The Osaka spirit

[tim.iles@utoronto.ca]

Tom Mes wrote:

"However, this superficial abrasiveness (for lack of a better word) 
is usually offset by the fact that the outcome of conflicts, even violent 
ones, rarely involve permanent damage."

A propo we might consider the relationship between Pisuken and Goro in
Itami's _Tampopo_--while Pisuken isn't explicitly mentioned as being from
Osaka, his dialect is different from that of the others (as well as his
clothes--who wears golf pants in Tokyo? Mind you, _no one_ dresses
"normally" in this one! ^_^) They share a violent relationship, only to
emerge from the film with respect for one another.

On the other hand, Oshima's _Taiyou no hakaba_ (The sun's Burial, 1960)
_is_ explicitly set in Osaka, and is filled with violence between both men
and women (its story revolves around rival gangs of black market blood
sellers). Osaka itself with its oppressive heat seems to be the crucible
which forges the characters, and as the film's title implies, these
characters represent the very end of Japanese civilisation (the most
exploitative of them, a decrepit former Army officer, wants to start a
revolution to return Japan to her empire-building days). The consequences
of violence here are absorbed into Osaka, which carries on without a blip.

Just some thoughts that came to mind...


Tim Iles