“This story makes no sense,” a
frustrated German police officer says at the beginning of Lars Henning’s dark
tale Oshima (大島, 2010), and asks the Japanese language
interpreter to have the haggard and bruised-looking salaryman before him to
repeat his story one more time from the beginning. The man introduces himself as Taburo Oshima
and says that he just arrived from Tokyo on business.
The opening credits are positioned
over the clouds and a girl’s voice tells us that this is the story of her
father, who in October 2002 came to Germany on business with plans of
continuing on to the United States. The tale that he told to the police is the
last official record of his existence.
He disappeared without a trace.
The girl mysteriously goes on to explain that while her mother never
told her what happened that night, she nevertheless knows what happened that
night.
Oshima, played by
Japan-born/Germany-raised actor Yuki Iwamoto, arrives in Germany in a
haze. In addition to jet lag, Oshima may
be experiencing extreme side effects from the depression medication Opipramol
that he consumes on the flight. He
passes out upon arrival at the airport, and is looked after by an airport employee
(Hakan Orbeyi). He somewhat recovers and stumbles out of the
baggage retrieval area into the arms of an eager-to-curry-favour German
businessman, Herr Kleinschmidt (Devid Striesow), and his interpreter, Frau Izumi
(Nina Fog).
Oshima’s wooziness continues in the
car journey to the hotel and over the course of this half hour dramatic short,
he passes in and out of consciousness due to a mixture of over-medication,
alcohol consumption, and just plain exhaustion.
Oshima seems disinterested in his business dealings with Herr
Kleinschmidt and barely even aware of his surroundings for most of the
film. In an off-hand comment to Frau
Izumi, which she curiously does not translate to her boss, Oshima reveals that
he has lost his entire family in an accident. Izumi is drawn to him, but at the same time
suspicious that this man may not be who he says he is. Are we witnessing the mental collapse of a
salaryman or is there something more going on here? Oshima’s vision of a white unicorn on the
darkened streets of this anonymous German city suggest deeper layers to this man’s
story which the viewer must unravel for him/herself.
The ambiguity of the storyline could
have been disastrous if not for the sensitive and subtle acting performances of
Iwamoto and Fog. Their faces are very expressive and hint at a deeper emotional story than is implicit in the
dialogue and narration. Lars Henning (b. 1976, Hamburg) is the director of the much
acclaimed short Security (2006) which won prizes at the Avanca Film Festival
and Lübeck Nordic Film Days. He pursued
a postgraduate degree in television and film at the Academy of Media Arts
Cologne (Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln) between 2006 and 2010. This is his fourth short film. It is a melancholic tale with beautifully executed
transitions. The cinematographer, Carol
Burandt von Kameke, and crew have done a remarkable job of lighting these very dark night scenes with great skill. Many scenes have a masterful chiaroscuro look. With most young filmmakers
today opting to go digital for budgetary reasons, it is a real delight to
discover a short film shot beautifully on 35mm funded by cultural
institutions. Oshima is a rare gem that
showed on arte before Christmas and at Japan Week in Frankfurt in November. Looking forward to seeing more work by this
director.
Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012
Credits
director: Lars Henning
screenwriter: Lars Henning
cinematographer: Carol Burandt von
Kameke
production company: Radical Movies / Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln
producer: Ulrich Otto
34 minutes / 35mm
shot on location in North Rhine
Westphalia
Cast
Yuki Iwamoto Taburo Oshima
Nina Fog Frau Izumi, the Interpreter
Devid Striesow Herr
Kleinschmidt, the Businessman
Karolina Porcari Laika, exotic Dancer
Hakan Orbeyi Momo, man in airport
Jens Wachholz Police Officer 1
Markus Haase Police Officer 2
Remo Hofer Night Porter
Tanja Desen Airline Staff
Rosa Bergmann Girl with Wings / Naoko / voice over
narration
Melanie Kühn Exotic Dancer
Pia Passion Exotic Dancer
Marie Iguchi voice over
Lars Henning Filmography
2005 Koslowski (15‘)
2006
Security (13‘)
2009 Driving Elodie (19‘)