Koroshiya Ichi/Ichi The Killer

[Mark Nornes]

On Friday, January 25, 2002, at 11:55  PM, Ono Seiko and Aaron Gerow 
wrote:

>> 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.

I recognize this. My note was hastily written. The two styles are not 
vying; critics and programmers are (it is very unclear where the 
scholars are at this point). This propensity to identify and codify 
stylistic tendencies, posing them as representative of something going 
on in a far away national cinema, has been one of the most common 
methodologies for writing about foreign cinemas. Where does it start? 
Neo-realism? Or perhaps further back with expressionism? One of the 
reasons that Richie and Anderson still stands as a compelling book is 
that it doesn't necessary do this, and reading it makes you want to read 
some smart industrial histories of recent Japanese film. "New Japanese 
Cinema" is more a brand than a useful handle on what's going on in 
Japan. Where did it start anyway?

Markus