Kitano at Toronto

[Aaron Gerow]

>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...

I myself would qualify the term "radical." For while I think it is clear the 
film presents a vision of pracitcaly class conflict and valorizes the 
victory of the popular, the irony is that it is essentially Zatoichi who 
does the fighting. Thus, while the film does have moments in which 
Zatoichi's figure is problematized (as a bearer of insane violence), he 
essentially comes out as a hero who fights instead of the masses (thus the 
"happy ending"). That can not only be a rather conservative vision, it also 
struck me somewhat as a narrative of self-aggrandizement: Kitano declaring, 
"I am the man of the people."

>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...

I'm not sure how either of these films are departures. Shara soju shares a 
lot of narrative elements with previous films (sudden disappearances, 
dancing in water showers, Nara, etc.), but what is significiant is that more 
than any of her previous films it is a distinctly urban text (thus I would 
qualify the term "rural" by attaching that more to films like Suzaku and 
Sumaudo). As I argued in my review, I see its winding long takes through the 
alleys of Nara as almost a cinematic essay on the frame--the frame from 
which the twin disappears and which the film only transcends in the last 
shot (it is this transcendental shot, however, also evident in Suzaku, that 
Kawase desires the most, however).

There's also a lot that's not new in Zatoichi, especially in its discourse 
on violence, humor, and insanity. Abe Kasho has also been arguing for some 
time that there is something "minzokugakuteki" about Kitano's recent films, 
which it seems Kitano has become more self-conscious about in Zatoichi. What 
is newer about the film, I think, is the very interesting thematics on 
disguise, repetition, and identity, which, while it has appeared 
occasionally in previous films, has never been so thoroughly pursued. Also, 
we do need to talk about the decision to make this an "entertainment" film 
with a happy ending. I'll try to think this through some more in my book on 
Kitano.

Aaron Gerow
YNU

_________________________________________________________________
MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. 
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus