Somai Shinji

tanaka taro tarouttt
Mon Feb 28 06:24:22 EST 2005 

OK Stefan, I'll contact you off-list in case the Japan Foundation doesn't 
come through.
I didn't write down the exact broadcasting date of Typhoon Club on my 
recording of it, but it must have been sometime mid-nineties. It had German 
credits but French subtitles (in true ARTE-fashion!). 
The film was introduced by Volker Schloendorff (in French!), and according 
to him it was Bernardo Bertolucci who 'discovered' the film at the Tokyo 
Film Festival in 1984. Apparently it was also shown at the Montreal film 
festival.

In his documentary on the history of Japanese cinema, which he made for the 
BBC in the early nineties, Oshima Nagisa also mentions Somai Shinji's 
"Typhoon Club" as one of the few highlights from the eighties (and he 
included the excerpt of the kid jumping out the window and getting stuck in 
the mud with his legs up, one of the most poignant examples of  
'tragi-comedy' I've ever seen).

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 23:52:08 +0100 (MET)
>
>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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