"I Am Nipponjin," "Ren-ai shashin," and "Hazard"

[Jonathan M. Hall]

I don't think anyone has suggested the work of Steven Okazaki,  
especially Living on Tokyo Time, a film from 1990, I believe.   
Okazaki's newest film, White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of  
Hiroshima and Nagasaki will play at Iwanami Hall (Jinbocho, Tokyo)  
next month.

Yours,
Jonathan


-----
Jonathan M. Hall
Japanese Film, Media, and Modern Literature
Assistant Professor, Comparative Literature / Film & Media Studies

320 Humanities Instructional Building
UC Irvine, Irvine CA 92697-2651 USA
office: 1-949-824-9778
fax: 1-949-824-1992

Co-Chair, Queer Caucus, Society for Cinema and Media Studies



On Jun 26, 2007, at 3:25 AM, Michael McCaskey wrote:

> While looking for other titles you all have very helpfully  
> suggested, I also found "I Am Nipponjin," about a Japanese-American  
> who goes to Japan for the first time. It looks pretty good. Also  
> more likely to please both Japanese and Americans. It doesn't seem  
> to be available in US format so far. The Japanese title is "I Am  
> 日本人," so it wasn't easy to find at first, but  
> it's available at Amazon Japan.
>
> I also ordered "Ren-ai shashin," which several of you suggested.
>
> I watched the first half of "Hazard" today. It's just been released  
> on DVD, but I think Sion Sono made it back in 2002, so it's  
> actually an "early Odagiri film." I may be wrong, but I think some  
> Americans (not including me) may be troubled by this film--perhaps  
> in the same way some Japanese are troubled by "Fear and Trembling,"  
> but maybe much more so. One scene I'm always going to remember is  
> where Odagiri's two Japanese-speaking companions hold up a crowded  
> NYC convenience store, while Odagiri looks in his English phrase  
> notebook and then says, "We want your money." There's also a scene  
> where they're in a sort of landfill across the water, looking at  
> Manhattan, reciting Walt Whitman. (There are no subtitles--except  
> some in Japanese when English is spoken.)
>
> Michael McCaskey
> Georgetown Univ.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jim Harper <jimharper666 at yahoo.co.uk>
> Date: Monday, June 25, 2007 7:16 am
> Subject: Re: Thanks To All + Explanation
>
>> I've seen Tokyo Pop, on the one occasion it was shown
>> on UK televsion, Channel 4, if I recall correctly. I
>> would have been 16, so it would have been maybe 1991.
>>
>> It's not as good as Lost In Translation, to be honest,
>> but it struck a chord with me. It was shown pretty
>> much the same time as BBC2 showed Nobuhiko Obayashi's
>> Ijintachi Tono Natsu, the very first Japanese film I
>> ever saw. Seeing both that and Tokyo Pop in the same
>> short space of time created an interest in Japan and
>> Japanese cinema that has lasted ever since.
>>
>> I don't think UK television has shown either of them
>> again since, although Tokyo Pop did get a US video
>> release at some point. I've been waiting for DVD
>> releases of both films for years, and while there was
>> a HK release of Ijintachi, I doubt there'll be a DVD
>> of Tokyo Pop any time soon. The only people who seem
>> to know about it are those who (like me) caught it on
>> TV by accident, or Buffy fans (Kaz & Fran Rubel Kuzui
>> created both Tokyo Pop and Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
>>
>> Jim.
>>
>> --- "J.sharp" <j.sharp at hpo.net> wrote:
>>
>>>> By the way, have you seen or heard of an older
>> film
>>> called Tokyo Pop from
>>> 1988, about an American  girl who goes to be a pop
>>> star in Japan - I think
>>> there was a lot of discussion on this list when Lost
>>> in Translation came
>>> out, about how similar (and how much better) it was.
>>> I remember seeing it on
>>> TV in the UK years ago, and would love to see it
>>> again, but I dont think its
>>> on video anywhere.
>>>
>>> Best
>>>
>>> Jasper
>>>
>>> www.midnighteye.com
>>>
>>> ________________________________________________
>>> Message sent using Hunter Point Online WebMail
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.flipsidemovies.com
>> http://jimharper.blogspot.com
>>
>>
>>      ___________________________________________________________
>> Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the
>> answer. Try it
>> now.
>> http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/
>>
>

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