Somai Shinji

[nuzumaki at gmx.net]

luk,

in worst case i can scan the catalouge for you, if you don't get the copy
from the japan foundation that soon. 
i did not know that Typhoon club was broadcasted by ARTE. was it english
subtiteld or just french?

best regards,

stefan


> 
> Thanks Stefan. I also heard about this catalogue from Roland Domenig and 
> Hirasawa Go (who will also contribute to the Jeonju catalogue, along with 
> Yomota Inuhiko and two Koreans). I'm trying to get a copy through the
> Japan 
> Foundation office in Cologne. 
> (Typhoon Club and Ohikkoshi were also broadcasted on the German/French 
> TV-channel ARTE at some point, which we are fortunate to receive here in 
> Belgium as well)
> 
> Also thanks to Mark for the information. I never had a chance to meet
> Somai 
> myself, but from interviews in Japanese magazines one can easily get the 
> impression that self-promotion was not his strong point indeed.
> 
> Luk Van Haute
> 
> 
> >From: nuzumaki at gmx.net
> >Reply-To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> >To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> >Subject: Re: Somai Shinji
> >Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:24:04 +0100 (MET)
> >
> >if your are looking for more information about somai shinji, there was 
> along
> >with the retrospective in germany, also a small catalouge published (i 
> think
> >the text was by olaf mler). i have to look up first, but what i 
> can
> >remeber it is in german only.
> >
> >best regards,
> >
> >stefan nutz
> >
> >
> > > Somai's Typhoon Club won the Grand Prix at the first Tokyo Film 
> Festival
> > > in
> > > 1985. Moving (Ohikkoshi) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section
> at
> > > Cannes in 1993. And Wait and See (Ah, Haru) was awarded the FIPRESCI
> > > (International critics prize) at Berlin in 1999.
> > >
> > > So Somai didn't totally strike out on the festival circuit. Why didn't
> he
> > > gain more traction? He often worked in a genre, seishun eiga, that got
> > > little critical respect. His timing wasn't great, but he could have 
> better
> > > ridden the Japanese New Wave of the 1990s. Moving had a more visible
> > > platform at Cannes in 1993 than did Kitano's Sonatine, which only 
> screened
> > > in the market -- but we know which film the Western critics whooped
> up,
> > > don't we?
> > >
> > > Why didn't they also whoop up Moving, a coming-of-age masterpiece? I 
> did
> > > my
> > > little bit in The Japan Times and elsewhere -- but Somai didn't much 
> help
> > > his own cause. When I interviewed him at Cannes, he struck me as
> smart,
> > > sensitive and very, very shy.As in no eye contact and voice just above
> a
> > > whisper. Not the type to dazzle the foreign press with his witty 
> repartee.
> > > (I believe he spent as much of the festival as possible in his hotel
> > > room.)Then there was the matter of the film itself, which did not fit 
> any
> > > of
> > > the then trendy categories (extremely violent, cleverly subversive 
> action
> > > pic, etc.) So it quietly sank out of sight, as did its director.
> > >
> > > I compliment the Jeonju festival for raising up him and his criminally
> > > under-appreciated films.
> > >
> > > Mark Schilling
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "tanaka taro" <tarouttt at hotmail.com>
> > > To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
> > > Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2005 7:13 PM
> > > Subject: Somai Shinji
> > >
> > >
> > > >
> > > > Hello everyone,
> > > >
> > > > I am writing a piece on Somai Shinji for the catalogue of the 
> upcoming
> > > > Jeonju International Film Festival (April 28-May 6), which will show
> 8
> > > > Somai films in a retrospective.
> > > > One of the things I'm looking into is Somai's reception (or rather 
> lack
> > > > thereof) outside of Japan, which already came up on this list a few 
> days
> > > > ago.
> > > > Video and dvd-releases are one thing, but I was wondering if any of 
> you
> > > > know of other festivals (or events) which have paid attention (gave
> > > prizes)
> > > > to Somai's work in the past, or places where his films got a 
> theatrical
> > > > release. I've only heard of one retrospective organised by the Japan
> > > > Foundation in Germany a few years ago.
> > > >
> > > > I wonder how much the reason why so little has been written about
> him 
> in
> > > > the West has to do with the age to which the main part of his work
> > > belongs,
> > > > as the eighties in general are largely overlooked (or dismissed as 
> the
> > > > decade when Japanese cinema was as good as dead).
> > > >
> > > > Many thanks for any suggestions you may have,
> > > > Luk Van Haute
> > > >
> > > > _________________________________________________________________
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> > > >
> > >
> >
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