An event titled "100 Years of Japanese Cinema" kicked off earlier this week in Paris and elsewhere in France as part of Japonismes 2018, a series of events showcasing Japanese culture to commemorate the 160th anniversary of Japan-France diplomatic relations.
Over a six-month period, a program of 119 films will be screened, the selection of which involved heated debate among Japanese and French film experts.
Japonismes 2018 started in July and will continue through February. About 70 official events will showcase the diverse appeal of Japanese culture, from art and theater to cuisine and film.
The selection of films that feature in "100 Years of Japanese Cinema" traces the 100-year history of Japan's film industry in three parts.
Part 1 presents 27 films that reflect the beginnings of the film industry from the 1920s. Part 2 presents post-World War II movies, and is subdivided into two further sections, the first of which features 23 digitally remastered classic films and the second 32 acclaimed films that are not widely known. Part 3 features 37 films by contemporary directors.
The films in the program were selected by Kohei Ando, a Japanese video artist and a professor emeritus at Waseda University who also serves as a programming adviser to the Tokyo International Film Festival; Jean-Francois Rauger, programming director of La Cinematheque Francaise; and Fabrice Arduini, programming director of La Maison de la Culture du Japon a Paris. La Cinematheque Francaise and La Maison de la Culture du Japon a Paris are two venues in Paris that will screen films from the program.
The organizing committee from the Japan Foundation, which is sponsoring Japonismes 2018's official events, said the process to select the program of films caused one of the most intense debates between the Japan and French sides when discussing these events.
The planning team met three times between January and July last year. At first, there were differences of opinion between Ando and the French experts. Ando thought the program should present trends in Japanese cinema chronologically from the past to the present. However, the French specialists were insisting on showcasing underexposed aspects of Japanese cinema by focusing on a certain period or director, such as Kenji Misumi, on the grounds that there have been many screenings of classics by well-known directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Mikio Naruse.
The gap between the sides was bridged when the Japanese side in the second meeting suggested screening digitally remastered 4K versions of Japanese classics, arguing that watching well-known films in the new format could lead to new discoveries. The French side accepted the proposal and a program showcasing various films from the past to the present, including works by acclaimed directors, was developed.
Selecting which films would be screened took time and after the third meeting, the team continued discussions via email and over the phone. Particularly challenging was the selection of films for the second half of Part 2, featuring "renowned directors who are not widely known in France and well-known directors' films that are not widely shown in France."
"Kabe Atsuki Heya" (The thick-walled room), directed by Masaki Kobayashi, was chosen as one of the films to be screened. Ando had suggested the director's "Seppuku" (Harakiri) but the French team argued that the film had been screened many times before.
Ando succeeded in having Shuji Terayama's "Denen ni Shisu" (Pastoral Hide and Seek) included in the program, arguing that the film richly illustrates the artist's style, even though the French team wanted to screen "Boxer" by Terayama.
The program presents an overview of Japanese cinema through a unique selection of films decided during impassioned discussions between the French and Japanese sides.
One of the goals of Japonismes 2018 is having Japanese and French sensibilities resonate to create new forms of culture and promote exchanges. The diverse program of films in "100 Years of Japanese Cinema" is certainly a step in the right direction.
Sense of beauty
"I wanted people overseas to have a deeper understanding of the diverse, obscure and complex sense of Japanese values and beauty," Ando explained of the selection of films for the program.
"For example, [Japanese people] speak about the weather to obscure their sorrow," Ando said.
Another example he gave was the variety of words to describe colors in Japanese, such as "sakurairo," the color of cherry blossoms, and "momoiro," peach color, or "usubeniiro," pale red, all describing pink.
"We selected a broad range of films to reflect the complexity of Japanese culture and aesthetics," he said.
"Particularly after the end of World War II, movie directors were liberated from certain restraints and started to freely depict Japanese people and society. I want people to see the DNA of Japanese cinema that has been transferred from generation to generation."
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