Tonight is the first film from the Japanese Foundations “Girls on Film” tour, which has now reached our favorite local cinema The Filmhouse. It’ll be refreshing to see some contemporary Japanese films having somewhat overdosed on the recent Ozu film season.
Most looking forwards to “How to become myself” and “Asyle”, both of which have interesting write-ups.
I had a digital copy of this film for a while, but over the weekend it popped up in my LoveFilm queue and then on my doorstep today. I enjoyed it (as much as it is possible to enjoy a war film): Nicely shot, with smooth direction and interesting characters. But was this an Oscar film? I am a long-time fan of director Kathryn Bigalow, “Near Dark” and “Strange Days” being high on my list of favorite films. However despite super-slick slow-mo this film didn’t strike me as anything new. It’s not a bad film, but it didn’t stretch the genre: nothing here you’ve not already seen in GenerationX.
Not a Japanese film for a change, but this time a contemporary Chinese film. Ming Ming (2006): Visually striking, this film betrays female director Susie Au’s extensive music-video background: Flashy jump-cuts, rapid-fire scenes & neon colours, this film both reminds me of Sin City and numerous Guy Richie films (although less violent). It’s all rather jarring from the outset, but it soon finds a beat with the help of a strange hook of a story and rather attractive protagonists. The soundtrack you’ll either love or hate (we loved it), but it’s a hard mash of sound just as jumbled as the visuals. Killer marbles, orange hair, slow mo & $5m. An interesting mix!
Sirin and I attended the first session of the Japanese Culture and Film course on Monday, with a showing of the beautiful “Princess Mononoke” from the ever wonderful Studio Ghibli. It wasn’t our first viewing of this anime, but it certainly hasn’t lost any of its charm. Director Hayao Miyazaki (probably most famous for “Spirited Away” in the West) remains, for me, one of the all time great directors ‘despite’ (cautiously used) working the field of animation.
Coincidentally I’m reading a collection of his essays (“Starting Point: 1979-1996″) for BiteSizedJapan which charts many of his inspirations, influences, and thoughts on the animation process. It’s quite fascinating stuff, and certainly inspires me!
Tonight was our next film in the fantastic Yasujiro Ozu season at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh. Again tonight’s film was a new one for us, and somewhat unexpected after the serious nature of the Ozu films that we have seen. “Ohayo…” (Good morning…) was a beautifully realistic slice of Japanese life, set in and around the breakfast tables of shoulder-to-shoulder suburban family homes. Very funny (fart jokes abound, I’m not kidding!) and telling (the nosy neighbors with nothing better to gossip about), this tail follows the antics of two young brothers up to mischief. It’s a great film, but desperate for some restoration love!
While much of the UK is snowed in, we decided to take a stroll up the Water of Leith on Saturday (rather than risk a trip outside of the city). Gorgeous and bitingly cold morning, but the river was really pretty. Much of the lower end of the river was frozen over, leaving the resident ducks looking peckish!
Seems to be part of being an editor is to read and watch absolutely everything to do with your magazines subject. Maybe that’s obvious, and I’m not complaining.
Over the next few weeks Sirin and I are following the Yasujiro Ozu season up at The Filmhouse Cinema. I have to confess I’d never seen any of this classic Japanese directors work, and we were pleasantly surprised by “Tokyo Story” last night. Unexpectedly accessible for a Japanese a movie of the 50s, with exceptional attension to details: the relationships between the depicted family members was almost painful to watch at times as our “hands” (as mere voyeurs) are tied and out vision fixed by the static knee-high camera work. It’s a great film, the characters believable and the story down to Earth, and as someone who studies Japanese culture this film really felt like a snapshot of “real life” in post-war Japan.
2010 is here, the year of flying cars, spaceships, alien worlds… or was that 2000? Anyway we saw the night in from the top of Calton Hill, Edinburgh, with a fantastic view of the castle and Princes Street. Really great atmosphere, and a brilliant way to see the new year in!
Last night we trekked up to the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, to check out the Fire and Light installation. Sadly the weather was awful, with high winds meaning most of the planned show was canceled. But we were treated to some cool street installations, and a rather good atmosphere. This event is repeated on January 1st I believe. We shot some video, which you can find attached.
