[KineJapan] New Hara Kazuo film

Thu Oct 17 22:48:38 EDT 2019

This is a fascinating article. It really overturns my notions about who
Okuzaki was—and thus, the film, too. Thanks for posting it.

Markus

---

*Markus Nornes*
*Professor of Asian Cinema*
Department of Film, Television and Media, Department of Asian Languages and
Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design

*Department of Film, Television and Media*
*6348 North Quad*
*105 S. State Street*
*Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285*

On Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 11:51 PM quentin turnour via KineJapan <
kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:

> As a sidebar to this, Hara admirers might be interested in a new, long
> (9000 words) piece in English just up in the latest edition of The
> Asia-Pacific Journal - Japanese Focus, from historian Yuki Tanaka.
> https://apjjf.org/2019/20/Tanaka.html.
>
> It looks at the 1960s political activism of Okazaki Kenzo; the subject, of
> course, of Hara’s Yukiyukite shingun aka The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches
> On.
>
> Tanaka seems to be trying to re-establish Okazaki as a reasoned,
> audacious, if passionate social justice campaigner (at least up to his 1971
> trial), and for the real legal significance of his constitutional challenge
> to the Emperor system. It’s a bit of a diferent presentation from the
> aggrieved, violent ‘ratbag’ that he seems to have become by the early
> 1980s, and the personality which dominates Hara’s film. Tanaka also seems
> to be making a case for a seeing something rational, strategic and
> necessary in Okazaki’s later actions—an understanding that can maybe get
> missed in most of the, often shocked and startled Anglosphere responses to
> the documentary.
>
> Quentin Turnour
>
> On 4 Oct 2019, at 1:01 PM, Earl Jackson via KineJapan <
> kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:
>
> I don't mind the length, but this old guy won't survive a midnight
> screening. Those days are long gone.
> Earl Jackson
> Chair Professor
> Foreign Languages and Literatures
> Asia University
> Professor Emeritus
> National Chiao Tung University
> Associate Professor Emeritus
> University of California, Santa Cruz
> Co-Director
> Trans-Asia Screen Cultures Institute
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 4, 2019 at 12:55 AM Roger Macy via KineJapan <
> kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for this, Markus.
>> The TIFF schedule is now posted
>> https://2019.tiff-jp.net/en/schedule/list/day02
>> which tells us that 'Reiwa Uprising' is 270 minutes long, and has one
>> screening starting at midnight.
>>
>> Can someone tell me/us how TIFF works for accredited professionals?  The
>> 'press' page mentions P&I screenings. Do they tend to be in the mornings a
>> couple of days before, or some other scheme ?   Is there a viewing room ?
>>
>> Roger
>>
>> On Sunday, 29 September 2019, 02:20:05 BST, Markus Nornes via KineJapan <
>> kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Tokyo Film Festival announced their schedule and a notable film is a new
>> work by Hara Kazuo. It's called Reiwa Uprising (れいわ一揆), a title that evokes
>> one of Tsuchimoto's films. It's about the new political party Reiwa
>> Shinsengumi. I've always found Japanese elections depressingly dull, but
>> this past one had me riveted to Youtube thanks to Yamamoto Taro. He started
>> his career as a tarento, and also acted in movies (notably Battle Royale,
>> Izo and Princess Raccoon). But he ran as an independent for the Diet after
>> 3/11 and became a politician who spoke his mind and was openly critical of
>> status quo politics. He notoriously passed a letter complaining about the
>> handling of Fukushima to the emperor some years back. This year he
>> established this new party and I have to say it was impressive.
>>
>> First of all, Yamamoto know how to give good speech. If you've never seen
>> him, check this out (especially the halfway point):
>>
>> https://youtu.be/V6jbn9Ye670
>>
>> His party put up an amazing lineup for election this year. It included an
>> Okinawan, two people with disabilities, a cross-dressing professor from
>> Tokyo University who sometimes campaigned with a horse, and an obasan that
>> was better at public speaking than Yamamoto.
>>
>> One of the impressive things about the party, from my admitted limited
>> understanding, was that Yamamoto shifted his representation from the city
>> of Tokyo to the national proportion representational block, this
>> fascinating open system where people all over the country can vote for a
>> party. This was a big gamble. Moreover, the party gives a ranked list and
>> although they expected to pick up at least two seats Yamamoto put himself
>> 3rd....behind the two disabled politicians. Who won, and he came up short.
>> Both are quite severely disabled, one in the advanced stages of ALS. Seeing
>> them win was really moving.
>>
>> Hara seems to have centered his new film on the professor, Yasutomi
>> Ayumi, who is transgender and on the Todai website lists her research
>> subject as "Decolonization of the soul." She also campaigned with a horse
>> and a Thriller flash mob. I recall watching this Youtube video, where she
>> has a backup band and one of the zombies is carrying a baby:
>>
>> https://youtu.be/ett8o0u1fdI
>>
>> It's hardly surprising Hara chose Yasutomi and not Yamamoto. Judging from
>> his asbestos film, he really doesn't know how to deal with people who
>> aren't edgy.  This could be really interesting. Here's the trailer:
>>
>> https://youtu.be/_b-Wieqk6Gk
>>
>> Back in the summer, Hara did some live streaming documentary on election
>> night. I only heard about it afterwards, so if anyone saw it I'd love to
>> hear what was it was like.
>>
>> Mori Tatsuya also has a new film at TIFF. In recent years, Mori has been
>> concentrating on his writing and not filmmaking. I think he identifies more
>> strongly with critical journalism than documentary. And this helps explain
>> his film's subject, journalist Mochizuki Isoko:
>>
>> https://youtu.be/YQGF8y1TiA8
>>
>> I look forward to this as well.
>>
>> I sure do with these were at Yamagata and not TIFF. I'm wondering what
>> this means......
>>
>> That said, the Japanese entry in the Yamagata main competition is a film
>> I am really looking forward to and I'm impressed by its selection: Makino
>> Takashi's Memento Stella.
>>
>> https://www.yidff.jp/2019/ic/19ic08-e.html
>>
>> I'll be in Yamagata. Hope to see some of you at Komian!
>>
>> Markus
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---
>>
>> *Markus Nornes*
>> *Professor of Asian Cinema*
>> Department of Film, Television and Media, Department of Asian Languages
>> and Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design
>>
>> *Department of Film, Television and Media*
>> *6348 North Quad*
>> *105 S. State Street*
>> *Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285*
>>
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