白い朝 [White Morning] (1965) -
This Hiroshi Teshigahara (
Woman in the Dunes,
The Face of Another) short is the very definition of Japanese New Wave. It basically summarizes the movement. That being said I wouldn't recommend it if you're new to it. It's probably a better idea to get yourself familiarized with some of the biggest titles and then watch this one as a sort of a recap of what all of this is about.
Yoyo (1965) -
The amalgamation of Chaplin, Tati and, apparently, Fellini gives a striking effect. It's like
Playtime spiced up with
8 1/2 in the style of
The Artist. Black and white cinematography, recurring leitmotif and passage of time (cinema progresses as protagonist gets older) make for an incredibly beautiful movie.
女番長ブルース 牝蜂の逆襲 [Queen Bee Strikes Again] (1971) -
The first installment in the Girl Boss Blues franchise. Reiko Ike is always a joy to watch and the bike f*ck scene is legendary. Apart from this, this could've been better. Especially cinematography-wise and plotwise.
変態病棟 白衣責め [Pervert Ward: Torturing the White Uniform] (1988) -
Hisayasu Satō is the master of dense, sinister atmosphere and this movie is no exception. Constant rain creates a great atmosphere and the main protagonist('s body) is beyond exquisite.
Vai e vem [Come and Go] (2003) -
João César Monteiro's final film and his last cinematic will. He died of cancer the same year. Generally, it is the continuation of his stylistic choices from the trilogy. His usual poetry combined with kinky and controversial ideas. It's pretty political, too. A great freeze-frame ending.
赤い殺意 [Intentions of Murder] (1964) -
My second Imamura (after his version of
The Ballad of Narayama). A great Japanese New Wave film with bits of black comedy. I will watch more of his films soon!
Roma (1972) -
Fellini is a director I used to hate, but one that I am slowly starting to appreciate more and more. I still can't say I dig his style entirely, but his projects seem more and more impressive to me. Just like
Amarcord and many other of his films the film is practically plotless and Fellini takes us from one scene to another with very little connection between them. I enjoyed the ride, though.
[b]お茶漬けの味 [Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice] (1952) -
A wonderful Yasujirô Ozu film. The scene of couple's reconciliation supper at night shows Ozu's mastery for making simple moments incredibly beautiful.
お遊さま [Miss Oyu] (1951) -
Mizoguchi's films always have a striking cinematography. Be it
Osaka Elegy that uses deep focus in 1936 (before Renoir and
Stagecoach!)*, his ultimate masterpiece
Sansho the Bailiff or this flick. A great classical drama (tragedy?) story.
Il pianeta azzurro [The Blue Planet] (1981) -
Franco Piavoli makes a movie about nature, people and the connection between them. Contemplation cinema with some jaw-dropping cinematography.
さらば夏の光 [Farewell to the Summer Light] (1968) -
Japanese Resnais. It's like proto-
To The Wonder,
Hiroshima, Mon Amour in colour. As always with Yoshishige Yoshida a feast for the eyes.
女番長ブルース 牝蜂の挑戦 [Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee's Challenge] (1972) -
I'm so pumped! Reiko Ike is a beast in this! What a wonderful cinematography and style compared to the first part. I've already seen the third one years ago so I will be watching the fourth installment soon! Noribumi Suzuki is a great director. I've seen six of his films and they are all great/masterpieces! I think he's even better than another great Teruo Ishii!
檻の中の妖精 [Fairy in a Cage] (1977) -
Sick-core! BDSM pinku eiga from depths of hell! With legendary Naomi Tani (I've only seen the classic
Flower and Snake prior to this) and crushing ending. Gotta watch more of hers.
Final Solution to the Kurosawa Question:
どん底 [The Lower Depths] (1957) -
I loved the character of the old man and the final words spoken by one of the men are very hard-hitting. Kurosawa's blocking and use of sound is outstanding. I don't know the literary work of Gorky nor Renoir's adaptation, but I'm really interested in them now!
生きものの記録 [I Live in Fear] (1955) -
Typical Japanese post-nuke anxiety flick. The best thing about this film is Mifune's characterization. If I didn't know it was him prior to watching the film, I would think it's just some old guy.
まあだだよ [Madadayo] (1993) -
Kurosawa's final film about his teacher. It's quite different from what you usually see from him. You can see it's a very personal film to him.
夢 [Akira Kurosawa's Dreams ] (1990) -
An anthology film built of eight dreams, nightmares, kaidan stories, call them whatever you want. Visually spellbinding and moving! Kurosawa reprises his
Ran color palette to create a true masterpiece to behold.
虎の尾を踏む男達 [The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail] (1952) -
Shot in 1945 but not released till 1952. A pretty simple yet effective movie. The porter's character was hilarious. The actor's mimicks were astonishing.
素晴らしき日曜日 [One Wonderful Sunday] (1947) -
Chieko Nakakita is the cutest girl ever and her plead towards the audience breaking the fourth wall is simply heart-breaking. It's amazing how after you have seen 28 Kurosawa films and expect to be just scraping the bottom, you stumble upon one of his lesser known and early films and find it to be a masterpiece. Kurosawa uses pauses in dialogue and silence incredibly well and this was the film that reminded me of this.
一番美しく [The Most Beautiful] (1944) -
What a horrible movie. Basically a militarist Japanese propaganda movie. The fact it's a propaganda film is not a problem in itself. Some of my favourite movies ever are propaganda films. The problem is this film has absolutely no value whatsoever. It's hard to believe it was made by Kurosawa whose debut (and the only movie made before this) was already a pretty good film and who later grown to be one of the best directors ever. I'd have a hard time recommending this to anybody except for Kurosawa completists.
Only
Rhapsody in August left.
Generally, the more Japanese movies I watch, the more convinced I am that I don't need films from any another country. Especially the US that I completely banished from my repertoire. I am of course kidding. I will be getting back to New Hollywood once I'm fed up with Japan.
* I kind of like all of these "This director/cinematographer was first/before another guy" things, but generally the great master od deep focus should be Yevgeniy Bauer, whose melodramas used this technique already in the 1910's!!!
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