[KineJapan] Eigei Best and Worst Ten

[Zahlten, Alexander]

Thanks for sending this Aaron. The EiGei choices have of course always been controversial and also distrusted (there was a sense that certain results were being engineered), and as a former contributor myself I’ve  heard a lot of that discussion even among the other contributors. Maybe one might add that it isn’t just that the poll names “any” critically successful film to worst #1- it is certainly more specific than that, and Koreeda has been in the EiGei crosshairs for a long time. It also maybe isn’t surprising that Dare To Stop Us / Tomerareru ka, Oretachi o, the film about Wakamatsu Productions, is worst #2 (and percentage-wise tied with Shoplifters at first place)– with so many people in the EiGei orbit having been close to or even members of Wakamatsu pro at some point.

There are always interesting points about the poll, however, and the films that are voted fairly high up in both the best and the worst ten list make for interesting cases. This year it is Zeze Takahisa’s Kiku to Girochin, the film about the encounter of Taisho-era anarchists with female sumo wrestlers, that made #4 on both rankings.

Alex




From: KineJapan <kinejapan-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Gerow Aaron <aaron.gerow at yale.edu>
Reply-To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 21:11
To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: [KineJapan] Eigei Best and Worst Ten

The magazine Eiga Geijutsu announced its Best and Worst Ten for 2018.

Best One was Miyake Sho's Kimi no tori wa utaeru. Worst One was Koreeda's Shoplifters.

www3.cinematopics.com/archives/104418?<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www3.cinematopics.com_archives_104418-3F&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=IdT5SOsWSaU8nv_LlfdPJuYJ2i0szurBOWX7Z8hfZNc&s=CVTC52rSJPKfOrBO6bEt-xzLb0rYN-6Gw7ITqsqssWk&e=>

Having participated in the EG Best Ten for 7 years, I have fond memories of it. But with shifts like the controversy last year over not allowing animated films, it is getting harder to take seriously. I knew Shoplifters would be worst one even before I saw the results, because recently they seem to always select in a knee jerk fashion any critically successful film—especially critically successful abroad—as worst one. That kind of tired predictability is not good for the magazine.

Aaron Gerow
Professor
Film and Media Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Director of Graduate Studies, Film and Media Studies
Yale University
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Phone: 1-203-432-7082
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e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu<mailto:aaron.gerow at yale.edu>
website: www.aarongerow.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.aarongerow.com&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=IdT5SOsWSaU8nv_LlfdPJuYJ2i0szurBOWX7Z8hfZNc&s=6HRln9bikfeBo9j3Hgpc0koJUCAU8IgfBrM3Fia9_6E&e=>

















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