Japanese Blossay (repost)

3^rd blossay- Japan

Content analysis & Formal analyss

Content analysis topic: Person in relation to the people & mortality

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IKIRU (生きる, aka “To Live”)

Japan, 1952

Black and white, 143 min.

Aspect ratio:  1.33:1

Director:               KUROSAWA Akira

Content- This film in almost entirely consisting of the relation of the individual to the populous, this is effected by Watanabe’s mortality. The fact that he is a bureaucrat and a public relations office plays out as a paradox, which sets the stage for his true story (not to be confused with his life up until he found out he had cancer). A bureaucrat operates in a field of bylaws and regulating, and with having to deal with the public, it’s made even more apparent. The paradox being, the man who is supposed to work and communicate with the public to solve their problems cannot do anything regarding his own work, thus creating a moot point for the occupation to exist in this state. Once his mortality is put onto a clock, he decides to aid the struggling women in their request to get a park built. Although, the process by which he gets to this decision was a tedious and morbid process. In a nutshell, it was his search for life and how to live to the fullest. For these answers, he went on a night-long adventure with his attractive author friend. That ended in vomiting, reminding him of his cancer.

His search to live was also focused on Toyo, as she simply, blissfully lives every day out. Watanabe, after being rejected for another date with her, focuses his energy on fulfilling the request of the women who wanted a park built. His dogged approach toward his fellow bureaucrats amazed them all. This lead to a drunken epiphany at his funeral yet warranted no changes in their actions.  This serves as another example as how the individual relates to the specialty; overall they were all just too set in the norms. Watanabe‘s experience with his occupation, doubled with the death of his wife causes conflict with Mistuo.  Their strained relationship, making the son appears as a cold-hearted greedy child waiting for inheritance. Upon farther inspection, it is seen that Watanabe has left him all his life (both actual ant metaphorical). After Watanabe’s death, Mitsuo begins to remember how much he loved his father, and how much he pushed for the park to be built.

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LATE SPRING (晩春：Banshun)

Japan, 1954

Black and white, 108 minutes

Aspect ratio:                  1.33:1

In Japanese with English subtitles

Director:               OZU Yasujirō

Content- Late spring is more on the topic of the individual relating to the whole. Taking place in Japan, 1954 it was a period of post-war. The nation having gone through horrific events craved for a state of normalcy. None better than the traditions do just that. With SOMIYA Shūkichi (father) and his sister TAGUCHI Masa being from the older generation, Noriko was already deadlocked into a future in marriage. The film displayed the playful father-daughter dynamic they shared early on, in the scene where Noriko maker Somiya continue his work b before playing shogi. He grumpily replies “oi, ochya” in a pouty manor. At the time, it is apparent that their relationship has evolved to that of a more mature almost husband-wife dynamic, most likely due to the early death of Noriko’s mother. She was moved into the protective female figure of the household.

          Noriko wanted nothing in the least to do with marrying, arranged or otherwise (although she did share a rather long bake ride with HATTORI ). Noriko is still a young women, nearing 25 (last year’s Christmas cake) and has no desire to lead a life differing from her current simple one. The pressure increases and Noriko’s condition worsens as KITAGAWA pushes her to get married, despite being divorced herself. The conversation about MIWA later on was a bit strange, apparently they have a thing for American baseball players. Point being, that after Noriko’s traumatic experience at the Noh play, she , she begins to come to term s with the idea.

The matter of mortality also touches this story. It is seen less extremely as in Ikiru, yet still present. Mainly on the subject of Noriko’s father. He has no immediate health concerns that we are told of, yet Noriko is hesitant to leave him. The main reason being, that he is an old man. In that day and age, it was the norm for the wife to take care of the husband. This brings me to the next point being- the scheming between the father and aunt. By alerting Noriko that he would remarry, after she leaves influences her decision to marry. The fact that her father would get along without hermakes her feel useless as a women. As seen in the beginning, when he returns home from work, he leaves his jacket, tie, and shirt on the floor, he then precedes to go wash his face. At which point, Noriko fallows behind him to pick up his clothes, hang them on hangers, and gives him a towel. Noriko has obviously adapted to this routine, and cannot image a life differing, nor can she imagine a scenario featuring another women doing this for him.