Minimalism?

[Michael E. Kerpan]

On Thu, 12 Oct 2000, Dennis Doros  wrote:
 
> Well, not in our eyes, of course. I think Maborosi is still one of the best 
> films from Japan this past decade and After Life is not far behind. I don't 
> think of Maborosi as minimalist since it is full of emotion and a love for 
> it's characters and landscape. 

In our household (parents, 15 yr old and two 12 yr olds), both of Kore-Eda's
films were very much liked by all. The children liked After Life best.  I'm
still holding the torch for Maborosi.  My wife is not committing herself on the
issue. <g> In any event, no one had (much) trouble following the films or
sustaining interest. (Disclaimer: not a typical sample as my children all are
long-time Sondheim fans and newfound Ozu fans-more typically they are also big
Miyazaki fans).

I would agree with your characterization.  I almost feel like both films are, in
fact, (extremely idiosyncratic) love stories. I think the term "pretty" does
not begin to describe Maborosi.  I can't think of a more fundamentally
_beautiful_ film. I can see how someone could call Warhol a minimalist --but 
I can't really imagine how the term would apply to Kore-Eda.  If his films are
subdued in pacing, they are extremely luxurious in most other ways. 

I also don't understand the criticism of the acting -- which seemed completely
convincing and effective to me.  They don't act like "real people"  -- they act
(or are directed) in a manner that "seems" real.

We also watched another Milestone release, Higashi's Village of Dreams, which we
expected to be a big hit (we _didn't_ expect the kids to particularly be
interested in Maborosi) because it involved twins. Surprisingly, this fell
rather flat. 


Best wishes

Michael Kerpan