Koroshiya Ichi/Ichi The Killer

[Ono Seiko and Aaron Gerow]

>This is what is interesting. There are two styles vying for the spot at 
>the top, and so so different! However, as in every moment of film 
>history (at least since the era of the international film festival trade 
>route was pioneered) either choice---or a combination of the two---is a 
>vast simplification that allows us to get a grip on the heterogeneity of 
>what's happening at ground level.

But actually, it's not even so simple as talking about two different 
styles vying for the top. Aoyama opposes himself to Koreeda and Kawase, 
has friendly debates with Suwa, while also being close associates with 
Zeze Takahisa, who is a big fan of Miike (so is Shinozaki Makoto, by the 
way). The issues and the interrelations between filmmakers are much more 
complicated, and most foreign festivals miss this, I'm afraid. That's why 
I personally am reluctant to talk about "New Japanese Cinema" or even my 
"detached style" as a unified phenomenon.  It makes it hard to write 
about the phenomenon, especially since readers always seem to demand 
unified "film movements" or "styles." 

Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
Yokohama National University