[KineJapan] KineJapan Digest, Vol 90, Issue 6

Tue Nov 11 10:39:50 EST 2025

Thank you all for these rich posts today.

Marcus: warmest wishes with the Ozu diaries project. A long cherished wish.

Alastair

Professor Alastair Phillips (he/him/his)

Film and Television Studies

School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures

Faculty of Arts Building
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7EQ

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/scapvc/film/staff/phillips/

My usual working days are Monday to Wednesday though this may vary in some weeks during termtime

________________________________
From: KineJapan <kinejapan-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of kinejapan-request at mailman.yale.edu <kinejapan-request at mailman.yale.edu>
Sent: 11 November 2025 15:20
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Subject: KineJapan Digest, Vol 90, Issue 6

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Nakadai has passed (jacline MORICEAU)
   2. Re: New Film: THE OZU DIARIES (Oscar-nominated director
      Daniel Raim) - now available for Campus Screenings (Markus Nornes)

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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:54:46 +0100
From: jacline MORICEAU <jmthfrsa at gmail.com>
To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [KineJapan] Nakadai has passed
Message-ID:
        <CAMnAxfLVW7zuvvWR_Jzkaq37phQ17Ow9UHodQ1u-aeKNGWKwHQ at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Thanks Markus and Aaron for your writings about Nakadai. It is so sad but
at the same time he was such a great person that he will  always remain
alive for us.

Le mar. 11 nov. 2025 ? 11:33, Aaron Gerow via KineJapan <
kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> a ?crit :

> Thanks Markus for announcing the sad news.
>
> I was on the train when Seiko sent me a LINE text saying that Nakadai had
> died. He was 92, but it was still a shock. Not only was he one of the
> greatest of Japanese film actors?and one of my all-time favorites?but we
> had the splendid pleasure of bringing him to Yale in 2016 (which actually
> became the subject of a Jidaigeki Senmon Channel documentary). I visited
> his acting school Mumeijuku a couple of times as well as interviewed him
> for Criterion. I got to know him on screen through Kurosawa?s films, but I
> maybe I liked him the most in his work for Okamoto, where he could show his
> supreme comic skill.
>
> The entire interview is on the Criterion Channel, but here?s a section of
> our interview:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVvx9jQ5FcM<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVvx9jQ5FcM>
>
> At Yale, he talked about Harakiri and The Age of Assassins, but also did
> an acting workshop. He asked attendees to do portions of the Mumeijuku
> audition, and then gave a demonstration himself. The difference between him
> and others was significant.
>
> Nakadai never played "Nakadai", in part, as expressed by his nickname
> "Moya", he had a "fuzzy" identity which enabled directors to use him in
> such varying ways. He was extremely devoted to pursuing the art of acting,
> refusing to sign a contract with a studio and instead insisting on devoting
> half of each year to film and half to stage. He started Mumeijuku with his
> wife, the actor Miyazaki Yasuko, which didn't charge students a penny and
> ended up training such great actors as Yakusho Koji, Maki Yoko, and Takito
> Ken'ichi. With my first visit to Mumeijuku, I quickly sensed that
> Nakadai-san had mistakenly thought I was associated with the Yale School of
> Drama, I place he revered since it produced one of his favorites, Paul
> Newman. He had his students perform sections of plays such as Hamlet and
> The Seagull for me, and I had to comment on them. I think I didn?t do a bad
> job, but he remained kind to me even after that!
>
> I learned of his devotion to Miyazaki, who passed away in 1996, through
> several stories, but it was evident at Mumeijuku, where he gave direction
> to students directly underneath a large portrait of her.
>
> I made sure to tell him this, but he is one reason I got into Japanese
> cinema. He will be sorely missed.
>
> Aaron
>
> Aaron Gerow
> Alfred W. Griswold Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures
> and Film and Media Studies
> Yale University
>
> P.S. We have the transcripts for his talks at Yale. Sometime we have to
> publish those.
>
>
> 11/11/25 ??1:18?Markus Nornes via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu
> >????:
>
>
> Nakadai Tatsuya, perhaps my favorite Japanese actor of all time, has
> passed. Here?s Variety?s initial report:
>
>
> https://variety.com/2025/film/obituaries-people-news/tatsuya-nakadai-dead-japanese-ran-harakiri-1236574628/<https://variety.com/2025/film/obituaries-people-news/tatsuya-nakadai-dead-japanese-ran-harakiri-1236574628/>
> - Tatsuya Nakadai, Japanese Film Legend That Starred in ?Ran,? ?Harakiri?
> and ?The Human Condition? Trilogy, Dies at 92
>
> I know Aaron was close, so I look forward to this obit/tribute in
> particular.
>
> Markus
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>
>
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:19:39 -0500
From: Markus Nornes <nornes at umich.edu>
To: KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [KineJapan] New Film: THE OZU DIARIES (Oscar-nominated
        director Daniel Raim) - now available for Campus Screenings
Message-ID: <C4AFF7E0-CDE1-419E-BD47-74C318A50723 at umich.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

I reviewed this for the currently online episode of NHK J-Flix. In the end, nearly everything I had to say about the film was cut!  But that might be good because the episode gives a nice sense for the film.

I heard about this film and contacted the director..for reasons I?ll explain in a second. It was a lovely conversation and left me all the more excited to see the film. But it was also a puzzling conversation. Here was someone who had plunged into the diaries and had a feature film?s worth of things to say about them. However, he seemed a little guarded and keeping his cards close to his chest. I couldn?t imagine why?

But now that I have seen the film, I think I get it. Anyone who has read through the diaries (and everyone should!) might come away disappointed. They are focussed in on his daily life and gleaning information on his approach to cinema is nigh impossible. You do learn a lot about his obsessions and passions, that?s for sure. But for a brick of a book, they are somewhat perplexing. I was wondering how he?d use them in a documentary.

He didn?t much at all. The film is titled The Ozu Diaries, but the film is more about Ozu than the diaries. We see them. There are quite a few quotes from them. But this is mainly a bio-pic of Ozu. And definitely the best. Must see. It will be great for teaching!  But anyone who loves Ozu will really enjoy this film.

The diaries are a curiosity so they provide the hook. But the documentary uses them alongside standard interviews, letters, notes, high-quality clips from the films and other imagery. The latter is really the highlight for anyone who already knows Ozu. The director had the blessing of the studio and family and friends, so this is chock full of never-before-seen photographs. Amazing photographs. And even better: the home movies. Wow. Fantastic.

But you won?t learn much about the diaries.

However, I?m happy to say that you will soon. I am editing a translation of the entire diary by Adam Kuplowsky. The diaries are compiled in Japan (and French) into a book about 800 pages long. This is quite a feat. It?s a skilled and clever translation, which is called for because Ozu loved word play, poetry, the mixing of English and classical language, a little Chinese here and there, and many entertaining ditties.

It should be out in the coming year or two. Keep your eye pealed for this. The diary is strange and wonderful, and we are including annotations to facilitate your read!

In the meantime, I recommend the new film for anyone who loves Ozu.

Markus

> On Nov 4, 2025, at 8:35?AM, David Averbach via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:
>
> Hello all, and hisashiburi to some of you,
>
> I am Creative Director of The Film Collaborative, a nonprofit independent film distributor.
>
> Some very exciting news?we are handling physical exhibitions for Oscar-nominated filmmaker Daniel Raim?s new film THE OZU DIARIES (2025), which draws from master Yasujir? Ozu?s private journals, letters, photographs, drawings, and never-before-seen home movies to reveal the man behind the legend. Through Ozu's own words, combined with reflections from Kyoko Kagawa, Wim Wenders, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Tsai Ming-liang, and Luc Dardenne, the film traces how Ozu transformed personal loss and wartime trauma into enduring masterpieces.
>
> Fresh off its recent premieres at International Festivals such as Venice, Busan, Rio de Janeiro, and two weekends ago at AFI FEST in Los Angeles and last weekend at the Tokyo International Film Festival, we are reaching out to offer Universities the chance to show this film as a public Campus Screening or in-Class as part of a film curriculum, during its first film festival window! We are now accepting applications to book the film during this 2025-26 academic year at the discounted educational rate of US $350.
>
> Please note that library catalog requests and campus-network educational viewing will be offered at a later date, sometime during the 2026-27 academic year.
>
> THE OZU DIARIES was produced in collaboration with Shochiku and Turner Classic Movies, and with incredible access to and blessing from Ozu?s family. Daniel Raim?s previous short featurette, "In Search of Ozu," was commissioned by the Criterion Collection to be on the Criterion channel and as a bonus material in one of the re-released Ozu box Blu-Ray sets.
>
> Professors or Administrators: To receive a private screener link to the film, apply to show the film at your institution, or to add your name for catalog requests, please fill out the form below, and we?ll get back to you. Feel free to email me with any questions, although you can also ask questions in the form. (We cannot send screeners to individual students at this time, so if you are a student, please forward this message to one of your professors.)
>
> https://airtable.com/app8ALm03YfCjEIMN/pagYCsdFCAjuCREBi/form<https://airtable.com/app8ALm03YfCjEIMN/pagYCsdFCAjuCREBi/form>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> David Averbach, PhD
> Creative Director
> The Film Collaborative
> 415-948-1789
> david at thefilmcollaborative.org
> thefilmcollaborative.org
>
> David Averbach (he/him)
> Creative Director
> The Film Collaborative
>        +1 415.948.1789 <tel:415.948.1789>
>        david at thefilmcollaborative.org <mailto:david at thefilmcollaborative.org>
>        thefilmcollaborative.org <http://thefilmcollaborative.org/<http://thefilmcollaborative.org/>>
>  <http://facebook.com/thefilmcollaborative<http://facebook.com/thefilmcollaborative>>  <http://twitter.com/filmcollab<http://twitter.com/filmcollab>>
> newsletter signup <https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/newsletter<https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/newsletter>> ? submit your film <https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/submit<https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/submit>> ? apply for fiscal sponsorship <https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/fiscalsponsorship<https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/fiscalsponsorship>> ? distripedia? <https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/distripedia<https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/distripedia>>
>
>
>
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