Perhaps someone familiar with japanese can correct me, but I've been wondering about what on earth the title of Naomi Kawase's film Still the Water is supposed to mean. The japanese title is Futatsume no Mado, which for my limited understand of grammar I would thought have been adjective + noun as in 'The Still Water' or just 'Still Water'. So I checked it on google translate, and it said Still the Water. So then I became a bit suspicious, and went on AsianWiki, which told me the title literally means The Second Window. And now I'm wondering if someone somewhere has actually google translated a film title and made it nonsensical, and I'm wondering how much of the dialogue was mistranslated as well. There were definitely some weird quotes when I watched it.
Anyways, watching lots of Kawase, and I really like most of it. One of the most unique japanese directors at this moment, definitely, though Still the Water is not as good as the earlier stuff. Has anyone seen any of her documentaries?
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 23:32 (eight years ago) link
"window of the second eye", i guess? or the second eye's cornea?
i've never heard of this film til now. i just googled it and the poster is of people under water.
this makes sense as the first refractive layer of the eye is the cornea. its refractive index is comparable to water's, so i assume the refraction in the water is some analogy to perceiving something at first sight?
to break down the title:
quickly though: in japanese, there are different ways to count. when counting things like eyes, they say futatsu. you can have futatsu of other things. in this case, it is of "me", which is eye. "mado" is window. "no" is used to express possession, pretend it is an apostrophe-s; e.g., "'s".
so you get:
futatsu: two/secondme: eyeno: 'smado: window
there are so many ways to count in japanese, that not even japanese people remember the correct way to count. futatsu is just another way to count.
my confusion is, though, if the title is saying "the second eye" or "two eyes", because japanese doesn't have plural like english does.
i'll ask my (japanese) girl when i get home
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 26 August 2015 00:30 (eight years ago) link
whoops
futatsume means second (a way of counting like i said above)no just shows possession, but it's not needed in the englishmado is window
sorry for the confusion
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 26 August 2015 05:35 (eight years ago) link
目_目
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 26 August 2015 05:59 (eight years ago) link
So mystery solved. Google Translate for some reason recognizes film titles. It also claims that 'Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi' means Spirited Away. Dang it, it would have been a good anecdote otherwise.
Just finished Kawase's Hanezu. Brutal. Weird. Two men vying for one girl, but it's told from the viewpoints of two mountains of legend vying for another mountain, or it might be told from one of the men in the afterlife, and there's also a dead soldier from ww2 wandering around, and one of the men is an archeologist excavating 'the birthplace of japan' or something and he might be disturbing long dormant souls, and that might be what's going on. It's really really weird, especially considering most of the film is people eating soup and looking at birds...
I like Kawase more and more, the more I think about her. Still the Water is still bad, though.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 26 August 2015 20:50 (eight years ago) link
Angel Dust by Sogo Ishii. Psychological detective murder mystery with a very sedate style. I couldn't follow it very much but very nice atmospheric style, sorta triphop(?) soundtrack.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 10 October 2015 16:27 (eight years ago) link
Oh man, just finished Kohei Oguri's Muddy River, and most of it is just ok, but a few scenes near the end, man. Two small boys with few friends find each other, but bad luck and bad neighborhood might drive them apart again.
Movie about children realizing that the world is shit and that people are shit and that they themselves are shitty, and there's nothing to be done about it :(
Really good film, though. Will be checking out more of Oguri.
― Frederik B, Monday, 12 October 2015 22:21 (eight years ago) link
i used to watch a lot of japanese movies and anime since i was a boy and my interest in the country grew in large part because of the motif that kids realise the world is shit and people are shit
will check that one out
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 12 October 2015 23:02 (eight years ago) link
anyone besides Frederik seen Tokyo Tribe?
http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/tokyo-tribe
― skateboards are the new combover (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 25 October 2015 17:59 (eight years ago) link
I found Tokyo Tribe pretty disappointing. It's very ambitious, has some impressive visuals and some funny stuff but I think the whole thing just didn't work often enough. The music too rarely took off and the bad guys were extremely tiresome.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 20 June 2015 01:47 (4 months ago)
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 25 October 2015 19:59 (eight years ago) link
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/25/tokyo-storys-setsuko-hara-dies-at-95
:-(
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 25 November 2015 23:07 (eight years ago) link
Looked to see if they had another year's roundup but their last update was half a year ago
http://www.midnighteye.com/features/reflections-in-a-midnight-eye/
Which directors are moving their films overseas? Are they moving house overseas or just getting financed from other countries?
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Wednesday, 6 January 2016 21:43 (eight years ago) link
Best Japanese film I've seen in ages: Chasuke's Journey by Sabu. Check out the colors, the light, the parades.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_Gmj4G7BI
― Frederik B, Thursday, 18 February 2016 16:43 (eight years ago) link
this, posted by Ward on the criterion thread, bodes well for more japanese dvds in the UKhttp://variety.com/2016/film/global/criterion-collection-u-k-sony-1201724067/
i've had my eye on the criterion version of Human Condition trilogy for a while but it's expensive and could attract import costs. now Arrow are releasing it here, combined dvd and br, 6 disks in total, £48 though (down from £65!!).
― koogs, Friday, 11 March 2016 14:14 (eight years ago) link
Cool. I hope it isn't long until they get to the films I want.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 11 March 2016 16:42 (eight years ago) link
Saw Naomi Kawase's An this morning, and it's far better than it's reputation. Admittedly, that doesn't say much, but I really liked it. It's celluloid, thank God, which helps a lot. Great use of light and shadow. It's uneven, as is every film by Kawase, but seriously, go give it a chance.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 20 April 2016 10:11 (eight years ago) link
human condition dvds have been put back 2 months... and i've had them on pre-order since march...
― koogs, Wednesday, 1 June 2016 09:47 (seven years ago) link
human condition now put back another 6 weeks to mid september...
but the criterion collection version of samurai trilogy is coming to the uk earlier in september...Samurai Trilogy [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]
however:Price: £47.99
that's £16 a disk.
― koogs, Monday, 25 July 2016 16:31 (seven years ago) link
Is there a similar 50% kind of sale on Criterions over there? We're enjoying that right now in the US.
― Evan, Monday, 25 July 2016 16:55 (seven years ago) link
Tsukamoto's Fires On The Plain finally getting a disc release in November.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 17 March 2017 22:21 (seven years ago) link
Looks good!
https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=tearsandlaughter&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 20 October 2017 13:35 (six years ago) link
Finally watched Tsukamoto's Fires On The Plain, it came out in 2014 and taken this long to get a disc release. It's good, he makes a lot of a small budget, it contains a particularly impressive landscape shot.
I normally don't bother with "making of" documentaries but this extra was very good. He's been trying to make this film for 20 years, he had lots of different ideas about how it might be (he toyed with making it an animated film), he wanted a much bigger film with a megastar. There's footage of him going on a trip to collect the bones of Japanese soldiers. He wants the film to be a part of helping Japanese soldiers to speak about their experiences before they're all gone.
He says it's kind of a spiritual sequel to Bullet Ballet, uses some of the same cast. Expands on things he'd previously said about the young Japanese knowing far too little about war.
Imdb says he's making a samurai film right now. I can't wait.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 23 October 2017 19:11 (six years ago) link
wtf at this thread title
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 23 October 2017 19:13 (six years ago) link
There's other threads for different countries with this title
why are 'british' films shit?
French films are shit. Porquoi?
I'm sure there was more
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 23 October 2017 19:25 (six years ago) link
I must tell Pete next time I see him - if I can be bothered - that people go on about this little series of titles.
(I have probably said this before)
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 23 October 2017 19:35 (six years ago) link
This is a nice piece on a Naruse film that won't be playing at the BFI melodrama fest. Will torrent.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 23 October 2017 19:36 (six years ago) link
went to give K(w)aidan a spin last night (hallowe'en and all) but the disk had discolouration over 10% of the surface and half of it wouldn't play (that's a MoC disk). the same thing is true of one of my BFI Ozu melodramas discs. they are stored in the original cases in a darkish room. and it's probably too late to send them back given that i've had them 4 years.
― koogs, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 17:04 (six years ago) link
anyone seen any Yuzo Kawashima? Restorations in NYC:
https://www.japansociety.org/page/programs/film/yuzo-kawashima-x-ayako-wakao
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Friday, 1 December 2017 01:48 (six years ago) link
― attention vampire (MatthewK), Friday, 1 December 2017 02:49 (six years ago) link
yeah, i will. found another eureka disk with the same thing (Oni Baba), so that's 3 now. i should go through the others.
― koogs, Friday, 1 December 2017 09:42 (six years ago) link
Bit of a shame that all the ILX world cinema threads (Japan, France, Italy) have why-are-these-films-shit titles.
― Daniel_Rf, Friday, 1 December 2017 16:52 (six years ago) link
why are these thread titles shit?
― while my dirk gently weeps (symsymsym), Friday, 1 December 2017 17:02 (six years ago) link
Sword Of Doom - I really liked this until the ending because I've seen too many films where it ends with a haunted samurai freaking out and lashing out; such an interested situation is set up and feels kind of wasted. Nakadai's creepy smile is hilarious.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 28 May 2018 14:56 (five years ago) link
New Tsukamotohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ISetFZ3-fI
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 28 December 2018 22:34 (five years ago) link
This YT site has quite a good selection of movies from the 1920s-40s.
http://www.youtube.com/user/modernrocksong/
― MaresNest, Sunday, 30 December 2018 00:22 (five years ago) link
amazon uk has the BluRay version of The Human Condition trilogy for £15 at the moment (i paid £40 for the dvds a couple of years ago). it's 9.5 hours in total and i enjoyed it, same director as Kwaidan and Harakiri.
― koogs, Monday, 14 January 2019 22:02 (five years ago) link
this is one of those classic ilx thread titles *chef kiss*
― I have measured out my life in coffee shop loyalty cards (silby), Monday, 14 January 2019 22:03 (five years ago) link
I watched Sakuran by Mika Ninagawa yesterday, which is about a delinquent courtesan in 18th century Japan. The plot’s a bit eh but the visuals were stunning - lots of red, lots of beautiful goldfish and gorgeous clothes and hair. It’s based on a manga series which can be difficult to translate into a film.
I watched this a few weeks after watching Helter Skelter, a later film by the same director. I’d read the manga this one was based on and it’s a favourite so I really enjoyed it. Again, it’s visually stunning but it handles the themes of the source material really well and it’s a better piece. It’s not quite as full-on on the body horror as the book, but it’s a really faithful adaptation. It’s got a great cast as well and is well worth your time.
― gyac, Monday, 14 January 2019 23:15 (five years ago) link
I'm looking for recommendations for some good, gritty 70s cinema, Action/Thriller/Yakuza/Crime/Avant/Samurai, that kind of thing, thanks!
― MaresNest, Friday, 25 January 2019 21:39 (five years ago) link
not really my era but...
https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/12/the-25-best-yakuza-movies/26
that last one, Yakusa Papers, is the one i see recommended most frequently.
― koogs, Friday, 25 January 2019 21:58 (five years ago) link
dang, 25 yakuza flicks and no seijun suzuki! i've only seen tokyo drifter and branded to kill by him but i recommend if you're ok with something a little weird! (that list def doesn't have a problem with "weird" if it has fuckin dead or alive on it)
― suggest boban (Will M.), Friday, 25 January 2019 22:25 (five years ago) link
oh fuck there is a suzuki film my bad. i'm new to reading
― suggest boban (Will M.), Friday, 25 January 2019 22:33 (five years ago) link
anyone know these '58-61 'new wave' films in a NY retro?
https://www.japansociety.org/page/programs/film/the-other-japanese-new-wave
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 2 April 2019 17:18 (five years ago) link
Can we do something about this lousy thread title, or start a new one?
Anyway, what a series in NYC, Oct-Nov
https://filmforum.org/series/shitamachi-tales-of-downtown-tokyo
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 September 2019 15:39 (four years ago) link
https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/solid-metal-nightmares/Brilliant Shinya Tsukamoto box set for americans/region A viewers
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 2 February 2020 01:34 (four years ago) link
The UK equivalent is smaller as Third Window already has a bunch of his films on blurayhttp://thirdwindowfilms.com/films/tsukamoto-killing-haze-denchu-kozo/
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 14 March 2020 22:28 (four years ago) link
I’ve no idea which geographies this will work for but the travelling Japan Film Festival has some Japanese indie movies streaming for free. Haven’t watched any of them yet.
https://www.japanesefilmfest.org/streaming/
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Saturday, 14 March 2020 22:32 (four years ago) link
I feel like this thread title is a classic early-ILX challop, we deserve to be reminded of it
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 14 March 2020 22:34 (four years ago) link
anyone seen any Yuzo Kawashima? Restorations in NYC:https://www.japansociety.org/page/programs/film/yuzo-kawashima-x-ayako-wakao🕸
― Three Hundred Pounds of Almond Joy (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 10 April 2020 13:34 (four years ago) link
The UK Shinya Tsukamoto set from Third Window
Adventure Of Denchu Kozo - I think this is his second officially released film and I wasn't sure I'd ever see it. It's about a boy with an electric pole in his back time traveling and fighting vampires in the future. It's very of its time, lots of goth and cyberpunk imagery, post-punk soundtrack and the techniques used in the first two Tetsuo films.
Haze - Nice to know more people will be seeing this now. I've seen it a few times and this time I watched it with commentary (trusting that the normal audio probably works). It's a claustrophobic nightmare and I wonder why more people haven't attempted things like this. Probably his most ambiguous film, Tom Mes helps us by pointing out clues about buddhist hell (if I remember correctly) and japanese folklore. I never guessed any of this but always loved it anyway.
Killing - Some are calling it a deconstructionist Samurai film. Think about the samurai recruiting from Seven Samurai being much smaller, bleaker and leading straight to disaster. It's a normal length film but feels like a short film; pretty good. Musician Chu Ishikawa died during the making of the film so Tsukamoto explored his unreleased archives and found appropriate pieces to complete the soundtrack and it completely works. Sad that this will be their last film together, unless Tsukamoto decides to keep utilizing what Ishikawa has left behind.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 15 May 2020 22:28 (four years ago) link