Tokyo senso sengo hiwa / The Man Who Left His Will On Film

Tokyo senso sengo hiwa: Eiga de ishi o nokoshite shineda – otoko no monogatari / He Died After the War / [Mies, joka teki testamenttinsa filmille] / [Mannen som upprättade sitt testamente på film]. JP 1970. PC: Sozosha-ATG. EX: Takuji Yamaguchi. D: Nagisa Oshima. SC: Masataka Hara ja Mamoru Sasaki – based on a story by Nagisa Oshima and Tsutomu Tamura. DP: Toichiro Narushima – shot on 16 mm and 35 mm – print 35 mm – b&w. AD: Jusho Toda. M: Toru Takemitsu. ED: Keiichi Uraoka. CAST: Kazuo Goto (Motoki Shoichi, student), Emiko Iwasaki (Yasuko, Shoichi's girlfriend). Members of the POSIPOSI, a film society of young radicals: Sugio Fukyama (Yazawa), Tomoyo Oshima (Akiko), Kenichi Fukuda (Matsumura), Hiroshi Isogai (Sakamoto), Kazuo Hashimoto (Takagi), Kazuya Horikoshi (Endo). 94 min. Print: New Yorker Films (New York), English subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 13 Sep 2009. - A good definition of light in a print that has signs of wear and tear, but not too much. - Anti-film, metafilm, a film that questions itself and student radicalism. The story of an impasse. - Ironic, witty, philosophical. - The cinematography is remarkable. The sense of landscape and urban living is on the level of Antonioni, but brilliantly original. Many shots can be appreciated as independent photographs. - The man who left his will on film mostly shot cityscapes. He maybe never existed, and at least there is a vicious circle of young men who leave their wills on film, as the story starts again in the end. - Disturbing: the theme of sexual violence. The young men seem to enjoy taking their girls violently, and the girls seem to enjoy it. - I have now seen all Nagisa Oshima's cinema films, and I can confirm that they are all different: each has a different way of storytelling, a different cinematography, and different music and sound solutions. - In Godard's work, the parallel to this would be Weekend.

Natsu no imoto

Dear Summer Sister / [Kesäsisko] / [Sommarsystern]. JP 1972. PC: Sozosha-ATG. P: Takashi Ueno. D: Nagisa Oshima. SC: Tsutomu Tamura, Mamoru Sasaki, Nagisa Oshima. DP: Yasuhiro Yoshioka - Eastmancolor - 1,37:1. AD: Jusho Toda. M: Toru Takemitsu. ED: Keiichi Uraoka. CAST: Hosei Komatsu (Kosuke Kiguchi, the judge), Hiromi Kurita (Sunaoko, Kosuke's daughter), Lily (Momoko Kotoda, Sunaoko's private teacher), Akiko Koyama (Tsuru Omura), Shoji Ishibashi (Tsuruo Omura, Tsuru's son), Kei Sato (Shinko Kuniyoshi, a policeman), Taiji Tonoyama (Takuzo Sakurada), Mutsuhito Toura (Rintoku Teruya, singer of Okinawa folk songs). 96 min. Print: New Yorker Films, with English subtitles by Noël Burch. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 29 Aug 2009. - The image of the print has a duped look, the colour definition is off, the print has low contrast, but the subtitles are sharp. - Nagisa Oshima's last Japanese cinema film: from then on, his films were international co-productions or tv films. - One of Oshima's strangest and curious films is about the secrets of Japan. The generation that has experienced the war as grown-ups seems to have a general mutual understanding of many things that remain incomprehensible to the younger generations and, of course, for the non-Japanese. - The sense of being puzzled in a company where the others seem to know. - Okinawa is returned to Japan after the end of the U.S. occupation. - Sunaoko, the 14-year-old girl, is in search of a boy that may be her brother. - The key sequence is towards the end of the picture. - Sunaoko and Tsuruo the apparent brother swim in the ocean, in the red sunset. - Tsuru the mother is with Shinko Kuniyoshi the policeman. Rintoku "the killer" is with with the bald drunkard in white suit Takuzo Sakurada, "the victim". Kosuke Kikuchi the judge is with Momoko "the private teacher", his new bride-to-be. Sunaoko and Tsuruo are "the savior" and "the saved one". - No one will know who is the father of Sunaoko and Tsuruo, the candidates being Kosuke or Shinko. - And if Sunaoko is now pregnant, the father can be Tsuruo her possible brother or another guy. - Further strange revelations: the strong sex drive of the Okinawan women. Okinawa as a center of prostitution during the American occupation. - Shinko Kuniyoshi had been to prison as a student rebel. He raped Tsuru Omura when his best friend Kosuke Kiguchi was in prison. Both left only pregnant women behind them. Both confess everything smilingly, and Tsuru Omura smiles, too. - "Your daughter likes mixtures, too". - It would be interesting to hear the interpretation of this film from Donald Richie, for whom this is "essential Oshima".

Century of Cinema: 100 Years of Japanese Cinema

British Film Institute: Century of Cinema: 100 Years of Japanese Cinema / Elokuvan vuosisata: Japanin elokuva. GB/JP © 1994 NHK / BBC. PC: Bob Last, Colin MacCabe. P: Eiko Oshima. D+SC: Nagisa Oshima. M: Toru Takemitsu. ED: Tomoyo Oshima. Format: video. Original in English and with English subtitles. 52 min. From: BFI Distribution, Digibeta.
The excerpts and the stills (the Finnish names are literal YLE translations, on the BFI Digibeta the films are identified by their English titles only):
Daisuke Ito: Chuji tabi nikki (Chujin matkapäiväkirja) (1927) - the silent excerpts are at overspeed, probably 25 fps
Momiji gari (Vaahterainkatselua) (1899)
Shozo Makino: Chushingura (47 roninia, 1914)
Norisama Kaeriyama: Sei no kagayaki (Synkkien vuorten neito) (1918)
Eizo Tanaka: Ikeru shikabane (Elävä ruumis) (1918)
Junichiro Tanizaki ja Thomas Kurikasa: Amateur Club (1920)
Kaoro Osanai, Minoru Murata: Rojo no reikon (Tien sielut) (1921)
Eichi Matsumoto: Kago no tori (Häkkilintu, 1924)
Yoshinobu Ikeda: Sendo kouta (Laivamiehen laulelma) (1923)
Teinosuke Kinugasa: Kurutta ippeiji (Sivu hulluutta) (1926)
Teinosuke Kinugasa: Jujiro (Tienristeys, 1928)
Tomu Uchida: Ikeru ningyo (Elävä nukke, 1929)
Kenji Mizoguchi: Tokyo koshinkyoku (Tokio-marssi) (1929)
Shigeyoshi Suzuki: Nani ga kanojo o son sasetaku? (Mikä sai hänet tekemään sen?, 1930)
Yasujiro Ozu: Umarete wa mita keredo (Synnyin, mutta… ) (1932)
Kenji Mizoguchi: Naniwa hika (Osakan elegia) (1936)
Kenji Mizoguchi: Gion no shimai (Gionin sisarukset) (1936)
Tomu Uchida: Kagirinaki zenshiu (Loputon eteneminen) (1937)
Sadao Yamanaka: Ninjo kami-fusen (Ihmisyys ja paperipallot) (1937)
Yasujiro Shimazu: Okoto to Sasuke (Okoto ja Sasuke) (1935)
Heinosuke Gosho: Jinsei no onimotsu (Elämän taakka) (1935)
Mansaku Itami: Akanishi Kakita (1936)
Hiroshi Shimizu: Kaze no naka no kodomo (Tuulen lapset) (1937)
Tomotaka Tasaka: Gonin no sekko hei (Viisi tiedustelijaa) (1938)
Mikio Naruse: Hataraku ikka (Koko perhe työssä) (1939)
Shiro Toyoda: Kojima no haru (Kevät luodolla) (1940)
Fumio Kamei: Tarakau heitai (Taisteleva armeija) (1939)
Kajiro Yamamoto: Enoken no chakkiri Kinta (Enokenin Kinta, taskuvaras) (1937)
Kajiro Yamamoto: Hawai Marei-oki kaisen (Merisota Havaijilta Malaijille) (1942)
Hiroshi Inagaki: Muhomatsu no issho (Rikshakuski) (1943) excerpt followed by the most heart-breaking superimposition in Oshima's oeuvre - the Hiroshima mushroom - and a close-up of the female star of the film, killed in Hiroshima - the only moment in an Oshima film that makes me cry
Akira Kurosawa: Waga seishun ni kui nashi (Emme kadu nuoruuttamme) (1946)
Keisuke Kinoshita: Osone-ke no asa (Aamu Osonen perheessä) (1946)
Fumio Kamei, Satsuo Yamamoto: Senso to heiwa (Sota ja rauha, 1947)
Kozaburo Yoshimura: Anjokeno butokei (Tanssiaiset Anjoken talossa) (1947)
Tadashi Imai: Aoi sanmiyaku (Sininen vuoristo) (1949)
Senkichi Taniguchi: Akatsuki no dasso (Pako aamunkoitteessa) (1950)
Akira Kurosawa: Rashomon / Rashomon (1950)
Yasujiro Ozu: Bakushu (Alkukesä) (1951)
Mikio Naruse: Meshi (Ateria) (1951)
Kenji Mizoguchi: Saikaku ichidai onna / O’Haru (1952)
Kenji Mizoguchi: Ugetsu monogatari / Kalpean kuun tarinoita (1953)
Heinosuke Gosho: Entotsu no mieru basho (Missä savupiiput näkyvät) (1953)
Shiro Toyoda: Gan (Villihanhi, 1953)
Yasujiro Ozu: Tokyo monogatari / Tokyo Story (1953)
Akira Kurosawa: Shichinin no samurai / Seitsemän samuraita (1954)
Keisuke Kinoshita: Onna no sono (Naisten puutarha) (1954) - the turning-point for Oshima: the work that revealed to him what can be done with film 
Nagisa Oshima: Seishun zankoku mono-gatari (Julma tarina nuoruudesta) (1960)
Osamu Takahashi: Kanojo dake ga shittei-nu (Vain hän tietää) (1960)
Yoshishige Yoshida: Rokudenashi (Tyhjäntoimittaja) (1960)
Masashiro Shinoda: Koi no katamichi kippu (Menolippu rakkauteen) (1960)
Tsutomo Tamura: Akunin shigan (Roisto omasta tahdostaan) (1960)
Nagisa Oshima: Nihon no yoru to kiri (Japanin yö ja usva) (1960)
Ko Nakahira: Kurutta kajitsu (Hullu hedelmä) (1956)
Kon Ichikawa: Shokei no heya (Rangaistushuone) (1956)
Yasuzo Masumura: Kuchizuke (Suudelma, 1957)
Shohei Imamura: Hateshinaki yokubo (Kyltymätön himo) (1958)
Kihachi Okamoto: Dokuritsu gurentai (Itsenäinen häirikköjoukko) (1959)
Masaki Kobayashi: Ningen no joken / Ihmisen kohtalo (1959)
Kaneto Shindo: Hadaka no shima / Alaston saari (1960)
Susumu Hani: Furyo shonen (Pahat pojat, 1961)
Hiroshi Teshigahara: Otoshi ana (Ansa, 1962)
Shohei Imamura: Nippon konchuki (Japa-nin hyönteisnainen) (1963)
Koji Wakamatsu: Akai hanko (Punainen rikos) (1964)
Koji Wakamatsu: Taiji ga mitsuryo suru toki (Kun sikiö metsästää, 1966)
Koji Wakamatsu: Okasareta hakui (Häväistyt enkelit) (1967)
Tetsui Takechi: Hakujitsumu (Päiväuni, 1964)
Tetsui Takechi: Kuroi yuki (Musta lumi, 1965)
Shuji Terayama: Sho o suteyo, machi e deyo (Kirjat hiiteen, painutaan kadulle) (1971)
Nagisa Oshima: Koshikei (Hirttokuolema, 1968)
Susumu Hani: Hatsukoi jigoku-hen / Nanami on rakkaus (1968)
Kikachi Okamoto: Nikudan (Ihmisluoti, 1968)
Masahiro Shinoda: Shinju ten no amijima (Kaksoisitsemurha) (1969)
Yoshishige Yoshida: Eros + gyakusatsu (Eros + verilöyly) (1969)
Nagisa Oshima: Shonen / Poika (1969)
Kei Kumai: Chi no mure (Joukko maan päällä) (1970)
Toshio Matsumoto: Bara no soretsu (Ruusujen hautajaissaatto) (1969)
Kazuo Kuroki: Nippon no akuryo (Japanin paha henki) (1979)
Akio Jissoji: Mujo (Katoava maailma, 1979)
Soichiro Tahara & Kunio Shimizu: Arakajimi ushinawareta koibitotachi yo (Kauan sitten menetetyt rakkaat) (1971)
Koji Wakamatsu: Tensi no kokotsu (Enkelin orgasmi) (1972)
Seijun Suzuki: Kenka ereji (Väkivallan elegia) (1966)
Seijun Suzuki: Koroshi no rakuin (Leimattu murhaajaksi (1967)
Shinsuke Ogawa: Nippon kaihosensen sanrizuka no natsu (Kesä Naritassa, 1968)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto: Partisan zenshi (Partisaanin esihistoria) (1969)
Nagisa Oshima: Gishiki / Seremonia (1971)
Kinji Fukasaku: Jingi naki tatakai (Kunniaton taistelu) (1973)
Yoji Yamada: Otoko wa tsurai yo (Miehenä olemisen tuska, Tora-san –sarjaa, 1973)
Shogoro Nishimura: Danchi zuma hi-rusagari no joji (Kotirouvan iltapäivärakkaus) (1971)
Toru Murakawa: Shiroi yubi tawamure (Valkoisten sormien flirtti) (1972)
Tatsumi Kumashiro: Nureta kuchibiru (Kosteat huulet) (1972)
Seiichiro Yamaguchi: Koi no karyudo (Rakkauden metsästäjä) (1972)
Tatsumi Kumashiro: Koibitotachi wa nureta (Kastuneet rakastavaiset) (1973)
Noboru Tanaka: Maruhi, joro seme jigoku (Prostituoidun helvetti) (1973)
Toshiya Fujita: Virgin Blues (1974)
Noboru Tanaka: Jitsuroku, Abe Sada (Tosi kertomus Abe Sadasta) (1975)
Nagisa Oshima: Ai no corrida / Aistien valtakunta (1976)
Nagisa Oshima: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence / Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Yoshimitsu Morita: Kazoku geemu (Perhe-peli) (1983)
Shinji Somai: Taifu kurabu (Taifuunikerho, 1985)
Toshihiro Ishii: Kuruizaki, Thunder Road (1980)
Kazuki Omori: Hipokuratesu tachi (Hippokrateen opetuslapset (1980)
Yojiro Takita: Komikku zasshi nanka iranai (Ei enää sarjakuvalehtiä, 1986)
Jun Ichikawa: Busu (1987)
Masashi Yamamoto: Robinson no niwa (Robinsonin puutarha) (1987)
Tsuyoshi Takamine: Untamagiru (1989)
Junji Sakamoto: Dotsuitarunen (Tyrmäysisku) (1989)
Shunichi Nagasaki: Yuwakusha (Viettelijä, 1989)
Naoto Takenaka: Muno no hito (Saamaton nahjus) (1991)
Masayuki Suo: Shiko Funjatta (Sumopainijan askelet) (1992)
Ryu Murakami: Topaz (1992)
Joji Matsuoka: Kirakira hikaru (Kimallus, 1992)
Takeshi Kitano: Sonatine / Sonatine (1993)
Hayao Miyazaki: Kaze no tani no Naushika (Tuulilaakson Nausikaa) (1984)
Kazuo Hara: Yuki yukite, Shingun (Keisarin alaston armeija marssii) (1987)
Makoto Sato: Aga ni ikiru (Elämää Agano-joella) (1992)
Katsuhiro Otomo: World Apartment Horror (1991)
Mitsuo Yanagimachi: Ai ni tsuite, Tokyo (Rakkaudesta, Tokio) (1993)
Yoichi Sai: Tsuki wa dochi ni dete iru? (Missä kuu on?) (1993)
Shozo Makino: Goketsu Jiraiya (Sankari Jiraiya) (1921)

I'm aware of the critical remarks that have been made about Oshima's Centenary of the Cinema tribute to the Japanese cinema. But Japan is one of the world's biggest and best film countries, and in crystallizing it into 52 minutes for a non-Japanese viewer Oshima has done a marvellous job. He has avoided much of the obvious, yet is always relevant and exciting. Certainly, one excerpt from Oshima's films would have been sufficient in a presentation like this, and Ichikawa and Kobayashi would have deserved film excerpts, not just still reproductions.