Michael, have you read many of the source novels for Naruse's films?
Only "Sound of the Mountain". Kawabata's novel is also quite wonderful -- and continues on past the point where the film ends. As great as the novel is, I ithink the film is even more audacious and remarkable.
I haven't been able to find any translations of Hayashi's works yet.
I've seen all seven of the films screened so far in Seattle's 10-film Naruse retrospective. As someone who had never seen any of his films prior to this series, it took me a couple of films to really appreciate Naruse's genius. A few generalizations based on these first seven films:
- Compared with, say, Ozu, Naruse's films don't seem to rely on the conventional narrative arc. He is content to create nuanced characters in a certain situation, set the wheels in motion, and then observe the results, without inserting some unexpected crisis or obstacle. His anti-dramatic style must've seemed very radical for its time, and might be a reason why his films are so little known outside of Japan. My emotional response to Naruse is much more subtle--it builds very gradually, almost imperceptibly, throughout his films. They are not emotionally cathartic like Ozu's films, but I enjoy them every bit as much (though in a different way).
- Naruse seems unconcerned with achieving a constant tone in his movies. He is able to easily mix comic moments into his dramas (and vice-versa). As a result, his films are more organic, more representative of everyday life.
- Most director's employ cross-cutting between contemporaneous scenes to heighten dramatic tension (e.g., Coppola's Godfather, PT Anderson's Magnolia), whereas Naruse often uses it to emphasize the banal.
- I don't recognize much in the way of symbolism in his films.
- Say what you will about Hideko Takamine and Setsuko Hara (I love them both), I simply adore Haruko Sugimura (probably most recognizable as the selfish daughter Shige in Ozu's Tokyo Story). She is distinctive, versatile, and ubiquitous. Had she been more conventionally beautiful, she might have received more starring roles, but her supporting performances enhance every film I've seen her in.
The films I've seen so far (in order of preference):
1. Every Night Dreams
2. Late Chrysanthemums
3. Flowing
3. Repast
5. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs*
6. Wife! Be Like a Rose!
6. Flunky, Work Hard!
That said, I haven't rated any of the seven films below 4 (on a 5-point scale). The last three films in the series will be Mother, Sound of the Mountain, and Floating Clouds.
* the first film I saw in the series. Since I had no idae what to expect, I'm sure I will rate it higher on a subsequent viewing.
javelin wrote:Just so you all know: get tickets for next Saturday's showing of When A Woman Ascends the Stairs at the PFA in Berkeley RIGHT NOW. Floating Clouds sold out on Friday, and WAWAtS will sell out by Thursday. Same thing happened with Late Chrysanthemums.
Damn, thanks for the heads up. I will try to buy my tickets tomorrow...but, I thought that you could only buy in 1 day advance from the show? Maybe I'm wrong?
You can buy tickets for any show as soon as the calendars are released. Except the Film 50 screenings (they're a little strange.) Heads Up: Jacques Demy mini retrospective coming in March/April.
Haruko Sugimura is wonderful -- wherever one finds her. Despite her cinematic fame, she was even more famous as a stage actress, particularly in Western dramas. She was Japan's first Blanche in "Streetcar Named Desire" -- and her performance in this part is still renowned (never filmed, alas). She also was a noted drama teacher.
cinephrenic wrote:Naruse Boxset confirmed by Peter Becker next year!
Its good to hear Criterion are making a box set for Naruse!
I hope it has at least 5 films in the set. I also hope they continue to make many more box-sets in the future.
The interviewer missed the chance of his lifetime, when he was asked by Becker, what he'd like to include in the box, and had no titles readily available. Peter Becker should have asked Michael what to include in the box, and he'd received a comprehensive list, complete with a catalogue of extras.
Well somewhere in the previous page of this thread, Brian Oblivious posted the list of films which Berkeley thanked Criterion for letting them use for the retrospective. That might be a hint to what they will release. Maybe not.
One could assemble any number of "sets". The Hayashi one would certainly make sense -- unfortunately very little of her writings seem to have been translated yet. One could also assemble a Setsuko Hara set -- or a best of Takamine and Naruse set. The possibilities are immense -- if not endless.
The rumor I've heard indicated Criterion planned to do three films -- and I'm not at all certain that there was supposed to be any link beyond (comparatively) easy marketability. In any event, I think it is safe to assume that one of the films will be "Woman Ascending the Stairs".
Michael Kerpan wrote:The rumor I've heard indicated Criterion planned to do three films -- and I'm not at all certain that there was supposed to be any link beyond (comparatively) easy marketability. In any event, I think it is safe to assume that one of the films will be "Woman Ascending the Stairs".
If easy marketability will be the criterion for Criterion "Floating Clouds" and "Mother" will be the other two, which will mean, that we'll have MoC/Criterion doubles again. On another listserv Trond Trondsen already hinted to Floating as a MoC release.
Well -- at one point, as I understand it -- people were working hard not to step on each other's toes in releasing English-subbed Naruse DVDs. There really are more than six highly marketable (within reason) Naruse films, I suspect.
Every Night Dreams (best silent)
Wife! Be Like A Rose (first great success -- and wonderful film besides)
Traveling Actors and Song Lantern (my two favorite war era films)
Repast
Mother
Lightning
Wife
Late Chrysanthemums
Sound of the Mountain
Floating Couds
Flowing
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Hourou-ki / A Wanderer's Notebook
Yearning
MoC will release three Mikio Naruse films in July, in a boxset. They won't be available separately (unless the boxset sells abysmally and we crack them out after a couple of years).
