Yamagata: The New God

[Aaron Gerow]

>Mine is the documentary bandwagon; those other directors are on the other
>hay ride aren't they?

Point taken, but considering that many directors like Kawase, Koreeda, 
Suwa, Hara, etc. work (or have expressed the desire to work) in both 
modes indicates that the hay rides are often joined or at least hard to 
separate.  I focused on the New God precisely in terms of its relation to 
a contemporary cinema/image culture that complexly transcends these 
modal/genre differences (a focus that, of course, has its own 
limitations).  I think the fact Tsuchiya expressed the desire to do a 
"fiction" film stems not only from the fact that he does not strictly 
divide the modes, but also from the need to deal with issues addressed in 
current fiction in a mode closer to them.  Of course, it's all mixed up 
in the end, but that's what makes it interesting.  Tsuchiya is worth 
looking at, but I don't think you can get a full picture of him without 
looking at Aoyama, Anno, Yamamoto, and others.

Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
International Student Center
Yokohama National University
79-1 Tokiwadai
Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
JAPAN
E-mail: gerow at ynu.ac.jp
Phone: 81-45-339-3170
Fax: 81-45-339-3171