Sunday, May 31, 2009
Kanikosen at the FCCJ
As I previously tweeted, there was a screening of Sabu's The Crab Cannery Ship (see collected posts) this past Thursday evening at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
I've attended a number of screenings at the FCCJ over the past few years and this was definitely a hot ticket. It was a packed house, with what seemed to be a large influx of people from the KineJapan mailing list (did everyone get in?). One nice thing about the screenings there are the Q&A sessions they arrange with directors and producers.
I wrote some very brief impressions of The Crab Cannery Ship a few weeks ago after seeing a preview screening at the film's post-production house, Imagica. Thursday night's showing was on DVD with decent English subtitles. Talking to IMJ I found out a subbed print has yet to be struck. If and when it is depends on you, the foreign film festival or buyer. I'll be periodically inquiring/pushing for a screening of a subtitled version at a Tokyo cinema, similar to what Tokyo Sonata did, but there's a good chance it won't happen.
To the point, I found The Crab Cannery Ship more enjoyable the second time around and could further appreciate Sabu's imaginative interpretation of what is obviously a sobering gensaku. But do the film's politics and thematic threads run deep enough? For some, obviously not.
After the screening ended Sabu was introduced and the questions began (his trademark "I am a genius director" elicited more titters than genuine laughs). KineJapan's Jonathan Hall provided solid interpretation, which included processing some truly pretentious questions and comments.
Things started off with the Q&A microphone wrangler, who felt it necessary to mention he was both a socialist and communist (wha?) with links to actors and film makers back in Sweden (wha? #2). He wanted to know why the film had to express its message in a "manga-like" manner.
"First and foremost, movies have to be entertaining. I don't like films that preach...I could've simply done a faithful adaptation but it wouldn't have spoken to the issues facing the youth of today's Japan," Sabu explained. Answering a later question, Sabu stated that while there may be some manga influence on his work, he doesn't read them and has little interest.
A journalist from The Economist praised the film's balance of tragedy, comedy and surrealism and inquired about the numerous creative choices that must have been made.
"First of all, I wanted to make the historical backdrop ambiguous. I didn't want to make a film that said such and such thing happened during this period at this moment, which is boring. I was thinking of how I could appeal to the largest number of spectators, especially younger ones. I wanted to create something more fashionable. With the visuals, for example, I decided to have them wear kappa (Japanese-style raincoats) because the material has kind of a punk feel and I could put numbers on them which would give a sense of them being prisoners...Because we were working on a limited budget, I decided to focus a lot of the visuals on the canning works and the grueling manual labour involved. It's hard to determine exactly what function the big cogs you see are serving (laughs) but I thought it was a good image not only in terms of labour but the nature of film making itself."
In regards to these considerable alterations Sabu noted that the first draft of the script was in fact very faithful to Kobayashi Takiji's novel but it was the producers at IMJ (Sabu's agency, initiators of the project) who pushed him to make a film true to his own style. Nonetheless, it was important to keep the crab workforce itself as the protagonist.
There was an interesting but somewhat confusing multipart question about the presence of the Imperial army and the film's politics which I think the asker could've answered himself in an essay -- academics are perfectly happy to do this without needing directors to tell them how to read a film. Someone also requested a comparison between the leader of the "toshikoshi haken-mura" in Hibiya Park and Matsuda's character -- also interesting, but head-scratchingly tangential for a movie Q&A. Perhaps they could read this in-depth piece.
While some remained unconvinced of the film's leanings, Sabu revealed it already has a committed following. "When I was interviewed by the Japanese communist party newspaper (Shimbun Akahata) they were very pleased with the film I had made (laughs from audience)".
KineJapan's Eija Niskanen wanted to know about the casting of often docile Nishijima Hidetoshi in such a brutal role (a role I think he pulls off brilliantly).
"I've known Nishijima for quite some time and thought of him when writing an original screenplay and again for Kanikosen. Matsuda is also an actor not known for raising his voice. I thought it would be interesting to cast these rather quiet performers in roles like this where the strain or concerns of playing such characters could produce an effective tension on screen."
Johnny microphone piped up again at the end stating that films "should be made in more than one dimension". Question but don't insult the invited guest, please.
Probing queries, including those of a political nature, are of course as valid as any other but when it becomes an audience member performance you wish there was a mute button built into the armrest. Having said that, if you've ever been to or read a summary of a typical movie kisha kaiken here, 90% of the questions lobbed are big fat softballs. Tokyo FILMeX's crowds create some of the better Q&A sessions out there.
For anybody reading who was there with thoughts on the film, please post comments/links of your own. 
Ultimately, adaptations of well-known novels are bound to leave a segment of the readership disappointed but it's hard to disagree with IMJ and Sabu's decision to avoid creating something overly didactic and earnest. That would've resulted in a film with as much box office life in it as a can of crab meat. You have Kobayashi's original novel, you have prolific director Yamamura Sou's more orthodox rendition, you have the manga, and now you have Sabu's vision, which I think will spark considerable discussion at home and abroad.
There are plenty of materials on the internet about the original work and its various incarnations, but here and there are a couple of older blog posts that feature a clip of Yamamura's 1953 effort, comic panels, and potentially disturbing photos of Kobayashi's corpse after being tortured to death by police.
As a postscript, some good news regarding Sabu's first foreign language production, Arrested Memories (collected posts), came up on the same day. I'll be able to write about that in the next week or two.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Presenting: The Akira Kurosawa Digital Archive
The "Akira Kurosawa Digital Archive" (「黒澤デジタルアーカイブ」) is now open. The archive presents over 20,000 pages of photos, screenplays, storyboards, notes and other materials, many for the first time.
The archive was created in collaboration between Kyoto's Ryukoku University and Kurosawa Productions. This is yet another initiative leading up to the 100th anniversary of the master's birth in 2010.
It's surely one of the most important online endeavors in the history of Japanese cinema. The site is only in Japanese (what better excuse to learn the language?) but the materials are generally presented in chronological order. Prepare to put hours, days and weeks aside.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Crab Cannery Ship Opens July 4
As the title says. Sabu let me know the exact release date for his latest movie The Crab Cannery Ship (see collected posts) a couple days ago -- it opens July 4. I just checked the official site and it confirms said. Check it out!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Nerima: Animation Wonderland
I don't think I've ever stated it outright -- there's been no reason to -- but I live in Nerima, the second most populous of Tokyo's 23 wards (though way down at 14th in terms of pop. density, thankfully). Those of you who live in Tokyo or are familiar with the city probably have little or no impression of Nerima beyond Toshimaen (where the excellent United Cinemas have a house) and daikon. But if you're J-film literate then you know Nerima is where Juon festers and more importantly is ground zero for much of the Japanese animation that entertains the nation and the world.
Why cover this now after having lived in Nerima for a number of years? I've been meaning to write about it for a while. If you follow the blog you know I'm more of a jissha eiga person but some recent news stories tied to my 'hood motivated me to get something down.
When you alight at Nerima station you're greeted with the above pictured sign, installed last year, that proudly describes Nerima ward as anime hasshô no chi, "the birthplace of anime". The sign also displays images from Japan's first animated colour feature film The Tale of the White Serpent aka Panda and the Magic Serpent (Hakujaden, 『白蛇伝』).
Indeed, this adaptation of the Chinese fairy tale was Toei Animation's inaugural production after acquiring education-oriented animation house Nichidô Eiga, established a decade earlier as the country's first animation company. Toei Animation moved out to Ôizumi, five train stops west of Nerima station, a year before Hakujaden's 1958 release and remains there today (Google street view -- you can see mascot Pero the cat on the façade of the building). The Toei film studios themselves are also nearby. Jasper Sharp and I shot an interview with Miike there back in 2003 when he was in production on Gozu, I believe it was.
It's quite amazing that then Toei president Ôkawa Hiroshi had the ambition to compete with Disney features and export Japan's own brand of animation to the world, all from Nerima. And he succeeded. Hakujaden was the also the first Japanese animated feature to gain a US release, in 1961.
Miyazaki Hayao and other luminaries cite this film as the reason for entering the animated world, with Miyazaki going on to work at Toei Animation along with Takahata Isao and Nagai Gô. Hakujaden "inbetweener" Rintarô would later go on to co-found Madhouse, which is just outside of Nerima in neighbouring Suginami ward (I did an interview with Kon Satoshi there). Miyazaki and Takahata of course set up Studio Ghibli in Musashino City, bordering Nerima to the south west.
In fact, Rintarô-directed T.A. production Galaxy Express 999 (Ginga Tetsudô Three-Nine『銀河鉄道９９９』) would become the territory's first animated feature to become the top grossing film of the year in '79. Toei cleverly capitalized on the TV show and manga's popularity by releasing the movie version in the middle of the broadcast season.
As we know, T.A. also went on to produce pop culture sensations Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, One Piece and on and on. Cels ad infinitum.
On a Toei tangent, they took over theatrical distribution of Matsumoto/Nishizaki/Masuda's Space Battleship Yamato aka Space Cruiser Yamato (Uchû Senkan Yamato,『宇宙戦艦ヤマト』), a feature-length edit of Yomuri TV/NTV show of the same name (exported as Star Blazers, which I enjoyed as a kiddy). It was apparently the first movie in Japan to see patrons lining up the night before and turned into a box office hit, as did its sequels.
Now, I know Space Battleship Yamato was developed at Zuiyo in Sumida ward, but the actual production ended up being done at Nishizaki Yoshinobu's Office Academy. Where was that located? In any case, Nerima is where (in)famous producer "the Nish", as he's affectionately known, chose to set up production offices last year on the stalled, re-stalled and finally greenlit Uchû Senkan Yamato Fukkatsu-hen (something like Space Battleship Yamato: Revival Chapter, or Redux). 
See this translated article on Anime News Network for the latest update, and the official site here.
Nishizaki graduated from the Nihon University College of Art a couple stops away from here in Ekoda and joined Mushi Production subsidiary Mushi Pro Shôji before they collapsed. And can I just say that Nishizaki exec-produced Legend of the Overfiend was a mondo touchstone in my VHS bootleg days? Its tentacle-penised demons were spawned at Phoenix Entertainment, a couple of stops the other way in Fujimidai.
Aforementioned Mushi Pro of course brings us to the Godfather, the genius of geniuses, Tezuka Osamu. After being commissioned for several features at Toei Animation he set up Mushi Pro in the early 60s where he produced a TV series based on his slightly popular manga Tetsuwan Atomu. It became known around the world as Astro Boy. Need I write more? Tezuka stepped down from the company some time before it eventually went bankrupt and set up Tezuka Production (in Shinjuku ward/Saitama prefecture). A revived incarnation of Mushi Pro was established in '77 in Fujimidai (and has a website that looks like it dates back to '97). Tezuka Pro's site, other on the hand, is brand spanking new.
Mushi Pro offshoot Sunrise, creators of Mobile Suit Gundam and later Cowboy Bebop, also took a hop, skip and a jump out of Nerima into Suginami ward like Madhouse did and set up shop. Is there a feudal angle I'm not picking up on?
What else? Erm...I used to live down the street from AIC (Anime International Inc). They've produced everything from Bubblegum Crisis to Tenchi Muyo! (see a partial list in English here). They apparently did some outsource work on the Don Adams-voiced Inspector Gadget, another show on tee-vee when I was small.
One of the big Asia stories to come out of Cannes was of course the six country co-production of a $30m live action version of Bubblegum Crisis, one of the most famous OAVs ever produced.
At the time the apartment next door to me doubled as an AIC cel/graphics production hovel. The chubby male and female inhabitants would beaver away day and night churning out images in cramped confines. On the rare occasion we crossed paths it was all averted eyes and zero verbal interaction -- the most anti-social people I've ever "met". But very quiet, needless to say!
A couple other companies based in my ku are Studio Nue (Macross) and a little outfit called Gonzo is walking distance from my crib. According to a recent white paper published by Nerima ward, there are some 94 companies extant.
If all that wasn't enough there's even the Nerima Animation Association and people like Matsumoto Leiji joining the ward to increase synergy between all of these contents producers, especially in light of the anime bubble bursting in the last couple years. A recent pact formed with France's legendary Annecy animation festival adds another lip to the Nouvelle Tsunami.
There's plenty more to be said about Nerima's undeniable place in animation history. Someone should write a book. That won't be me, though I have the time -- Nerima's life expectancy for male residents is the highest in the city...
Monday, May 18, 2009
Miike To Take On Terasawa's Takeru
Hot on the heels of the news about Thirteen Assassins, Screen has scooped more Miike news in Cannes (with a little facilitation from my end, ahem) regarding a big budget, pan-Asian adaptation of Terasawa Buichi's Takeru. Read all about it here.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
J-Films at Cannes Market
I meant to do this before the market in Cannes got under way. To the left is a brief summary of just a few of the Japanese films available there that ran in last Friday's weekly (the first issue of our new, more magazine-like format). Click the image for a full size version.
Hardcore hôga honchos will know about most of these already, but below is a synopsis for the above mentioned Kaiji plus a little more info on the latest team up between Maiko Haaaan!!!'s Mizuta Nobuo and Kudô Kankurô entitled No More Cry (Nakumonka, 『なくもんか』). I receive a constant stream of material like this but time, time, time...
NO MORE CRY (2009/ Comedy/aprox 120min)
Directed by Nobuo Mizuta
Written by Kankuro Kudo (scriptwriter for “Maiko Haaaan!!!” “Ping Pong”)
Japanese Release: November 2009
Two brothers were abandoned by their irresponsible father and were separated when they were still small. The big brother, Yuta (Sadawo Abe) and the little brother, Yusuke (Eita). Despite their unhappy childhood, each of them decided not cry and remain strong and optimistic. Years past, and now Yuta takes over the deli he grew up and becomes popular as a workaholic and an ultimate people pleaser in the town he lives. The little brother, Yusuke, is half of a popular comic duo. They don’t know each other’s faces or names yet, and one day, Yusuke visits Yuta’s shop as a reporter of a TV show! Then, suddenly, a daughter of the former deli owner (Yuko Takeuchi) comes back home after 10 years absence…
Laughter in all the tears, and tears in all the laughter. Is it a funny tragedy or a sad comedy?
This is a story about a unique family amidst a whirlwind of laughter and tears.
KAIJI (2009/ Thriller/aprox 120min)
Directed by Toya Sato
Written by Mika Omori (scriptwriter for “Detroit Metal City”)
Japanese Release: Fall 2009
Kaiji is a deadbeat job hopper living hand to mouth. One day, Endo, the female president of a loan company, introduces herself to him and tells him that he has to pay her 2.02 million yen for a debt he casually cosigned for a friend at work, who is now missing. But Kaiji has no way to get a hold of such money…
Then Endo invites Kaiji to board a ship where he can not only clear the debt overnight but can also make a lot of money for himself at the same time.
Onboard the ship named Espoir (“hope”), he must play a card game called Restricted Rock Scissors Paper whose rules are simple but takes advantage of human psychology. Kaiji manages to beat one player, but opponents keep coming his way one after the other. The game that will change Kaiji’s life has begun.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
More Details on Nakata's Chatroom and Tran's Norwegian Wood
News on two important films -- one by a Japanese director working outside of Japan and the other by a French-Vietnamese director working inside of Japan.
More news on Nakata Hideo's Chatroom courtesy of our own Audrey Ward in the UK.
I did an interview with the man back in early April, in case you missed it.
Also part of the best news stream coming out of Cannes -- Fortissimo will handle international sales for Tran Anh Hung's Norwegian Wood. Read about it here. The piece should be updated very soon to include news of stars Matsuyama Ken'ichi and Kikuchi Rinko being cast in the lead roles.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Image Set: Air Doll
Following up on my Air Doll image post on May 7, now that the Cannes official site has run the images for Kore-eda's film (reposted on Wild Grounds), here are the rest of them as promised:
Friday, May 08, 2009
An Extra's Adventures On the Set of Sabu's The Crab Cannery Ship
I haven't had time to post thoughts on any films for quite a while, but I've been meaning to write a few paragraphs about Sabu's The Crab Cannery Ship (Kanikôsen, 『蟹工船』) (collected posts here).
My second tweet on Twitter, which I joined about a week after the screening at the beginning of April, was: "SABU's 'The Crab Cannery Ship' 1 gô shisha at Imagica: surreal, stylish, smart, sick, subversive, suicidal, sadistic and funny!"
I think foreign audiences will be fascinated by Sabu's take on Kobayashi's famed novel -- probably even moreso without the context of the book to place it in. How it's received in Japan is anybody's guess but Sabu told me it's gaining a very good reputation among industry and preview audiences alike. Indeed, the atmosphere at the uchiage was very positive.
Impressive, oppressive set design and some surprisingly effective use of CG for when the action moves above deck. I talked with the costume designer because I was curious about Nishijima Hidetoshi's look and she said his white wear avec cane was inspired by A Clockwork Orange, and I have to agree it suited his violent demeanor well. And there is violence, some of it quite graphic, amplified by the cramped surroundings. And the weirdest, comedic mass suicide scene in cinema history.
Seeing Matsuda at the screening I didn't recognize him for the first 20m or so -- he looked like a malnourished bike courier and was wearing a cold mask (when he wasn't lighting up). I ran into his ratty Nightmare Detective manteau hanging up at the Movie-Eye offices a week or two prior. But on screen he has a quiet power. Would you follow him into battle? You'll have to wait until late June or early July, when the film is set for release (confirmed there's not a confirmed date a couple days ago).
There's also another ship in the film -- the Russian boat Matsuda and his comrade escape to. What starts as a chance to eat, drink and be merry becomes a scene of self realization that doubles as a chapter from Sabu's own world view.
An American guy named John Milito happens to live in Ashikaga City, where the sets for the film were built. He got to become a Russian sailor and kept copious notes, photos and Youtube videos of the experience here. I regret missing out on all the fun while in Thailand, but I was gagging for a vacation and it was already long booked.
Finecut is selling Kanikosen in Cannes, apparently sans English title. See their page here.
And as I've mentioned previously, Finecut is on board with Sabu's Arrested Memories (collected posts here). There's new interest and a new location, which I'm excited about. Hope to bring in another producer to help get it going.
Here's an article from last September I missed about FC coming on board the good ship Sabu.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Image: Air Doll
I have a stash of images from this film that can't go online yet, unfortunately (not before Cannes). But this one is part of a sub-set that's already available. Nice composition...
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Tsukamoto's Bullet Man Becomes Tetsuo Project
Remember wayyy back in January 2008 when I posted a casting call for the lead role in Tsukamoto Shinya's latest film? At the time it had a working title of Bullet Man and they (Kaiju Theater -- Tsukamoto himself, basically) was looking for a caucasian or half caucasian actor fluent in English to play the lead role. It looks like they've found him in Eric Bossick. Interesting face...
Screen got the world exclusive on this in the run up to Cannes, so my boss (Asia Pacific editor Liz Shackleton) got the honours -- been waiting to read it myself. Check it out here.
Update: Forgot to mention that the article on Screen will be accompanied by an image giving us the world's first glimpse of the movie later today. It's a very cool image. (It's now online).
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Mishearing The Beatles' Abbey Road as Japan's State of the Nation
After a long day of work yesterday (yes, during Golden Week), I happened across the below performance on Fuji TV's "Music Tiger" variety show. It's a medley of The Beatles' Abbey Road by Japanese musical hero and Southern All Stars frontman (and star of "Music Tiger") Kuwata Keisuke (桑田佳祐) and his talented backing band. But instead of simply singing translated lyrics, the Japanese words approximate the sound of the original English (and Spanish) and at the same time serve as a "state of the nation" for today's Japan.
I thought it was brilliant, not only for how note-perfect the musical renditions were but the clever, intentionally "misheard" lyrics. Nick Rucka previously wrote on his blog about this form of comedy also featured on famed comedian Tamori's show but in this case the misheard lyrics were rewritten to create a new, unified theme for this classic record.
Topics touched on include: the yen exchange rate, the North Korean abduction issue, the pension records scandal, nepotism, Ginza hostess bars, the new jury system and more.
A few examples:
From "Come Together" (retitled "Kômeitô Brother")
"One thing I can tell you is you got to be free"
(Kyûfukin I can give you 2 chô-en totteoke furee)
「給付金 I can give you 2兆円 取っておけ無料(フリー)」
Refers to the controversial, recently passed stimulus package which includes a 2 trillion yen (12,000-yen-per-resident) cash handout (background here).
From "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
"Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer came down"
(Nenkin! Masuzoe izu shiranu ma data kieru da!?)
「年金！！ 舛添居ず知らぬ間データ消えるだ〜！？」
"Upon her head"
(Aho janei?)
「アホじゃね〜？」
Criticizing the idiocy of the government for bungling over 60 million pension records, namechecking health and welfare minister Masuzoe Yôichi, who led the investigation. The scandal began in 2007 but the repercussions continued last year with the murder of former vice health minister Yamaguchi Takehiko (see here).
From "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window"
"She came in through the bathroom window"
(Shikei ni suru mo, batsu ni suru mo hidô)
「死刑にするも 罰にするも 非道！？」
Commenting on the potential stress citizens could feel if they have to mete out guilty verdicts to convicted criminals and other pitfalls of Japan's new jury system, which went into effect this month.
There's a lot more (I dare someone to translate it all). For those of you who've made Japan your home, you might have a tear in your eye at the end of "The End". Look for actor-musician Yusuke Santamaria.
I don't know how long the videos will stay up on Youtube but if the links go dead, please post new ones in the comments.
Screen Redesign & RSS Feeds / Screenplay Translation
Screen International, the publication I serve as Japan correspondent for, has just relaunched both its website and the weekly print edition ahead of Cannes. There are finally dedicated RSS feeds available for news, box office and reviews within the Asia Pacific page. Tune in on your laptop, iPhone or Blackberry -- there are also full bookmarking and sharing functions and other goodies. With all the writing I did for Cannes and my other work, regular J-news is a little light lately but should pick up after Golden Week.
I'm currently knee-deep in a screenplay translation, hence the relative quietude on the blog and twitter. This project is a proposed Japan co-production in the romance genre (a first for me) based on a novel. It's being developed by a new company set up as an offshoot of an existing major last year. The screenwriter is a friend, which always facilities a more polished final result. The first film adaptation of the author's work, also a romantic drama of sorts, was released earlier this year. Names and details later.
