3rd Tokyo Gohan Film Festival (第３回東京ごはん映画祭)

The 3rd Tokyo Gohan Film Festival

第３回東京ごはん映画祭

6-21 October 2012

This year’s Tokyo Gohan Film Festival – also known as The Tokyo Food Lover’s Festival – is being hosted by Image Forum with some events being held at Spiral Hall and other venues around town.  The programme includes perennial favourites such as Naoko Ogigami’s Seagull Diner (Kamome Shokudo, 2006) and Percy Adlon’s Bagdad Café (1987) as well as recent hits such as Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia (2009) and Shūichi Okita’s The Woodsman and the Rain (2011) starring Kōji Yakusho and Shun Oguri which won the audience prize at this year’s Nippon Connection.  There are also some great docs on the menu including Gereon Wetzel's  El Bulli (2011) about chef Ferran Adrià's famed restaurant in Catalonia, Spain.  To learn more about the programme check out their official website.

Penguin Fūfu『ペンギン夫婦の作りかた』

Katsutoshi Hirabayashi, JAPAN, feature, 2012

http://www.penguinfufu.jp/

eatrip

Yuri Nomura, JAPAN, documentary, 2009

http://www.eatripfilm.com/

The Help『ヘルプ 〜心がつなぐストーリー〜』

Tate Taylor, USA, feature, 2011

http://thehelpmovie.com/

Bread of Happiness 『しあわせのパン』

Yukiko Mishima, JAPAN, feature, 2012

http://shiawase-pan.asmik-ace.co.jp/index.html

Marie Antoinette 『マリー・アントワネット』

Sofia Coppola, USA, feature, 2006

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress『エル・ブリの秘密 世界一予約のとれないレストラン』

Gereon Wetzel, GERMANY, documentary, 2011

http://elbullimovie.com/

Julie & Julia 『ジュリー&ジュリア』

Nora Ephron, USA, feature, 2009

The Woodsman and the Rain『キツツキと雨』

Shūichi Okita, JAPAN, feature, 2011

http://kitsutsuki-rain.jp/

Seagull Diner 『かもめ食堂』

Naoko Ogigami, JAPAN, feature,  2006

Read Review 

Bagdad Café 『バグダッド・カフェ』

Percy Adlon, GERMANY/USA, feature, 1987

A Good Year『プロヴァンスの贈りもの』

Ridley SCOTT, UK, feature, 2006

Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution 『未来の食卓』

Nos enfants nous accuseront 

Jean-Paul Jaud, FRANCE, documentary, 2008

http://www.uplink.co.jp/shokutaku/

Antique 『アンティーク 〜西洋骨董洋菓子店〜』

Min Kyu-Dong, SOUTH KOREA, feature, 2011

http://www.cinemart.co.jp/antique/

Dinner Rush『ディナー・ラッシュ』

Brian S. Kalata and Rick Shaugnessy, USA, feature, 2000

Taipei Café Story『台北カフェ・ストーリー』aka Taipei Exchanges

Ya-chuan Hsiao, TAIWAN, feature, 2010

http://www.taipeicafe.net/

Animated Bach

While writing my review of Koji Yamamura’s Muybridge’s Strings this week, I got to thinking about how many innovative animators have been inspired by the music of J.S. Bach.  In the case of Muybridge’s Strings, Bach’s Crab Canon – which is often described as a musical palindrome – complements Yamamura’s exploration of the possibilities of non-linear time. 

Just what is it about Bach’s music that inspires?  His lyricism?  His mathematical precision? (See: Noralv Pedersen’s “Music is also mathematics” and R.D. Fergusson’s “Johan Sebastian Bach: Mystic and Mathematician”). 

Here is a selection of animation films / sequences inspired by Bach.  Let me know in the comments if you think of any others.

Muybridge’s Strings

(Koji Yamamura, 2011)

music: Crab Canon

Motion Painting No. 1

(Oskar Fischinger, 1947)

music: Brandenburg Concerto no. 3, BWV 1048

See: Michael Barrier on this film

Spheres

(Norman McLaren and René Jodoin, 1969)

music:  Bach played by Glenn Gould

Pastorale

(Mary Ellen Bute, 1950)

Music: J.S. Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze." A pictorial accompaniment in abstract forms.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Fantasy in G minor

(Jan Švankmajer, 1965)

See: Dan North on this film

Gestalt (部屋/形態)

(Takashi Ishida, 1999)

music: one of the Great Eighteen Choale Preludes, the hauntingly ethereal BWV 659 “Nun, komm’ der Heiden Heiland” (Come now, Saviour of the heathen) performed on an organ

See: my review of this film

The Art of the Fugue

(Takashi Ishida, 2001)

-          this film was commissioned by the Aichi Culture Centre to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Bach’s passing

music: ??? 

Fantasia

(Walt Disney, 1940)

music: the film opens with Bach’s Tocatta and Fugue in D minor conducted by Leopold Stokowski.  This section of the film was directed by Samuel Armstrong with visual development credited to Oskar Fischinger

The End of Evangelion

(新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 Air/まごころを、君に)

(Kazuya Tsurumaki/Hideaki Anno, 1997)

music: the soundtrack to this film was composed by Shiro Sagasu but liberally features selections of J.S. Bach’s music throughout including “Air on the G String” (August Wilhelmj’s adapation of J.S. Bach’s “Air” from the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWC 1068), “Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major”, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”, and “Komm, süsser Tod”.

Tale of Tales

(Yuri Norstein, 1979)

music: the score was composed by Mikhail Meyerovich and includes excerpts from several pieces by Bach (most notably the E flat minor Prelude BWV 853 from The Well-Tempered Clavier).  In addition, the film references Mozart (the Andante second movement from Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, K41), the tango “Weary Sun” by Jerzy Petersburski, and most prominently a traditional Russian lullaby.

Man and Raven from Olga Brio on Vimeo.

Man and Raven

(Olga Brio, 2010)

Music: Jascha Heifetz and J. S. Bach

The Triplets of Belleville

(Sylvain Chomet, 2003)

Music: Bach's Prelude No. 2 from The Well-Tempered Clavier (Book 1) played by Glenn Gould is also featured during the bicycle scene 

 cmmhotes 2012

10 Must-See Kaneto Shindo Films

Tributes have been pouring in around the world for Kaneto Shindō (新藤 兼人, 2012-2012), who passed away last week at the age of 100.  In addition to directing 48 feature-length films, Shindo was the author of more than 200 screenplays.  I had the pleasure of seeing his final feature film, Postcard (2010), when it opened the Nippon Connection film festival last month. Read my review here.

Among the many screenplays Shindo wrote for top directors of the past century, including Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Yasuzo Masumura, Fumio Kamei, Kōzaburō Yoshimura, and Tadashi Imai, it is not so well known that he wrote a screenplay for a film directed by the great puppet master Kihachiro Kawamoto.  Released in 1981, Rennyo and his Mother (蓮如とその母/Rennyo to Sono Haha) was the first feature length puppet animation directed by Kawamoto.  It is a work that was privately commissioned by a Buddhist organization with the screenplay written by Shindo and the soundtrack composed by Toru Takemitsu.  It tells the story of the historical figure, the abbot Rennyo, who is revered as the Restorer of Shin Buddhism.  The puppet film features the voice talent of top actors such at Kyoko Kishida and Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.  It is screened rarely in Japan, and I have yet to hear of any overseas screenings. 

Via social networking, Prof. Aaron Gerow (Yale U) has pointed out that Shindo should also be praised for his contributions to the preservation of film history.  During his life he wrote many books about the craft of writing for film as well as about his observations of the Japanese film industry.  These include his tribute to his close friend and frequent collaborator the actor Taiji Tonoyama (1915-89) called Death of a Third-Rate Actor: A True Biography of Taiji Tonoyama (2000), A Life in Screenwriting (2004), and While I Live: My Personal History (2008).

Sadly, these books have not yet been translated to English, but we can get a glimpse into Shindo’s history in the cinema in his documentary Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975), which he made as a tribute to his mentor.  The best place to get to know Shindo is, of course, through his films.  I have put together a list of 10 films he directed and 2 films that he wrote the screenplays for - films that are, in my humble opinion, “must see” screening for any fan of world cinema.

Children of Hiroshima

(原爆の子, 1952)

Although it screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953, Children of Hiroshima did not get its official release in the U.S. until last year (see A.O. Scott’s NYTimes review).  A deeply moving tribute to the survivors of the atom bomb, it tells the story of a young woman who returns to her hometown several years after the bombing to confront the trauma and suffering of her family and friends.  The film was commissioned by the Japanese Teachers’ Union and based upon testimonies compiled by Prof. Arata Osada. 

The Naked Island

(裸の島, 1960)

One of the top Japanese movies of the 1960s, this dialogue free film tells the story of a family of four surviving against the odds on a small island in the Sekonaikai Archipelago.  A film of poetic beauty which won the top prize at the Moscow International Film Festival (1961) as well as a National Board of Review Award (USA, 1962).

Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director

(ある映画監督の生涯 溝口健二の記録, 1975)

A most delightful discovery on the Criterion release of Ugestsu (1953).  With a mixture of film clips, images of the hospital where Mizuguchi was treated in the last days of his life, and interviews of friends, colleagues, and admirers.

Onibaba

(鬼婆, 1964)

A classic horror film based upon a Shin Buddhist parable which Shindo transformed into a cautionary tale about sexual jealousy and unrequited lust.  This was Shindo’s first period film – with its breathtakingly composed landscapes it is much more than just a cult film.

Kuroneko

(藪の中の黒猫, 1968)

One of the top horror films of the 1960s, Kuroneko is shot in glorious black and white.  An unsettling, highly charged film, brimming with eroticism. It had a good chance at winning an award at Cannes 1968 if the festival hadn’t been shut down for political reasons.  Shindo’s favourite leading lady, Nobuko Otowa, and his cinematographer Kiyomi Kuroda won top honours at the Mainichi Film Concours.

Life of a Woman                                              Sorrow is Only for Women 

(女の一生, 1953)                                               (悲しみは女だけに, 1958)

Two of many  feminist themed films by Shindo that have suffered from lack of availability outside of Japan.  Life of a Woman is adapted from the short story “Une vie” by Guy de Maupassant.  Both Life of a Woman and Sorrow is only for Women examine poverty and the suffering of women in modern day Japan.

Lucky Dragon No. 5

 (第五福竜丸, 1959)

Based on the true story of the Daigo Fukuryū Maru – the ill-fating Japanese shipping boat that was contaminated by nuclear fallout caused by U.S. testing on the Bikini Atoll in 1954.  A devastating tale of the psychological and social consequences of nuclear testing in the Pacific.  A tragic, but politically significant film.

A Last Note

(午後の遺言状, 1995)

The final film of Shindo’s favourite leading lady – his mistress turned second wife Nobuko Otowa.  Peppered with references to the plays of Anton Chekov, A Last Note won Best Film at many Japanese Awards shows including the Japanese Oscars, the Kinema Junpo Awards, and Mainichi.  Otowa was posthumously awarded Best Supporting Actress at the J Oscars and the Kinema Junpo Awards.

Tree Without Leaves

(落葉樹, 1986)

In this film, Shindo takes a poignant autobiographical journey through the pre-war Hiroshima of his childhood.  A reflection on aging and one’s changing perspectives on one’s own life history.  One of Shindo’s most personal films.

2 Must-See Films with Screenplays by Shindo:

Manji

 (卍, Yasuzo Masumura, 1961)

Adaptated from the Junichiro Tanizaki novel Quicksand, Manji tells the story of two women whose close friendship develops into romance.  Read my full review here.

Irezumi

(刺青, Yasuzo Masumura, 1966)

Another Tanizaki adapation about a strong woman – this one is a hard-as-nails fighter who uses her beauty and wits to survive.  Forced into geisha work, she exacts a bloody revenge on the men who desire her.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012

Takashi Iitsuka’s Super Organic Battle Action Adventure

The young filmmaker Takashi Iitsuka (飯塚貴士, b. 1985) wowed Nippon Connection 2012 with the international premiere of his short film Encounters (エンカウンターズ, 2011).  The half hour action adventure action figure drama has previously screened at festivals in Japan such as the Sendai Short Film Festival and the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.

Encounters uses neither stop motion animation nor any CG effects.  It is purely old school live action puppet action – a technique which Iizuka has christened “Super Organic Battle Action.”  Using handmade action figures and monster puppets, Iizuka carefully manipulates the characters either by hand or fishing wire.  The result is a loving send up of the great monster movies of Ishirō Honda (Godzilla, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla).  The campiness of the film and the use of marionette effects recalls the “supermarionation” techniques employed in the UK cult classic Thunderbirds (Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, 1965-6).

The story centers on two buddies, Max and John, who have taken a trip to the countryside to help Max get his mind off his girlfriend troubles. Just as the countryside and a chance encounter with a friendly stray dog named Kifune seem to be lifting Max’s spirits, a furry super-monster crashes into the scene and has a confrontation with some armed forces.  The story then spirals into a pastiche plot line that throws in all the elements typical in a Japanese scifi action adventure: a mad scientist, fear of robots, love and friendship conquering all, and so on.

Talking to Iitsuka at Nippon Connection, I discovered that he did indeed play alone with action figures a lot as a kid.  He was an only child and did not have the means to buy too many toys.  He had a hero figure in Ultraman but lacked monsters – a problem he remedied by creating his own monsters using PET bottles.  His aim with Encounters was to transfer the fun and spontaneity of such child’s play into the film. 

His eyes lit up with delight when I mentioned the Thunderbirds and he added that he was also a big fan of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967-8), a dark scifi “supermarionation” also by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.  In terms of action films, in addition to being inspired by the Ultraman franchise, Iitsuka is also a big fan of The Delta Force movies starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin.  This would explain his choice of Waffen Film Studio for the name of his one man production company.  “Waffen” is German for “weapons”. 

All levels of production were done by Iizuka himself: cinematography, editing, sound, music, set building, costumes and special effects.  He made about 5 or 6 sets and manipulated the figures either marionette-style using fishing wire (which you can cheesily still see in some frames) or by hand (but without the hands being seen).  For one sequence, for example, he built the set on top of the bathtub so that he could manipulate the figures from underneath.  Some of the figures and sets were made using materials that he already had but others were built with supplies from the hobby shop.  Some of the most interesting designs were done using papercraft and based on photographs Iitsuka took himself. 

Iitsuka even does all the voices including a falsetto for Max’s girlfriend in a flashback sequence.  The subtitles are kind of odd – at times very inspired – as when a wordy curse in Japanese is translated to English simply as “Jesus!”  At other times the English subs are awkward and badly spelled  –  but that just adds to the fun. The subtitles, which were done by Naoki Suzuki of the Sendai Short Film Festival, complement the kitschiness of the film and the quirkiness of the Japanese dialogue.   Iitsuka designed the dialogue as a spoof of the unusual Japanese dub s done on Hanna-Barbera cartoons like Shazzan (1967-9) and The Fantastic Four (1967-9) when they were first imported to Japan.

See opening to Japanese dub of Shazzan here, and The Fantastic Four here:

The film was shot on a Sony Video Z5J and edited using Abobe Software, Premiere, Aftereffects, etc.  Iitsuka told me that he hopes that people will get a message of hope from the film.  He is working on his next Super Organic Battle Action Adventure and was planning to explore German hobby shops for materials after the festival.  An art school grad, Iitsuka has a natural eye for framing - doubtless honed by years of TV watching.  The concept could easily have turned out completely schlocky, but I found the result brilliant.  I hope that Iitsuka’s Encounters obtains the cult following that it deserves, and I look forward to seeing where his imagination takes him to next.  

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012

You can follow Iitsuka on Twitter (JP only)
A 20 minute cut of the film is available on imdb (JP/EN)

Norio Hikone’s Animation Top 20 (2003)

The characters created by illustrator and animator Norio Hikone (ひこねのりお, b. 1936) are instantly recognizable to young and old alike in Japan.  A graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts, Hikone got his start working as an animator/inbetweener for Toei Animation (Alakazam the Great, The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon) and Mushi Pro (Kimba the White Lion, Jungle Emperor Leo). 

In 1966, he founded Hikone Studios and made a name for himself doing animated shorts for TV as well as a variety of commercial work.  He has done a great deal of animation for the NHK including the long-running popular programmes Minna no Uta (Everybody’s Song) and Manga Nippon Mukashi-banashi (Manga Nippon Folk Tales).  His client list runs quite long, but he is perhaps best known for his delightful Karl Ojisan (Uncle Karl) TV spots for the Meiji Seika snack food “Curls”.  These ran from 1986-90 and are a source of much nostalgia for folks who grew up in Japan in the 1980s.  Norio Hikone also contributed to Kihachirō Kawamoto’s renku animation Winter Days (2003).  Check out his official website to see more of his endearing characters in action (JP only).

Here is the list Hikone contributed to Laputa’s Top 150 Poll in 2003..  Hikone himself featured on many lists, including that of the late Masahiro Katayama.

Le roi et l’oiseau 

(王と鳥 やぶにらみの暴君, Paul Grimault, France, 1948)

Mr. Bug Goes to Town (aka Hoppity Goes to Town)

( バッタ君町に行く, Dave Fleischer, USA, 1941)

Legend of the White Serpent

(白蛇伝, Taiji Yabushita/Kazuhiko Okabe, Japan, 1958)

Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom

(プカドン交響楽, Ward Kimball/Charles A. Nichols, USA, 1953)

Betty Boop in Snow White

(ベティの白雪姫, Dave Fleischer, USA, 1933)

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor

(ポパイと船乗りシンドバッド, Dave Fleischer, USA, 1936)

The Snow Queen

(雪の女王, Lev Atamov et al., Russia, 1957)

Around the World with Willy Fog

(80日間世界一周, Luis Ballester, Spain/Japan, 1987)

The Old Mill (Silly Symphonies)

(丘の風車, Wilfred Jackson, USA, 1937)

The Spider and the Tulip

(くもとちゅうりっぷ, Kenzō Masaoka, Japan, 1943)

Blinkity Blank

(線と色の即興詩, Norman McLaren, Canada, 1955)

Hedgehog in the Fog

(霧につつまれたハリネズミ, Yuri Norstein, Russia, 1975)

The Man Who Planted Trees/L'homme qui plantait des arbres

(木を植えた男, Frédéric Back, Canada, 1987)

Kitty’s Graffiti

(こねこのらくがき, Taiji Yabushita/Yasuji Mori, Japan, 1957)

The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon

(わんばく王子の大蛇退治, Yugo Serikawa, Japan, 1963)

Animal Treasure Island

(どうぶつ宝島, Hiroshi Ikeda, Japan, 1971)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

(風の谷のナウシカ, Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1984)

Yellow Submarine

(イエロー・サプマリン, George Dunning, 1968)

The Demon

(鬼, Kihachirō Kawamoto, Japan, 1972)

Yuri Norstein’s Animation Top 20 (2003)

The great Russian animator Yuri Norstein (aka Yuriy Norshteyn, b. 1941) is widely admired in Japan by both mainstream and independent animators alike.  His works The Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) and The Tale of Tales (1978) topped the Laputa Top 150 Japanese and World Animation poll done in 2003.  His work is so beloved that even his unfinished adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s short story The Overcoat entered the list at #92.  Norstein himself participated in the 2003 poll and his picks are listed below. 

But first, a bit of background information:

Yuri Norstein has close ties to the Laputa International Animation Festival.  The festival began in 2000 and semi-annually presents the Yuri Norstein Award (ユーリ・ノルシュテイン大賞) – with, I believe, Norstein himself acting as the head of the jury. The prize was jointly awarded in its inaugural year to Hiroyuki Tsutita for his film Mutate and to Hiroshi Okuda for Prisoner.  Oscar-winner animator Kunio Katō won the Yuri Norstein Award twice:  first in 2001 for The Apple Incident and again in 2004 for The Diary of Tortov Roddle.  Hosokawa Susumu won the award in 2005 for Demons and Yusuke Sakamoto won in 2006 for The Telegraph Pole Mother.  In 2008, the award was given to a non-Japanese for the first time.  Latvian animator Vladimir Leschiov took the prize for Lost In Snow.  It was my understanding that the award would be given out again in 2010, but I have been unable to find any evidence of this happening – though they did show a retrospective of Norstein’s works at the festival that year.  The next festival will have an activist theme as they put out a call for “Fukushima Animation” last autumn.  It is unclear when the 11^th festival will take place.

2007 saw the establishment of the Laputa Art Animation School – a “small school” where they teach the art of making animation by hand (puppet, cutout, drawn, etc.).  The school creation is credited to Norstein’s insistence that Japan needed its own school of animation in the vein of the great Eastern European centres for  training animators.  The school even uses Norstein’s iconic hedgehog as their logo.  At Laputa, indisputed masters of the art of animation including Fumiko Magari and Sumiko Hosaka – puppet masters who worked for Tadanari Okamoto and Kihachirō Kawamoto – and the avant-garde legend Yōji Kuri teach students the tricks of the trade. 

There are no surprises in Yuri Norstein’s top 20.  He lists a cross-section of some of the very best in world animation with nods to both early animation pioneers (Ladislaw Starewicz, Alexandre Alexeieff, Claire Parker, Mikhail Tsekhanovsky, Norman McLaren, David Hand, Jiří Trnka) and terrific contemporary work (Nick Park, Aleksandr Petrov, Michael Dudok de Wit).  He even gives a nod to his Japanese hosts in recognizing the work of Osamu Tezuka and Kihachirō Kawamoto.  If you were teaching a course on world animation of the 20^th century and could only show 20 films – this list would suit nicely.  Though you would be hard-pressed to find a copy of Frantisek Vystrcil’s The Place in the Sun.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012

1.

Night on Bald Mountain / Une nuit sur le Mont Chauve

(禿山の一夜, Alexandre Alexeieff/Claire Parker, 1933)

2. 

The Street / La rue

(ストリート, Caroline Leaf, 1976)

3.

Crac!

(クラック！, Frédéric Back, 1981)

4.

Bambi

(バンビ, David Hand/Disney, 1942)

5.

Hand / Ruca

(手, Jiří Trnka, 1965)

6.

Blinkity Blank

(線と色の即興詩, Norman McLaren, 1955)

7.

Father and Daughter

(ファーザー・アンド・ドーター, Michaël  Dudok de Wit, 2000)

8.

Ali Baba

(アリババ, Giulio Gianini / Emanuele Luzzati, 1970)

9. 

The Substitute / Surogat

(代用品, Dušan Vukotić, 1961)

10.

The Cow / Корова

(雌牛, Aleksandr Petrov, 1989)

11.

De Facto/ De fakto

(デファクト, Donyo Donev, 1973)

12.

The Lady and the Cellist / La demoiselle et le violoncelliste

(お嬢さんとチェロ弾き, Jean-François Laguionie, 1965)

13.

 Post / Почта

(郵便, Mikhail Tsekhanovsky, 1929)

14.

The Island / Остров

(島, Fyodor Khitruk, 1973)

15.

The Place in the Sun / O misto na slunci

(太陽の下の場所, Frantisek Vystrcil, 1959)    

16.

Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers

(ウォレスとグルミット〜 ペンギンに気をつけろ!, Nick Park, 1993)

17.

Tango

(タンゴ, Zbigniew Rybczyński, 1980)

18.

Jumping

(ジャンピング, Osamu Tezuka, 1984)

19.

Dōjōji Temple

(道成寺, Kihachirō Kawamoto, 1976)

20.

The Cameraman’s Revenge

(カメラマンの復讐, Ladislaw Starewicz, 1912)

Source: Laputa Top 150 World and Japanese Animation

Norstein's complete works is available to order from Japan:

Yuri Norstein Sakuhin shu (collection)

Russian with Japanese subs