self-introduction

[Michael Badzik]

zhang! wrote:

> I watched ' Fishes In August' during the fest, and I was wondering
> if anyone on the list watched it too? Any comments? 
> I know it was a relatively simple ' growing up and coming to 
> terms with some things in life ' plot, but I really liked it.
> thank you!

_Fishes In August_ , also known as _Mizu no Naka no Hachigatsu_ 
(but not to be confused with the 1995 movie directed by Ishii Sogo), 
caught me by surprise. I had heard nothing about it and watched it 
only because it was on NHK's Drama Kan show - but I got caught up 
in it from the very start. Others seem to like it as well as it has had 
a lot of showings on the festival circuit and picked up some awards 
along the way (such as the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki). I 
certainly hope that this attention will result in some distribution 
deals.

> Just wanted to add that one of the crew was there ( I think it
> was the scriptwriter) and he told us ( in reply to a question on
> what filter was used to achieve such the rich vibrant colours )
> that this whole film was actually shot on video!

Perhaps this is because it was actually a television program, 
produced by NHK. And those "rich vibrant colors" (that could turn a 
pile of tires into a thing of beauty!) as well as the use of geometry, 
reflection, and texture, was not just beautiful photography in my 
opinion, but also said a lot in a story with rather sparse dialog.

One thing too that was surprising, is that it appears that the director 
had only directed a few episodes of NHK television dramas before this. 
It certainly doesn't look like a first solo effort, and I am looking 
forward to his next.

For those who can't find _Fishes in August_ at a film festival nearby, 
it is available (wihtout subtitles) on video tape at many Japanese 
video rental stores. I haven't seen  much written about it, and the 
only thing I have found in English is something I noticed just today - 
a  review on the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/search).

Michael Badzik
mike at vena.com