women and spectators

[Joanne Izbicki]

A really fascinating example of women watching women within a movie is
in an obscure film called "Ishinaka sensei gyoujouki" (A report card on
Prof. Ishinaka), a Jan. 1950 film from ShinToho, directed by, of all
people, Naruse.  I say "of all people" because it is a comedy--or
rather, three stories that relate through Prof. Ishinaka's
interventions.  In one of the stories, one of the characters (Wakayama
Setsuko) goes to the movies.  As she sits in the movie theater, the
movie she is watching almost fills the frame.  She is watching the 1949
mega-hit, "Aoi sammyaku" (The blue mountains);  what's particularly
interesting is that that the actress playing the character in "Ishinaka
Sensei..".--that is, the character watching the movie--is one of the
actresses in the movie scene she is shown watching.  Wakayama is
watching herself, albeit in a different role.  In part this was probably
a joke for the audience to share since so many people had seen the 1949
film.

Incidentally, Wakayama's love interest in this "Ishinaka" story is
played by Mifune.  Much to my surprise (I saw the film in 1992 at the
late lamented Namiki-za), he is wonderful in the role of a painfully
shy, almost speechless young farmer.
"Ishinaka Sensei.." was and perhaps still is available on video but it's
one of Toho's expensive issues (ichiman-en).

Has someone already mentioned the scene in Ozu's "Hitori Musuko" (Only
son)?

Joanne Izbicki