Roslindale Monogatari

Novyy Vavilon / New Babylon (Grigori Kozintsev & Leonid Trauberg, 1929) Kozintsev and Trauberg had been working together for 8 years by the time the two made New Babylon . After several years collaborating in experimental theater, they made their first foray into film making in 1924. Having worked with Dmitri Shostakovich in some of their theater productions, they turned to him for their first attempt at making a film with an integral (live) musical score (albeit without dialog). The film suffered from government interference even before its formal premiere. The government approved version was cut by 20 percent from its original length, and the synchronization of the music apparently no longer fully matched the creators' original intentions. These synchronization problems, together with the inability of the theater's orchestra to cope with Shostakovich's musical demands, helped ensure a less than rapturous initial reception. While the longer version has been recons...

Seen in early January 2008 Asian directors going abroad to make films often wind up foundering to some extent. Ann Hui's story of Chinese adrift in Japan is no exception. It reminds me a lot of Takeshi Kitano's Brother (about Japanese yakuza transplanted to Los Angeles). It is a "noble failure" that, for all its serious narrative flaws, is often visually quite striking. This shows us the exploits of a trio of young Hong Kong Chinese who came to Japan to study. One dutifully studies, another has gotten embroiled with the yakuza (having caught the eye of a mobster's daughter). The third (played by Andy Lau) is drifting, sometimes going to class, sometimes cutting class to work at part-time jobs. His path crosses that of another Chinese student, one (played by Cherie Chung, in her last movie role prior to her retirement). Chung is a scholar by day and a bar hostess by night. Lau is smitten by Chung, but she is not interested in him (except as a friend, more ...

Seen in early January 2008 The Japanese title of Yamashita's new films seems to translate to "natural cockle-doodle-doo". Although about the first thing one hears in the film is a rooster crowing (and we do see chickens from time to time), the significance of the title is not especially clear to me. The film (based on a popular shoujo manga) is set in Shimane Prefecture (the second least populous prefecture of Japan). Clearly built in the post-war baby boom era, the combined grade school and middle school now has less than 10 students -- and is probably reaching the end of its days. The films primary focus is on the oldest student in the school, Soyo (played by Kaho ) now in ninth grade. While she has had friends in lower grades, she has never had a classmate in her own grade. At least, never until the start of the film -- when a newcomer from Tokyo (who has family ties to the village) arrives as a transfer student. Most of the focus of this slow-moving and sweet...