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Nov. 17-19 film series traces Japanese history 9:41 a.m., Nov. 13, 2006--A Japanese film series. “Traces of the World, Tracing History in Recent Japanese Film,” will be screened from Friday-Sunday, Nov. 17-19, at UD. Free and open to the public, the films will be shown in Kirkbride Hall. There will be brief remarks and discussion following the first and final films. The series begins with two samurai epics set in the mid-19th century and concludes with two films addressing contemporary questions about Japan's place in the world. The series opens at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 17, with a screening of Hidden Blade in 206 Kirkbride Hall. Directed by Yamada Yoji with Nagase Masatoshi and Matsu Takako, the 2004 film is set in 1861 on the eve of the Meiji Restoration, when Japanese society teemed with changes only understood after the fact. The “blade” of the title remains sheathed until the climax, as the bachelor protagonist navigates a newly changing world. Following the film, Rika Saito, UD assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures, will lead a discussion. The series continues with a 2 p.m. matinee of Café Lumiere on Saturday, Nov. 18, in 204 Kirkbride Hall. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien frames each scene with rich color and sound in this Japanese Generation-X homage to director Ozu Yasujiro. Starring Hitoto Yo and Asano Tadanobu, the 2003 film tells the story of Yoko, a freelance writer, daughter and expectant mother recently returned to Tokyo from Taiwan. Her current project looks into the life of Taiwanese composer Jiang Wenye, who lived in Tokyo during the 1920s and '30s. Her accomplice is bookstore owner Hajime, who sports a dread-lock tam and records the sounds of trains in his free time. At 7 p.m., Saturday, in 206 Kirkbride Hall, the series continues with When the Last Sword is Drawn, a 2003 film by director Takita Yojiro; starring Nakai Kiichi and Sato Koichi. In 1899, Dr. Ono Chiaki is packing up his health clinic to move to Manchuria, when a former warrior from the samurai era wanders in with a sick grandson. As they talk, Ono and the old soldier create a portrait of Ono's samurai father-in-law, Yoshimura Kan'ichiro, in a story of Japan on the eve of modernization. The series concludes at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 19, with a matinee showing of Tony Takitani in 206 Kirkbride Hall. The 2004 film, based on a Murakami Haruki short story, is directed by Ichikawa Jun with Ogata Issei and Miyazawa Rie. A product of Japan's collapsed empire and U.S. occupation, Tony Takitani grew up alone. He is an artist and has a successful career as a technical illustrator. In time, he falls in love with a young client, Eiko, who is fascinated with designer clothes. A lecture and discussion led by Darryl Flaherty, UD assistant professor of history, will follow. The series is part of an ongoing speaker and film series, with the theme, “East Asia in a Globalizing World: Exploring Local-Global Connections,” and is sponsored by a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education to UD's East Asian Studies Program. Article by Beth Thomas |
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