<html><head></head><body><div class="yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:ApplyBreakingRules/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object
classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho";}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal">Far East Film Festival at Udine
was back in full swing late last month. Besides a full programme at the large
Teatro Nuovo from 9am till past midnight for nearly nine days, there were three
or four films a day at the Visionario, a longish kilometre away on the opposite
side of the city.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">FEFF does a remarkable job of filling its large theatre, mainly with
people from the nearby region to see films from East Asia
and Southeast Asia. But, to do so, it employs a barrage
of breathless publicity which a film scholar has to shield against to avoid discouragement.
I think I am now managing that for the Japanese films but for others, in
retrospect, without realizing it, I still allowed myself to be put off some
that may well have been rewarding when I finally found time to read the
catalogue entries. For example, I ought to have tried the Taiwanese ‘Teenage
Fugitive’ by CHANG Pei-cheng which the catalogue variously describes as
realistic, social realism, vividly depicted the sense of alienation permeating
.... The blurb had it as “irresistible comedy”. That film was in the strand
‘A/B side’ from 80s & 90s “before FEFF existed”. But, to be fair to myself,
I had little more than four days there and, for example, finally caught ‘2/Duo’
by SUWA Nobuhiro, blurbed as ‘Amour fou’ but which I saw as depicting an
abusive relationship, hard to watch due to the terrific acting and to her
keeping coming back for more, even at the end. Mark Schilling’s catalogue entry
was fair and thoughtful.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">There were also some documentaries. We should not read too much in
KOREEDA Hirokazu being the only Japanese filmmaker in ‘Jiseok’, the tribute to
the late director of Busan I.F.F., as only one filmmaker from each country was
represented. Although the business of the attempted sacking was referred to, viewers
would be disappointed if they expected the controversy unravelled. I guess it’s
right that Kim should not be defined by that sorry episode. That story ought to
belong to those who initiated it. There were also two documentaries on Japanese
subjects – one by Yves Montmayeur, ‘Kaidan’, which I’ll have to find elsewhere,
and a doc. on AUM by the American-based Ben Braun and Chiaki Yanagimoto. Based
substantially on the investigative work of David E. Kaplan and Andrew Marshall,
I think it benefited greatly from its more western investigative methodology, validated
by going back to Japanese sources. Their film didn’t mention the previous
documentaries by MORI Tatsuya, KUMAI Kei and others, which assumed more prior
knowledge, but it richly complemented them. Those Japanese archives showed us
how much Asahara of AUM was indulged by the media, even after the lawyer
(SAKAMOTO) pursuing their abusive extraction of family funds was ‘disappeared’
along with his family. KITANO Takeshi on his TV programme made Asahara
particularly lovable.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">So, it was illuminating for me to watch just after this the 1969 <i>Otoko
wa tsurai yo</i>, where the lovable Tora-san was showing selling fake medicines
– Asahara’s original career launch. It had seemed as good a time and place as
any for me to finally lose my Tora-san virginity by seeing a complete episode –
the first. </p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">That film was showing as part of a tribute to BAISHŌ Chieko, on the back
of a screening of ‘Plan 75’. I had seen here the original 19-minute section in
the compendium ‘Ten Years Japan’. It had been transformed, with entirely new
roles for Baishō and Stefanie ARIANNE. For me, it went to show what script
development funding might do for some other Japanese independent films. Also
nice to see, in an industry notorious for ditching slightly older actresses in
favour of younger talent to play their roles, was that Baishō here gets to play
a mere 76-year-old.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">Not gaining any awards but well-received was ‘Egoist’, written and
directed by MATSUNAGA Daishi, from the novel by YAKAYAMA Makoto. Something of a
film of two halves, the music by SEBU Hiroko didn’t just change, it stopped
completely when a phone call comes out of the blue. The rich, dreamy music
accompanied a growing love between a fashion photographer and his personal
trainer which deepened in sincerity. Matsunaga was at one of the many FEFF film
panels where he was challenged on gay lovers being acted by straight actors.
His answer was that there were few box-office-names who had come out in Japan.
In any case, it was beautifully acted.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">On the same panel were the director and actor of ‘She Is Me, I Am Her’
(NAKAMURA Mayu). ‘Actor’ in the singular isn’t exactly all the cast, but Nahana
does have the main role in all four sections.<span>
</span>Nahana told us that she wanted to convey contrasted sides to loneliness,
something in which they succeed, without it being a dreary film.<span> </span>This was a ‘Covid’ film – necessarily made
with limited cast but also about the only film to mention the great disturbance
to festivals, films and much else in the previous two years. That great
enveloping topic only really appeared here on the reviews of the national film
industries which are in the catalogue.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">Mark Schilling also got on a credit list as the author of the original
story for ‘Convenience Story’. Mark told us he gave MIKI Satoshi a free hand to
adapt it, which he did in this siren tale. Although Mark, in his talk, had
compared konbini stores to <i>purgatorio</i> for their ability to sustain life
in a state of non-satisfaction, I had always thought of them more as <i>inferno</i>
due to the zombifying muzak. So, I was greatly relieved that the detachment
from realism in the film extended to the music by UENO Kōji, which had
interesting nourishment.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">There was much more, of course, and one piece of good news is that Chris
Berry will resume his FEFF reviews for <i>Senses of Cinema</i>, having seen
more, and different, films than me.</p>
<p class="ydpa4630199MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">Roger</p>
</div><div><br></div></div></div></body></html>