Tag Archives: japanese cinema

Movies, Reviews, Writings

REVIEW: 十三人の刺客 (三池崇史) – 13 Assassins (Miike Takashi)

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First Thoughts

I’m a fan of Miike Takashi.  Let me just put that out there first.  I know many people, including Japanese associates, who cannot abide by his work, but I am indeed a fan.  I am also an obsessed avid fan of samurai films, to the extent that I studied and conducted an independent study project on the genre in college.  As a result, this movie was perhaps more up my alley from the get-go than other viewers.  I will, however, try my best to be objective all things considered.  So here goes.

13 Assassins is a remake of an older film (directed by Kudo Eiichi in 1963), which was in turn made in response to the original release of the Seven Samurai film.  It is also supposedly based (very loosely) on actual events.

13-assassins--2

I watched 13 Assassins for the first time at the New York Asian Film Festival 2011, where we not only got to hear actor Yamada Takayuki speak, but we also got to see the original Japanese cut of the film.

NYAFF_Yamada Takayuki

When the film was released internationally, 15 minutes were omitted, so we got to see the movie as director Miike Takashi intended (I will get to what was different between the two cuts later). Continue reading REVIEW: 十三人の刺客 (三池崇史) – 13 Assassins (Miike Takashi) →

Movies, Papers, Writings

PAPER: From City to City

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Written in February 2010 Wrote this while studying Otomo Katsuhiro's anime films in-depth. WARNING: Possible spoilers for the films!

From City to City: Otomo Katsuhiro and the Potential Desensitization of Humankind

Susan Napier has asserted that most anime titles contain three elements: the apocalyptic, matsuri (“festival”), and elegiac. Well-known Japanese director and screenwriter, Otomo Katsuhiro, who is most well known for his works Akira and Metropolis, incorporates all three elements into both of these films. However, he uses these elements, the apocalyptic element in particular, to express a common underlying thread throughout all of his works: the fear of desensitization that may lie in humankind’s future. Continue reading PAPER: From City to City →

Movies, Papers, Writings

PAPER: Twilight Samurai

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Written in December 2009 Wrote this after viewing the wonderful film "The Twilight Samurai" (directed by Yamada Yoji). Initially wrote a short review but ended up wanting to write something more in-depth.  WARNING: Possible spoilers for the film!

Twilight Samurai: Born a Samurai, Live a Father, Die a Samurai

The Conflict Between Duty and Family Within Iguchi Seibei

Even to the casual viewer, it is obvious that Twilight Samurai is different from many other samurai-themed films. A clear indication of this is the fact that there are only two duel scenes in the entire film. It instead concentrates on showing the main character’s everyday struggles. Director Yamada Yoji makes his intentions regarding Twilight Samurai particularly clear in an interview, where he draws a parallel between modern Japanese workers who have devoted or sacrificed their lives for the sake of the company and samurai of the Tokugawa period. He states, “Isn’t losing one’s life fighting for the domain or for your country totally meaningless? I wanted to depict a samurai who has another basis for life.” (Muranaka 7) This is his motivation behind constructing the character “Twilight” Seibei. He is unkempt, lacks ambition, and to his associates a mockery of the samurai ideal. And yet, Yamada depicts him as a man far nobler than any other, for Seibei indeed lives for another purpose: his family. And in so doing he shows that Seibei is in fact able to accomplish, contrary to the views of others, being both a good samurai and an excellent father. Continue reading PAPER: Twilight Samurai →

Movies, Papers, Theatre, Writings

PAPER: Throne of Blood Unmasked

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Written in November 2009 Wrote this after studying Japanese cinema and traditional theater.  WARNING: Possible spoilers for the film!

Throne of Blood Unmasked: Shakespeare Transposed for Noh Theatre and Japan

Critics commonly describe Throne of Blood as Kurosawa Akira’s adaptation of Macbeth. While this description is certainly not untrue, it hardly begins to suggest the ways in which the film is so much more than a literary adaptation. When viewed objectively, the film resembles the Shakespearean theatrical play very little. Stripped of all of its dramatic dialogue and soliloquies, Kurosawa compresses Macbeth, and replaces its elegant words with sound, stylized movements, atmosphere, and imagery of the Noh theatre. By incorporating elements of the classical Noh theatre into Throne of Blood, Kurosawa transforms the Macbeth story into something undeniably Japanese and also cinematic. Continue reading PAPER: Throne of Blood Unmasked →