At the Feet of The Nakadai

June 24th, 2008, 8:30 pm: I find myself at the Film Forum in New York City, sitting in the front row, a few feet away from the greatest living actor of post-war Japan, Tatsuya Nakadai. It's an evening of conversation interspersed with film clips and much applause. I can't believe my good fortune -- to be in such close proximity to my all-time favorite Japanese actor (whose praises I've sung as often as possible in my writing). It's all very surreal.

Before Nakadai's arrival, I chatted with folks in the audience and discovered that several of them had just obtained, or had already read, Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves. I even signed a few of copies. Ironic that, as I'd hoped to have the great man sign my own copy of the book! Unfortunately it was a strictly get on/get off affair so I had no opportunity to interact with him (which is fine; I'm not a big celebrity hound).

So yeah, it was something else. A great night. I did get to meet Teruyo Nogami, Kurosawa's old script girl, who'd been doing the town with Nakadai promoting her memoir, Waiting for the Weather. If I'd attended any of those other events, like the one at the Kinokuniya bookstore or the Japan Society, I'd have had ample chance to get up close and personal with Nakadai (as did my Brooklyn buddies Ric and Mel). But my wife and I were only in NYC for a couple of days, so c'est la vie.

In any case, as I sat looking up at The Nakadai relating anecdotes about the making of such magnificent films as The Human Condition, Sword of Doom and Sanjuro (among others), I realized that, at that moment, I was at the precise point in the universe I wanted to be. You don't get that too often in life. A great night indeed.

Battle of Okinawa

I was somewhat disappointed by this long-awaited Kihachi Okamoto film (released recently by AnimEigo) -- just wasn't as good as it shoulda been. Very long (2 1/2 hours), consisting largely of one breathless procedural scene after another (generals looking at maps, issuing orders, soldiers deploying, redeploying, etc.). Not much room for character development or real human drama (see Okamoto's far superior Japan's Longest Day for that.)

However it gets horrendously gory and shocking at the end, depicting the horrors of war in no small measure. "Sir, that woman we just passed ... she's holding a baby's leg ... " Lots of limbs everywhere (people committing suicide with grenades will do that). In fact, suicide becomes an increasingly significant factor, from the COs doing seppuku in a cave to a bunch of schoolgirls taking poison on a scenic beach.

Not much sign of Okamoto here, feel-wise. A shame; his dark humor and striking dramatic approach could have made this film far more compelling. Perhaps the script by Kaneto Shindo was just too busy -- the time required to develop a personal story (say for the wonderfully talented yet under-utilized Tatsuya Nakadai) was instead filled up by significant yet ultimately dramatically unfulfilling historical detail.

Recent rentals

Innocents with Dirty Hands
A fun if somewhat predictable French crime romp directed by Claude Chabrol. Kinda like Double Indemnity meets Sleuth in St. Tropez. Bonus: Romy Schneider looking beautiful and occasionally naked.

It's Alive
Another 70's horror film I never saw back then -- I was such a chickenshit kid. Not bad. Mutant monster baby (right) courtesy of a young Rick Baker (pre-An American Werewolf in London), but they didn't show it much. Val Lewton would be pleased.

No Country for Old Men
Drug-money-pursued-by-psycho-hitman thing, surprisingly absorbing ... for awhile. Then it just sort of peters out in the third act. There Will Be Blood was better. Javier Bardem was good, though, as the psycho with a frightening 70s hairdo.

Lust, Caution
Ang Lee's overlong tale of sex and intrigue in Japanese-occupied Shanghai and Hong Kong. Never thought I'd tire of watching people fuck. Perhaps it was just those particular people. The girl wasn't that hot and Tony Leung was too in character as a sadistic secret police official to be anything more than repulsive. And the ending sucked -- after two and a half hours, I was a little pissed.

The Darjeeling Limited
Natalie Portman naked. That's the best you can say for this Wes Anderson yawner. I lost interest around the time the dissolute, rich Americans save the poor little Indian kid -- decided the contents of my glass were more compelling ...

Goya's Ghosts
Natalie Portman naked and tortured (too bad V for Vendetta didn't opt for this combo). Then they age her 20 years and she goes for Oscar gold as a hideous crone (sadly her performance was overlooked). Stellan Skarsgard plays Goya (duh huh?). Political allegory more interesting than story (also features Javier Bardem, this time as a horny inquisitor).

Samurai Vengeance

In a surprising turn, author Patrick Galloway was viciously assaulted by a member of the long-dead Japanese aristocracy whose reputation he has so carelessly slandered in recent years. Mr. Galloway sustained injuries to his left arm and testicle, the latter of which he assured the public he'd gladly give up for the opportunity to meet his idol, Tatsuya Nakadai (a summit which is rumored amongst the intelligentsia to be scheduled for June 24th at the Film Forum in NYC).

Still Life

Went to a press screening for a Chinese film called Still Life today. Stark, existential, with the occasional surreal flourish and a distinct rural/industrial, 21st century, Yangtze River, Three Gorges Dam-doomed village vibe. Can't say more -- they made me swear I'd only write a capsule this early in the film festival (SFIFF that is).

VerveEarth

So now this blog is hooked up to VerveEarth, a geography-based blog directory. It allows you to zoom in on a map of the world to find blogs. I love maps, always have. I could stare at 'em for hours, traveling to their various locations in my imagination. So this approach appealed to me. Check it out, Sid.

Movies movies movies

Having recently completed my third book on Asian film, I've been taking a break to enjoy films of The West. Here are some of the flicks I've been checking out:

For Brit flick fun, you can't beat Circus of Horrors and Horrors of the Black Museum, both Amalgamated pictures from the early 60s. Quite lurid and very entertaining. Circus of Horrors features the unusual German actor Anton Diffring (left) who gives a fantastically unhinged performance as a mad plastic surgeon turned circus showman. (Too bad he spent most of his career playing evil Nazis.) Horrors of the Black Museum features the only known scene of death by binoculars -- long spikes shoot out of the eyepieces into the skull of an unfortunate young woman.

You're bound to like Hangover Square, a Warner Bros. picture from the 40s featuring the final performance of Laird Cregar, a very compelling actor who tried a bit too hard to lose weight and dropped dead of a heart attack at the age of 28. It's about a composer who has a mental disorder that makes him go all homicidal when he hears a loud, discordant sound. I know, sounds outlandish, but actually works. Great score and musical compositions by the immortal Bernard Hermann.

The Trip and Psych-Out are AIP pictures from 1967 and '68 respectively. Not all that good, but invaluable as cultural time capsules. You get to see Jack Nicholson and Dean Stockwell dressed up like hippies and Peter Fonda and Susan Strasberg flipping out on acid.

Revolver (or La Poursuite Implacable if you're French) is an Italian crime film from the 70s starring Oliver Reed and Fabio Testi (which means "nice balls" in Italian). Directed by lefto filmmaker Sergio Sollima, more famous for his spaghetti westerns Run, Man, Run and The Big Gundown (both starring Cuban actor Tomas Milian), it delivers a potent political message at the end.

Midnight Mary (right) and Three On a Match are wonderfully wicked pre-code films from the early 30s featuring everything from underage sex to heroin addiction!

I could go on and on. The only stinkers I've seen recently were 60s Brit flicks Time Without Pity and School for Scoundrels (the former not tense enough, the latter lacking in laughs).