Inugoe: Yet another dog movie

J.sharp j.sharp at hpo.net
Fri Dec 16 06:02:10 EST 2005


Hi everyone,

My attention was drawn the other day to yet another movie – due to be
released in Japan next February- featuring a dog. It’s called INUGOE, and
features one of those ugly little mutts with bulbous eyes.

In the past few years there have been at least 5 other dog movies I can
think of offhand: Takahisa Zeze’s DOG STAR, Yoichi Sai’s QUILL, WALKING WITH
THE DOG, SAYONARA KURO and the Takachise Ishige-produced ALL ABOUT MY DOG. I
wonder what has sparked off this seemingly endless string of them, and do
people REALLY go and watch them – I know Makoto Shinozaki told me that
WALKING WITH THE DOG was not a big hit at all.

But my main question is why now? The dog movie, or rather the animal movie
in general, seemed to be a big thing during the 80s, with films such as
ANTARTICA (NANGOKU MONOGATARI), THE ADVENTURES OF MILO AND OTIS (CHATRAN
MONOGATARI) and I know there was also a film about a fox – it had KITSUNE in
the title, can’t remember the exact title. I am sure I have missed a few.
There’s also been a change in shift in the role of the animal – in the 80s,
they were anthropomorphized proxies for their less adventurous human
counterparts, charging across antartica and saving the world, while in the
90s, they seem to be sniffling panaceas for any ailing human relationship.

With all this talk recently of writers and academics (not to mention DVD and
theatrical distributors, who actually have a lot more power than the other
two) constructing an image of Japan through the films they focus upon, I am
wondering why no one has thought about covering this peculiar yet enduringly
popular strain of cinema in more depth. I had thought it would make an
interesting article in theory, but have been rather put off by the fact that
it would mean I’d actually have to watch all these films.

In the meantime, Tokyo dog-lovers don’t despair- there’s a new British
remake of Lassie starring Samantha Morton and Peter O’Toole just out in the
UK. The critics have been very enthusiastic, but somehow I just can’t get
excited. However, I am pretty sure it will prove very lucrative in the
Japanese market.

Jasper

--
Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best in Japanese Cinema
www.midnighteye.com

===

Available now in bookstores everywhere:
The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (Stone Bridge Press)
by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
http://www.midnighteye.com/features/midnighteye_guide.shtml
"Easily one of the most important books on Japanese cinema ever released in
English."
- Newtype USA




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