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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Brian Ruh said (under the thread 'boyhood
sublimations ...') “</SPAN>Are there any good train documentaries out
there?”</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Brian,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">You are definitely teasing us.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The only way this thread was staying
smaller than the entire internet was to confine it to Japanese fiction films
featuring Japanese trains.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But I’m
enjoying the thread greatly, indulging in nostalgia for wonderful films, and
wistfulness for ones that didn’t stop at my station.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Thanks, Maria, for pointing to the article by Luc
Béal.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I agree with him that
Imamura’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Akai satsui</I> is right up
there as one of the best.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Right
from the start, he subverts the genre with a train scene showing a forced return
to an unwelcome furusato …<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Journeys are such a staple of Naruse films that it’s
hardly surprising his films figure.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Especially memorable for me are the emotional transitions in <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Midareru – Yearning</I> and <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Ukigumo</I>. <U><o:p></o:p></U></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The outstanding Japanese train documentary for me is
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">TSUCHIMOTO
Noriaki’s </SPAN><STRONG><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Aru kikanjoshi
</SPAN></I></STRONG><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">- </SPAN></STRONG><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">An
Engineer’s Assistant</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And I think I can squeeze it in
under the subject of fiction.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It’s
actually billed to show at the BFI on October 8<SUP>th</SUP> and
11<SUP>th</SUP>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The blurb says, or
rather said <A
href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/film_programme/october_seasons/levelling_the_playing_field/an_engineers_assistant_on_t"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/film_programme/october_seasons/levelling_the_playing_field/an_engineers_assistant_on_t</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>until a few days ago, ‘It is homoerotic
and shows why <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
work ethic helped it recover from the war.’<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It would seem I wasn’t the only person
to think these were two entirely fictional perceptions, presented as facts.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>You can watch it yourself and decide,
under the banner of ‘the Radical Role of Film Criticism’.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But another way it could be described as
fictional was in the white glove-wearing of the crew.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>FUJIWARA Toshi, who made <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Eiga wa ikimono no kiroku de aru: Tsuchimoto
noriaki no shigoto</I>, has Tsuchimoto claiming that he needed the white gloves
for his night-shots, and that the adoption of this practice by the railways came
<U>after</U> watching his safety film, turning embellishment into
fact.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Changing
trains again, I noticed that several of the documentary entries at the Venezia
film festivals for 1938 and 939 were produced by Japanese Railways Tourist Board
or South Manchuria Railways.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">I expect
this followed similar practice by other countries.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Roger
Macy</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"></SPAN><U><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></U> </P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>----- Original Message ----- </FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>From: "Brian Ruh" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:brianruh@yahoo.com"><FONT
face=Arial>brianruh@yahoo.com</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>To: <</FONT><A
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu"><FONT
face=Arial>KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 5:34 PM</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Subject: Re: boyhood sublimations/ Japanese
trainspotters</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial>> --- On Thu,
9/11/08, Jonathan M Hall <</FONT><A href="mailto:jmhall@uci.edu"><FONT
face=Arial>jmhall@uci.edu</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial>> wrote:<BR>>
<BR>>> Brian, prompting this kind of imagination is
unforgivable<BR>>> because there is no station at which to arrive: forgive
me, but<BR>>> it's in-terminal-able! <BR>> <BR>>
Sorry, I didn't mean to get the discussion off on the wrong track. Hopefully it
doesn't make you too loco and prompt you to rail at me.<BR>> <BR>> Okay,
I'm done. <BR>> <BR>> Anyway, I didn't really mean for the topic to get
out of control. Of course there are bound to be trains in many, many Japanese
films. I was just trying to think of ones where trains are featured prominently
or play a key role. Are there any good train documentaries out there?<BR>>
<BR>> == Brian<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>></FONT></BODY></HTML>