（ΦωΦ）

[nohkabukihere]

Spirited Away

This was my first time watching Spirited Away (or any Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli film for that matter) and I definitely enjoyed it. I see why these films are so popular since they have a ton of charm and the animation is beautiful. I feel like the movie had some nice themes in it and is a great film, especially for children, whom I assume is the primary audience. 

The film follows Chihiro and her journey into a spirit world where she loses her parents and is immediately thrown out of her element. She meets Haku, who helps her get her footing and leads her to others within this world who are willing to help her. During her time in this world she learns a few lessons, saves Haku’s life, and saves her parents, eventually being able to go home. 

There are a few themes that are present in this film. Consumerism is one that comes to mind immediately. One of the first fantastical scenes we get is when Chihiro and her family are in the “amusement park” and the parents begin to gorge themselves on the food that is laid out in the only open restaurant. Chihiro asks them not to since no one is around to serve them, but they ignore her wishes and continue to eat, essentially stealing the food. This greed is shown plain as day when the parents are turned into pigs, which we find out later are meant to be eaten by the spirits later on. 

We see this greed again with No Face, and all of the spirits obsession with gold in the bathhouse. Everyone is incredibly eager to get their hands on some gold that they rush to No Face’s side begging to be blessed with gold, to the point where some people are even eaten because of this. 

Another theme that I thought was interesting but only touched on momentarily was pollution. Though while watching the film I only caught one instance of this theme, after looking into it I found a second one. The first and most obvious was during the “stink spirit” ordeal at the bathhouse. This spirit was river spirit that became full of human garbage, as we see when Chichiro removes the stake that was stuck inside of him. Once it is pulled out, loads of human trash flood out such as a bike, a refrigerator, and numerous other pieces of pollution. The second I found after looking into this theme within the film. Haku is the spirit of the Kohaku river, which was destroyed in order for apartments to be built. I must have missed the line where this was discussed in the film, since it also seems like a pretty obvious point on this theme. 

Overall, I did like the film, but don’t feel like it had the same effect on me as a lot of other individuals. I thought it was cute, beautiful, and had a good message, but I think some of the whimsicalness was lost on me either because this was my first viewing after being so exposed to the style on the internet for years, or maybe because I was exhausted when we watched it. Either way, the film was good, I’d watch it again for sure, and would love to explore more into Miyazaki’s films.

[eigakan-no-neko]

I feel like this movie gets better the more it's revisited. I first watched it in early highschool and I wasn't really able to pick up on the themes as much as I did this time around. What really draws me back to it is the world building it does. Even though it touches on capitalism and how it consumes people, it's one of those films I can watch to get a break from the real world.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Miyazaki - Spirited Away

Spirited Away is the final movie we watched for this semester. While I wish there was more animation than just this one, I was happy to see it nonetheless. This movie for me is absolutely timeless with its settings and themes throughout the movie. After reading some other blog posts I did not really make the connection between the seven deadly sins in the movie. Some people described multiple sins being assigned to a few characters so I think this is why I did not make the connection. Utimatley I see this movie as a Alice in Wonderland-like commentary on capitalism and consumerism. It only makes sense that these themes would be present since Miyazaki was a self proclaimed Marxist (not sure if he still identified this way) before his career took off. It’s very easy to see this since the most obvious example are the parents at the beginning of the film turning into pigs as they consume a huge amount of food. I see No Face as a character who only has power through what it possess whether it be money or eating one of the bath house workers and gaining the the ability to speak through this. It was really interesting to the workers scramble for the gold in the film. I think I might be too literal but literally what can they do with it? It’s not like they can go into human society and buy possessions or anything. That was probably too literal of a take but it was just something I noticed. Another thing I noticed while reading some other posts were how Chihiro was trying to get her name back. I don’t think that she ever mentions that she wanted her name back but I could be completely wrong. The other characters say that she wants her name back but what she actively is trying to get back are her parents. Another note on the commentary of capitalism in the movie, it is probably a certain kind of irony with how anticonsumerist it is compared to the amount of merchandise in real life for it (usually never cheap either).

Spirited Away is certainly a comfort watch for me as with a lot of Miyazakis work. This movie totally sucked me into the world he created and I usually notice something different about it each time I watch it. This can be due to things I notice in the story or how I can resonate with it differently than before as I get older. His movies usually are for everyone in a literal sense and a philosophical one.

[bigsconesjones]

Pulse

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse hits on horror tropes incredibly well in the beginning but falls off really hard in the end. In addition to this, I feel like the idea of ghosts invading the world, specifically through the internet, to be a bit too confusing and full of missteps.

Initial Reactions

If this movie had ended thirty minutes earlier, my opinion about this would have been a lot different. The post-apocalyptic feel of this movie in the last half-hour strayed away from the creepy atmosphere that was present throughout the other parts, and kind of ruined it as a horror movie in my opinion. The shot of the cargo plane crashing into the city was a bit dumb and reeked of a desire to fit into action films, which this movie was most definitely not.

I also do not understand the concept of the ghosts and their powers. In the movie, Harue says that since the ghosts are being overcrowded in their own dimension, they were pouring over into ours and trying to claim it, and because of this, the ghosts weren’t trying to kill us but trap us in our loneliness. This 100% makes sense as a concept, and I thought that this was a great and original idea for the danger in the movie, but we never got closure as to what happens to the people who turn to ashes. As it stands, it appears as if the ghosts do lead them to death, since their ghosts are also present, but doesn’t this defeat the whole purpose of the ghosts invading the world, since the recently killed are now ghosts and take up space in whatever dimension they’re cramped in? The only rationalization I can make is that they get lead to some other pocket dimension of their loneliness (which would have been amazing if Kurosawa could’ve visualized that in the movie), but I that’s too much of a stretch for me to make, as well as a weird solution for the ghosts to make, since they could’ve just gone and inhabited those dimensions instead of invading ours.

Themes/Analysis

The major theme in this movie is about loneliness: the victims all have a sense of loneliness, and the ghosts trap people in their loneliness. However, I think this theme was strayed from (again) in the final thirty minutes in the decision to recognize this whole thing as a global phenomenon. The fact that this is being recognized and experienced by the entire world kind of takes away from the loneliness aspect, because there’s now an implicit understanding that “Hey, everybody’s going through the same thing as I am, I’m not alone.” There’s a feeling of unity in struggle, which detracts from the theme. It can be occurring worldwide, I just think that it would’ve been better if it was a silent killer, which could have also touched on a theme of failure in not recognizing depression as something serious.

Final Thoughts

I just wish this movie concluded earlier; the last half-hour really mucked it up for me. Amazing concept, insanely creepy atmosphere for the first ninety minutes, but then it turned into I Am Legend and completely turned me off.

[eigakan-no-neko]

I totally agree that it should have ended about 30 minutes earlier or at least in the factory. For me the movie reminded me more of the movie “Left Behind” which I just thought was really silly. It also just took the main theme about loneliness away for me. Like, it just turned into an apocalyptic action movie out of nowhere. I was disappointed.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Pulse - Kurosawa

I really did enjoy this movie until the ending. The last 30 minutes should have just been cut or at least after the Harue kills herself in the abandoned factory (also when she shoots herself there’s no blood so it just looked like she shot herself with a fake gun and died somehow). It was another horror movie we watched which I thought the horror aspect of it was fine. When people die or disappear in the film all that is left of them is a black outline of their body which looks like black mold. That to me is pretty terrifying since the unexplained is more scary to me than any jump scare or body horror will ever be. In the university the computer program with the dots was really interesting and I thought it would have more to do with the plot than it really did. The beginning of the movie primarily uses technology as a medium for which the ghosts use to haunt the characters. I was really disappointed when they just abandoned that towards the middle of the movie. It was also really confusing to me as well since I thought the movie was going to focus more on "the ghosts are in the internet ooo scary" kind of plot. Through out the movie I did notice that there were less background characters and I did not take that as them dying from whatever was ultimately killing everyone. I thought that this indicated the loneliness is a terrifying feeling and the isolation that comes with it makes it seem like you are the only person left in the world. Oh my god did the ending just throw this out of the window. The end of the movie just turns into the movie "Left Behind" which is just really funny honestly. I'm pretty sure that movie came out before this one so it might have influenced this movie a little bit. Again, I really wish it did not end like this. I could get around the part where the friend disappears into a weird flurry of cgi ashes that really did not age well but when the US military plane crashed into a building I just thought the movie was just too silly. Another thing that took me out of the whole horror aspect of the movie was when the first guy who walks through the red tape is scared by the woman. Also on the note of the red tape, I took that as a reference to the lambs blood in Exodus during Passover which was really neat to me. Back to the woman, the woman’s arms and weird dance combined with the strange choice in music just totally took the scary out of it. Like, she just dances towards him slowly and he’s scared of that? This movie started out really strong for me which really let me down because it could have been a really scary movie about the internet and computers but the end just totally ruined it for me.

[nanafilmclass]

A Funeral Parade of Roses [Matsumoto Toshio]

Initial Reaction

Going into this movie, I knew it was going to be experimental, but I definitely didn’t expect any of what happened in the movie. What I appreciated about this movie is what it was trying to do. I think showing gay and transgender culture in film is really important, and I liked that this movie focused on that. It was very cool to see gay spaces at the time represented in film. However, I wasn’t a fan of this film’s avant-garde nature. I am an art major, and have had to take multiple art history classes, so I’ve seen my fair share of avant-garde art pieces yet to this day I still have trouble comprehending them. I think experimenting with the medium of film is good, but the way this film does it alienates a large audience because most people won’t be able to comprehend what’s happening.

My Interpretation

On the topic of this film-making of this movie, I somewhat dislike the very weird and jarring nature of it. On one hand, I think the disorienting feeling the movie gives you while watching it can show how disorienting it can be for someone who is gay or transgender to figure out who they are(this is also shown when the actors themselves are interviewed and some of them are even unsure of how to describe themselves). On the other hand, I think to a general audience it can be seen as “a weird gay film” in a bad way. If you look at this film from a general audience perspective, it could just reinforce in people’s mind that “gay people are odd and weird”. I think this movie is a double edged blade, one side being a movie that portrays the feelings of gay and transgender people during the time, and the other being that it’s strange style can just reinforce the otherness people feel towards gay people.

I would have personally liked to see this movie’s story told through a more linear format. I think the story itself was compelling enough, but all the jarring edits and weird switching back and forth between things made it hard to watch. I am not a fan of when movies just cut to odd imagery with not explanation, or randomly switch scenes with no lead up. This is common for avant-garde films, which is probably why I tend to dislike them. Personally, I can have trouble connecting things when imagery or the story goes by too fast or is jumbled up, so I dislike that style of film making.

The only part I thought was interesting imagery wise was the ending scene where Eddie walks onto the street after stabbing her eyes out. The people staring at her like she’s a spectacle evoked the imagery of how society looks at gay and transgender people. I thought that scene was really powerful in it’s imagery, and some other scenes were too, but that’s the one I remembered most. I also enjoyed the scene where they were talking to the actor that plays Eddie and asked “Do you think this will be a hit?” and the actors responds with “I;m not sure, the film is a bit unsual” hard cut to the actor posing in front of a poster with the director(? or at least I assumed it was the director) sitting next to them staring dead into the camera then another person walks by holding a rat and then the screen pops up with text that says “Applause Requested!”. It was so weird but so funny at the same time. It reminded me of Monty Python’s style of humor where they will just cut to something silly and random after someone says something. The scene where Eddie and Leda get into a fight was also really interesting visually. I liked the use of fake guns to show they were in a very heated battle, and the word balloons to show the insults they throw back and forth.

Overall, I sadly didn’t like this film as much as I wanted to. I really appreciate that it brings LGBT actors and culture into the spotlight, but I found the film overall hard to watch. It felt like a jumbled mess of things happening, and I felt so confused the entire time, which may have been the point.

[eigakan-no-neko]

I really liked how it was a LGBT centric film. You just don’t see much of those coming from that point in time (at least in America). I can see the Monty Python style after you mentioned that. Those parts were honestly really funny to me. Especially the cat fighting they do. I generally really like really weird movies so it wsa right up my alley. It’s not for everyone though.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Funeral Parade of Roses - Matsumoto

Funeral Parade of Roses is by far my favorite watch in this class. Even though the plot is ultimately really messed up, I just love movies that get crazy. While watching it I was reminded of the movie A Clockwork Orange and read on the wiki later that Kubrick was potentially inspired by Funeral Parade of Roses. The story is a loose retelling of Oedipus Rex but instead of the son killing the father he kills the mother. Their birth father (I'm just going to use their since throughout the movie we have pre and post gender transition scenes.) is out of the picture at a young age as it is revealed that he sexually abused Eddie as a child. The photo we have of the father Eddie kept is burnt by a cigarette butt so his face is obscured. I genuinely don't think that Eddie knew he was in a sexual relationship with their father who owns the gay bar they work at. Maybe they start to think so at one point while looking at their photo album but I really don’t think they knew. Eddie kills their mother during their childhood after they see that she has brought a new man in to the house. I think they killed him and their mother because of their past abuse by their birth father. It was ultimately to protect themself from more abuse. We follow Eddies life as a sex worker while working at the gay bar through out the film until the climatic suicide scene when their birth father finds Eddies album and realizes who Eddie is. Honestly one thing that really surprised me in the film was how open they were about smoking weed. To my knowledge, weed is super illegal in Japan even today. It’s put on the same level there as the most hardcore drugs that currently exist. I actually really loved the avant-garde film style of it. It’s the most unique and memorable for me so far. 

[cjloogy]

Funeral Parade of Roses – 薔薇の葬列

Here’s the typo of content I don’t find myself exposed to very often, and I have to say this was a pretty interesting watch. I dogged on Cruel Story of Youth a bit for its erratic sense of time scaling and progression of events, but Funeral Parade of Roses also employs a similar sense of erraticism, but here it feels more intentional, and I would say its actually a boon to this film’s viewing experience. The lives of these characters are intentionally depicted as being frantic and unstable, sometimes even interjecting with documentary style scenes showing the actors discussing their roles, and it provides even further commentary on the characters and their experiences.

I found most of the characters to be compelling, especially in our main pairing with Eddie and Jimi, Eddie in particular is very purposefully shrouded in obscurity for his backstory, with sporadic flashbacks hinting at possible molestation at the hands of his father and even the murder of his mother and her lover. I think in some way this is meant to reflect the alienation of the gay community in Japan at this point in time, an attempt of the director to frustrate his audience in trying to understand the reasons and motivations of the main character, and I think this was established early on in an interview with a gay man stating that he’s unsure as to why exactly he chose to become a “gay boy” beyond the fact that he simply “likes it.”

From what I could gather in this film’s story and themes, I think it centers heavily around the ideas of identity and self-expression, and the ambiguity surrounding it all. Perhaps there is no way to truly express oneself, and we can only communicate and define ourselves through others, often in limiting ways, and as such anyone who considers themselves “free” is merely deluding themselves as they are still confined by the views of others and their preconceptions. What this movie does show us is nothing truly conclusive or definitive on these fronts, only how ironic and even humorous people’s tendencies can be in even the most traumatic and dangerous situations. I think this is all intentionally conveyed through the director’s experimental approaches with these jarringly edited montages of events both past and present, and the absurd song cues that pop up throughout the film. Even if you can’t fully identify with Eddie or the other characters and the world they inhabit, maybe you can gain a new sense of understanding for the presentation this film attempts to employ, and a new sense of expression for yourself in your own ambiguity.

But honestly, I still can’t get over the gay sex scene with literal clown music playing, I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to glean from that so if anyone can fill me in, I would greatly appreciate it.

[eigakan-no-neko]

[bigsconesjones]

Double Suicide; New #1?

Shinoda’s Double Suicide is a masterpiece in experimental films, blending cinema and bunraku in a way to comment on the duty of the characters within the story and their inevitable demise. The story is an adaptation of a famous Japanese play (bunraku) “The Love Suicides at Amajima,” so there isn’t much to say on the creative liberties Shinoda took on changing the story, but the real magic in this film is how he maintains the use of kurogo (the black characters shown prominently in the film), despite the lack of need for them in a film, to make a commentary on inevitability.

Initial Reactions

This is by far the best film I’ve watched in this class so far. The geometry and beauty in many shots made this film a piece of art, as well as just the presence of kurogo made me think about their necessity in the movie and what their inclusion meant. I think the best way to analyze this film is not necessarily through the story or character motivations, but why Shinoda decided to keep certain elements of puppet plays in cinema and what they meant in the context of the story.

Putting that aside for the themes/analysis section, one of my favorite shots in this film was near the end of the movie, where the kurogo are standing ominously where Jihei is to hang himself. The ominous feel of them standing there, as well as the feeling that they are beckoning you to come reminds me of a short story by Junji Ito called “The Enigma of Amigara Fault”, where there were human-shaped holes on a cliffside, beckoning people to come and enter them, their lack of agency ending in demise.

Themes/Analysis

The major theme in this film is the dissonance between duty and emotions. Jihei, being already married, must fulfill his duty as a husband, abstaining from any infidelity and being a father to his children. Despite this, his emotions run wild as he falls in love with a courtesan named Koharu and neglects his duty as a husband, to the point where he kills himself over it.

However, the best analysis of this dissonance occurs in the kurogo themselves. The kurogo, commonly used in the bunraku as an invisible force to progress the story and assist the puppets in maintaining continuity, are the supreme example in the film of duty, as their obligation in the film is to keep the film going. They stop certain actions, such as Jihei almost getting choked out and progress others, such as giving Jihei the sword in the final scene. Kurogo aren’t needed in film, but their inclusion in this one speaks to the inevitability of the death of the characters, who, as prefaced in the beginning, are just puppets in a grand play.

Final Thoughts

I can’t say enough good things about this film. I alluded in my last post about this general consensus that experimental artists are viewed as “pretentious people who only overcomplicate simple concepts,” but this is the perfect film to dissuade any illusions that artists are those kind of people. Shinoda perfectly blends elements of bunraku into this film to craft a perfect story about obligation and emotions, and my only regret is that I didn’t pick him for my director presentation.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Although it isn’t my favorite that I’ve seen in this class so far, I do agree with you on how it is certainly a masterpiece of a film.The bunraku aspect of it with the use of the kuroko really made it a memorable watch for me. I think the use of experimental filming made it feel more fun and unique rather than some other films that used it to be more sophisticated.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Shinoda Masahiro - Double Suicide

"Double Suicide" was certainly a unique concept of a film. The story is played by puppets but for the film we see them come to life as people. Stage hands or Kuroko are present throughout the whole movie and guide the characters or set certain props during the film making it still feel like you're watching a play rather than a movie. The story itself is about man called Jihei and his affair with Koharu. It was honestly confusing to me throughout the whole film as to why anyone involved with either Jihei or Koharu go out of their way to help them. Koharu I can understand a bit more since she was faced with a lot of unfortunate circumstances but Jihei is a victim of his own consequences. I don't think Jihei is supposed to be a sympathetic character anyways but I just really couldn't feel anything for him. All of his problems are his own damn fault. It baffled me that any of the characters tried to help him at all such as his wife and brother. They probably were just helping him out of social obligations but I feel like they shouldn't have helped him at all. His wife Osan especially suffers because of his actions. She is left to run the shop by herself with the apprentice and care for her two very small children. She's even taken away from him and her children by her father because of how much of a loser Jihei is in a pretty gut wrenching scene later on.

The story is pretty straightforward with it being about Jihei and Koharu committing suicide with each other in the end the lead up to it. Even though they had the option to film in color at this point in time, the artistic choice to be in black and white really added to the overall feeling to the movie. The monochromatic backgrounds really popped out and the kuroko really stood out in a meaningful way.

[yojimbroo]

Cruel Story of Our Youth - Nagisa Oshima

I found it funny that we saw “Cruel Story of Our Youth” right after having watched “The Burmese Harp” because my reaction to both films I would say was polar opposite. I really did not enjoy this film and felt as if it were dragging way past it’s relatively short run time. This is also in stark contrast to “The Burmese Harp” which was considerably longer but felt like not a second of the film was dragging. Initially I did think it was interesting that we were about to watch a film that was in color for a change, and I would be lying if I said it was not exciting to see a film that looks much closer to what I am used to. However, “Cruel Story of Our Youth” just felt so uninteresting and I personally do not think it left any sort of impact on me.

For starters I do not think any of the characters were even slightly likable. At most I could possibly pity Mako for maybe having an unfortunate upbringing but even that was not entirely explained so it just felt like she kept making the same mistake over and over again. Like I said, I can understand that the human mind is a delicate and complex thing so I still wouldn’t judge her character, but seeing the same bad things happen to her over and over again were just draining. Similar to Oharu, nothing good ever happens to her but at least Oharu’s case is different in the sense that she literally did not do anything. I want to emphasize that I do not judge Makos character because again I understand not everything is black and white but at a certain point I just did not want to keep on watching because I just did not care.

As for the men in the film, I think they were all literally just awful people. So many of them took advantage of Mako in horrendous ways and not once did I feel there was comeuppance for their actions. Even though Kiyoshi dies in a pretty awful way it still felt like there wasn’t a lesson learned since Mako also dies so it’s as if nothing really changes. The tale can be seen as tragic, but the amount this film drains you just makes this ending feel long overdue.

In conclusion, I did not like this film, probably won’t ever see it again, and quite frankly I just do not understand what point it is trying to make besides just existing. 

[eigakan-no-neko]

Honestly I think everyones reaction to the film is what made it enjoyable for me. I also was reminded of Oharu while watching this in the whole it's pretty much just a movie about a woman getting hurt emotionally and physically with no happy end. Also I don't think any of the characters are supposed to be likeable as their purpose was to just be dumb kids.

[nanafilmclass]

Cruel Story of Youth[Ōshima Nagisa]

Initial Thoughts

I have to say this film has to be my least favorite so far. Watching it in a classroom full of people did give me some comfort though as I heard groans from everyone else while watching it. One main reason this film became my least favorite was how uncomfortable I felt while watching it. This movie has been the most explicit so far in showing sexual things, rather than usually just implying it off screen. The scene where the older woman is sleeping with Kiyoshi and touches him made me extremely uncomfortable. Most of my time watching this movie was me audibly saying “What? What the heck?!” The colors and cinematography of this movie we’re nice, but visuals don’t save a movie.

My Interpretation

This film was all about rebellious teen romance, which a lot of media loves to romanticize. This film was no different in romanticizing rebellious youth in the way of being impulsive, toxic, and committing crimes. I’ve seen a lot of media over the years do the same things this movie does where it takes a teen romance and makes it overly adult. The movie never states the ages of the main characters, but it’s implied they’re at least high schoolers. This made everything that happened in the movie more unsettling for me, which I think was the point. While I know these are real situations teenagers could possibly get into, the movie still felt like it was romanticizing what was happening to these teens. This movie didn’t feel like it was to show the struggles of teens, but more of an adult fantasy about how youth should be. To me it felt like the movie was trying to portray an idealized version of teenage rebellion. I mainly think this because there wasn’t much opposition from anyone but the sister throughout the film.

The ending for me only solidified my feelings because earlier in the movie when Kiyoshi was talking to the doctor and the sister he says something about him and Makoto’s love not ending up like theirs. I don’t remember the exact quote, but he mentions that their love will last unlike the sister and doctor’s love. I feel like this was the movie slightly foreshadowing their deaths because as soon as the couple are separated, they die. To me, the movie was implying that without each other both Makoto and Kiyoshi couldn’t survive alone. That was my interpretation of the ending at least. I think that it’s a really toxic mindset for the movie to end on because clearly the two were unhappy in their relationship, but the movie implies they need that toxic relationship to survive.

Overall, I think this movie was really uncomfortable to watch, and left a bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention the movie shows minors hooking up with adults and doesn’t really show it as bad made me feel extra icky. I kept forgetting what Kiyoshi’s older mistress looked like and I thought it was his mom every time until she would kiss him and it made me feel EXTRA gross.

[eigakan-no-neko]

I think the only thing that was enjoyable about watching this was everyone’s reactions to it. I would have most certainly had a different experience watching this alone. It was also very uncomfortable for me regarding the ages of the characters for me as well.  I get what he’s trying to say about teenage rebellion but I feel like remembering what I did in high school is enough for me in that regard lol.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Oushima - Cruel Story of Youth

This was certainly a ride of a movie. I think the best thing about it was that we all had to watch it together. The reactions from everyone during certain parts were honestly pretty funny. On to the movie it self, the only thing I knew about it before hand was that it was a new age cinema film that broke away from traditional filming formats. If it was filmed like movies in decades previous I think the experience and story would've been lost or just really bland. The story is about a teen named Makoto and her relationship with (I assumed they were around the same age) Kiyoshi. Throughout the whole movie we watch their toxic relationship just keep spiraling and spiraling. It was pretty clear from the beginning and even the title of the movie that this film would not have a happy ending in store for Makoto. Even though when she first meets Kiyoshi he saves her from being assaulted from a man she hitchhiked a ride from, shortly after (the next day I think) Kiyoshi assaults her himself. After that Makoto gets attached to him and they start commiting acts of crime with each other to get money. They catfish men and steal their money until they finally get caught at the end of the movie. I actually thought that after Makoto ended up getting arrested along with Kiyoshi she would just be done with him. Even though Kiyoshi actually does break up with her so she can stop getting involved in whatever illegal acts he's doing to get by this definitely upsets her. Like in the beginning of the movie Makoto hitchhikes another ride and is found to be in the same situation as the first time. Meanwhile Kiyoshi is being killed by other gangsters. The part that made this very memorable to me was everyone's reaction to when Makoto jumps out of the car. I don't think anyone expected her foot to get in the car door causing her to get dragged to death. I know it wasn't supposed to be funny but all of us pretty much yelling "Oh my God what the hell!!" at the screen when this happened was just really funny to me. Overall my main interpretation of this movie was that I hope beehive haircuts stay in the 1960s.

[japanesefilmprocessing]

Naruse – The Burmese Harp

I’m not too fond of movies involving war but The Burmese Harp was very moving. There were some lighthearted moments throughout the film but the principal message regarding how devastating war is dominated the overall tone. I also thought it was interesting that this movie’s focus was on a post-war perspective, as that is not as common in media. Because it started at the end of the second world war it got me thinking about the realities soldiers must have faced before modern communications and how they would learn that the war was finally over.  

Mizushima was faced with a difficult task at the beginning of his journey, to be the messenger to tell another group of Japanese soldiers that were still fighting, that the war was over and that they should surrender. When he is unable to convince them, the cave they were in is collapsed by gunfire and Mizushima is the lone survivor. With severe injuries, a monk finds him and helps him to recover. From this point, he disguises himself as a monk to make his way back to his troop but along the way he sees many piles of dead Japanese soldiers and learns that they will not be buried. Learning this changes his perspective and he decides to make it his mission to bury all of the dead before he returns to Japan. Finding peace after seeing the many atrocities of war is a sentiment that plays from this point forward. I image that after fighting in a war, seeing the beauty in life is hard though in Mizushima’s case I think it is Buddhism that helps him find it.

I think my favorite scene was at the end of the film when Mizushima’s squad captain reads his letter on the ship back to Japan. Learning that Mizushima felt that he should not talk to them before they departed because he would break down was incredibly sad. Instead, he explained that he should play them a song goodbye on the harp to convey what he felt and as a form of farewell. The most moving part came after the letter was read, when I thought it couldn’t get any more depressing. We got to hear the thoughts of another soldier that expressed one of the worst parts of Mizushima staying would be his family having to hear the news. Though he survived the war, he changed so much as a person that coming home was no longer his highest priority.

Overall, I think The Burmese Harp told a story that could be considered realistic in a sense. Though exaggerated, I feel that reevaluating and finding meaning in one’s life after fighting in a war is difficult and this film conveyed that there is purpose to be found.

[eigakan-no-neko]

The ending scene was definitely the most moving part of the movie for me as well as the scene before where he plays his harp with his platoon for the last time. I do agree that it can be a realistic movie it's just with how I guess well the prisoners are treated made me forget that they were, well, prisoners. (Also I swear I didn't use the same pic as you on purpose oops)

[eigakan-no-neko]

Ichikawa - "The Burmese Harp"

The Burmese Harp is the happiest war movie I've ever seen. I think the only really sad parts of the movie are where Mizushima parts ways with his platoon and when the leader of the platoon read is departure letter. When his platoon surrenders and is taken captive they're not really put through anything harsh like you'd expect a prisoner of war would be. The only thing that really reminds you that its a prisoner of war camp is the guards very occasionally yell at the them and I think the only hard labor they really do is they make a bridge. There's even a lady who comes through the camp occasionally to trade food and other goods with them. It really stuck out to me that they had enough food to feed the pet monkey one of the soldiers had. Back to the story it self, it wasn't very shocking that Mizushima decided to stay behind and bury the dead and become a monk in Burma. Some of his comrades comment that he looks like he would fit in as a Burmese citizen. Mizushima even carries around a Burmese harp which I think was the biggest hint to him inevitably staying in Burma. The story is pretty straightforward and I couldn't really get any deeper meaning from it. Mizushima gets separated from his platoon and on the way back to them he decides it wouldn't be right to leave the dead soldiers unburied in a foreign land. I think with the kind of person Mizushima is shown to be in the beginning of the movie you'd definitely expect this outcome. I don't really have anything else to really say about the story.

The filmography and style of the film was very pretty and bright for a war film. Usually the war films I've seen are very gritty and dull to emphasize the horrors of war. This one was more of a drama really with the music and lighting. Even though they do show dead bodies, it's not very shocking when this happens (although when the movie came out it probably was shocking since the war had just ended about ten years prior. We've also as a society been desensitized to violence like this). The music was definitely the best part of the film which is to be expected since the harp plays a central role in the film. Although I really liked this movie a lot I don't really feel like I have anything else to say about it.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Naruse - Late Chrysanthemums

“Late Chrysanthemums” is about a group of four women who were all geisha in their youth. Their names are Okin, Tamae, Otomi, and Nobu. Honestly this is probably the hardest movie for me to talk about so far. Not because it disturbed me or made me sad, but because to me this was just a slice of life movie. It reminded me of whenever I go to the salon to get a haircut and I over hear the older women talking about their lives and other people in the chairs near or next to me. Actually now that I think about it, slice of life anime would probably be way more engaging and humorous if it was about older women talking shit about each other. In the movie the women don’t actually seem to be “friends” with each other really. Even though two live together. all four just seem to interact with each other because their paths just end up crossing so much. The part of the movie that I thought was really interesting was when Okin has the man she knew in Manchuria over. When she receives a letter towards the beginning of the film she is excited and over joyed that she’ll be able to see him again after so many years. She gives her to (I think she’s a maid?) the deaf girl who lives with her and tells her to let him in when he arrives and she tells her this very excitedly. Towards the end of the movie where he finally arrives it’s built up that this reunion will be very good for Okin and the two characters might even rekindle the romance (or affair?) they had with each other in Manchuria. When they reunite it does go pretty well at first but then it all changes when alcohol is involved. Tabe, the man she reunited with, reveals that after all these years the only reason why he finally came to see her was to borrow money. Okin seems to be shocked at first but then the face she makes kind of implies that she started to expect or prepare to be let down. She even burns the photo she had kept of him since he’s not really the man she once knew anymore and in a way he’s dead to her now. I think Okins story is the most “real” for me because I’ve seen this happen before with family members and some past friends. Someone from the past that you mostly have good memories with and would be excited to see finally comes out of the woodwork. After finally seeing this person again you find out or realize that they really had no interest in you at all and are just using you for their own personal gain only to disappear from your life again soon after.

[nanafilmclass]

Godzilla[Honda Ishiro]

Initials Thoughts

Going into this movie, I only knew a few vague things about Godzilla, and the franchise. I have seen some newer versions of Godzilla, most recently the newest Godzilla vs King Kong(which was okay), but compared to the original I have to say I like the original more. When watching this movie, all I knew is that it was a commentary on nuclear war and bombs, which came of very clearly. What I didn’t expect was how sad this film ended up being, which I thought made it even more powerful of a film. A lot of the newer films in the franchise, that I have seen, seem to forget the original message of the first film and are just pure action films. However, the ones I have seen were American made movies, and Hollywood loves their action movies.

My Interpretation

The messaging in the movie was pretty clear and hard to misinterpret. The movie is very clearly showing the horrors of nuclear experimentation and the use of massive weapons of destruction. The results of H-Bombs backfires on humanity and creates a virtually indestructible monster that wreaks havoc. I interpreted it as Godzilla being the embodiment of nuclear warfare because he is this large, imposing thing with only the ability to destroy. He is uncontrollable and destroys things without reason, which reflects how chaotic and unpredictable war can be, especially when nuclear weapons are in the mix.

This movie had a very somber tone that only got stronger as the movie went on. Throughout the film I was never excited by the action or destruction that Godzilla caused, which I found interesting because many of the newer films that’s the part audiences want to see now. In this film, all of the destruction only led to tragedy, and sorrow. The one scene where the mother held her children and said they were going to all join their father was gut wrenching to watch because it felt so real, even in this monster movie. Another scene that stood out to me was when Emiko was in the hospital helping the survivors and the little girl’s mother was taken away. This scene brought me close to tears because the child screaming for her mother was so upsetting to watch, and it directly reflected real life tragedies. Finally, the scene of Serizawa sacrificing himself was heartbreaking because he knew if he lived he would be forced to make another Oxygen Destroyer Bomb. It showed the sad reality that scientists work can and will be used for terrible things, and that Serizawa would rather die then let his work be used as a weapon again.

The music that played when Godzilla caused destruction was  loud and it gave off an intimidating, threatening and frightening feeling. The shot composition with Godzilla was very clever because Honda uses a lot of up angles to show the size of Godzilla. I really enjoyed the shots behind Godzilla where we see  his tail swing towards the camera. We can really feel the weight of this monster, and seeing it so close makes him feel more dangerous and more real.

Even though a lot of the shots of Godzilla were well done, there were a few that took me out of the movie just because of how old it is. Sadly some scenes Godzilla had a very silly face and it broke some of my immersion, but overall the message of the film holds strong. Even though parts of this film feel dated, I think the movie as a whole holds up well. It was a compelling and engaging film that had me invested from the very start.

Also just for fun, here is my favorite silly Godzilla face.

[eigakan-no-neko]

I remember when I watched the movie for the first time I was genuinely surprised that it had such a serious plot. I had no idea that it was about the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I honestly think this is one of the best movies that gives insightful commentary on the bomb. From the scientist who made it to the people who suffer because of it.

[eigakan-no-neko]

Honda - Godzilla

This is finally a movie I have already seen before this class. I enjoyed it the first time and I enjoyed it the second time. Watching the first time a few years ago I thought it was just going to be Godzilla wrecking havoc. I had no idea that it was more than that. Honestly I think the bigger conflict in the movie is the whole existence of the oxygen destroyer. The movie was released in 1954 so the horror of the atomic bomb was still in most adults memories. There’s even a lady shown chatting on a train when Godzilla is starting to make landfall she says she just barely escaped Nagasaki. If anything it can be argued that while Godzilla is obviously dangerous and a huge threat, it is at least known to the countries citizens while the oxygen destroyer is originally only known to three. This possible weapon of mass destruction that virtually no one knows about. Something I noticed while watching this for the second time is that Godzilla isn’t really on the screen very much. There’s more focus on the panic he causes and the despair people are in from the damages caused. This is absolutely a reference to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even though this movie spawned a new genre and franchise with kaiju fights, it’s ultimately about the true monsters that exist in our world this one being a weapon of mass destruction.

In the end of the movie the character who invented, Serizawa, the oxygen destroyer chooses to die. I’m sure that this is something that some scientists who in real life made wmd’s would have rather done. It’s horrifying to think that something you created will absolutely be used for the wrong reasons when in the wrong hands. Thus so, Serizawa burns and destroys his research and even himself to keep this from ever happing. Another part I didn’t remember from my first viewing that I thought was really interesting was when (I think it’s some kind of counsel?) is voting and arguing on what to do about Godzilla and if Godzilla’s existence should be made public. Obviously people are going to find out sooner or later but what was interesting was “Should we let the citizens know and panic before Godzilla makes landfall or keep the peace until this happens?”. Themes present in this movie make for a very insightful commentary that’s still relevant even today. Other than Godzilla being a cool monster and fun to watch on screen, it’s also a very complex movie.