Kitano at Toronto

[Mark Nornes]

Not having seen the film, I'd be curious to hear someone flesh out what 
they mean by Kawase's treatment of the rural. Alex? Aaron?

M




On Thursday, September 11, 2003, at 07:56  AM, Alex.Zahlten at gmx.de 
wrote:

> I obviously agree on the carnevalesque nature of ZATOICHI- which is 
> exactly
> why I find it much more ambiguous than SHARA. However I don`t agree 
> that it
> presents a more radical vision than what Kawase offers in SHARA, 
> actually I'm
> not sure I would call what Kawase offers a "vision" at all; I find it 
> too
> bafflingly free-floating as a portrayal of a dreamed up Japan...
> When drawing comparisons between these two films, I find it above all
> interesting how they depart from earlier stances of their directors 
> (actually, it
> occurs to me only now how strangely similar these two might be, 
> regarding
> their quite removed positions from the rest of the Japanese film 
> industry, and
> the way they are percieved overseas); and while these switches seem to 
> be
> traceable to more biographical/personal factors, I still wonder if 
> there is
> broader factor working into this as well...
>
> Alex Zahlten
>
>
>
>
>> SOME SPOILERS
>>
>>> I think it`s also important to say how the tap dance sequence in 
>>> ZATOICHI
>>
>>> is
>>> used, along with the other seqences in the film that use the rythmic
>>> assemblage of "rural" sounds produced from hoes and stomping in mud: 
>>> as a
>>> celebration of a community spirit closely connected to the 
>>> "earth"/land.
>>
>> As I wrote about in my Daily Yomiuri review, I found the film to be a
>> somewhat concerted effort on Kitano's part to (re)associate himself 
>> with
>> the
>> popular/folk/mass, bringing back the tapdancing of his Asakusa youth 
>> while
>>
>> also having Zatoichi go out of his way to protect folk icons like the
>> farmer's totem. The narrative itself is partially centered on 
>> questions of
>>
>> class and hierarchy and Zatoichi's final statement is precisely an
>> affirmation of the need to "be with the people."
>>
>> I would say this is less a celebration of the earth or rural, than a
>> distinctly hybrid conception of the folk/masses (witness the blonde
>> Zatoichi!). As with his recent films, there are some disturbing 
>> aspects of
>>
>> nationality here, but this is a more radical, if not carnivalesque 
>> vision,
>>
>> which you don't really see in Kawase. Kawase, however, has been 
>> criticized
>>
>> for being too concentrated on "tradition," which is why it is 
>> interesting
>> that the festival in Shara soju is a recent creation.
>>
>> Aaron Gerow
>> YNU
>>
>> _________________________________________________________________
>> MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE*
>> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
>>
>
> -- 
> alex at nipponconnection.de
>
> COMPUTERBILD 15/03: Premium-e-mail-Dienste im Test
> --------------------------------------------------
> 1. GMX TopMail - Platz 1 und Testsieger!
> 2. GMX ProMail - Platz 2 und Preis-Qualitätssieger!
> 3. Arcor - 4. web.de - 5. T-Online - 6. freenet.de - 7. daybyday - 8. 
> e-Post
>