

Blame
Big Sonia
Bobbi Jene
City of Ghosts
Grey State
It’s Not Yet Dark
Swim Team

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I blame Joe Bendel for putting Los Angeles’ Dances with Films on my radar. A couple years back Joe told me I should be covering it and over the years I’ve done so in fits and starts. This year because I caught it earlier, and because I have been dealing with the PR firm responsible for getting word out I got I on the ground floor.

Dances is a wicked festival that always manages to get some killer films that end up being a big deal a couple of months after the fact. The result is always a stream of profanity when I realize I could have been in on the ground floor if I had only known. Dances is just a great mix of inde cinema that any cinema fan worth their salt should either attend or at the very be aware of. Its just a great festival.

I will be having some reviews coming up but until then, if you are in the Los Angeles area go buy tickets. (Might I strongly suggest getting tickets for suggest D-LOVE, IMITATION GIRL, HERBIE, and Jason Kartlian’s fall down funny SUBCULTURE)

Dances With Films runs June 1 to 11. For more information and tickets go here.

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The Art of Brooklyn Film festival runs June 2 to 11 and its one of the best kept secrets in New York.

A neat little festival that always screens some great films and has some great film related panels the festival has been the launching point for some really good films.

We’ve already seen Future 38 and Dunning Man and hopefully we’ll have more coverage of some of the panels (I’m hoping to get to the white washing  and the micro Budget filmmaking seminars).

For tickets and more information go here.

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 And because that isn't enough look for JB to be throwing some coverage your way of MOMA's A New Golden Age: Contemporary Philippine Cinema which runs all through June. Full details on the series here.
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And remember keep checking back because the next three weeks will be nothing but festival coverage (and a few new releases)