If
the only Japanese film you have seen all your life is the horror
classic The
Ring,
or worse, you have not seen any Japanese film at all, then you don’t
know what you’ve been missing.
The Japan Foundation holds the annual
Japanese Film Festival (Eiga Sai) in Manila, Davao City, and Cebu
City. This year, Eiga Sai opened last month at the Shangri- la
Cineplex to the delight of a wide audience of cineastes and viewers.
The
festival featured 10 critically-acclaimed Japanese films that
showcase the diversity and originality of Japanese cinema today.
For
some years now, I have been a faithful and active participant in this
annual cinematic feast. And since then, I have seen a growing
interest in Japanese cinema among the more discriminating class of
Filipino audience. Just last year, crowds of viewers packed the
Shangri-la cinema during the special screening of the Oscar-winning
Japanese film Departures.
Cultural
heritage
There
is something about Japanese cinema that sets it apart from the
mainstream Hollywood films we have all been accustomed to. For one
thing, it draws its material mainly from their rich cultural heritage
and by so doing promotes social, cultural, and moral values that are
universal in scope but uniquely Japanese in approach.
In
the historical film Abacus
and Sword,
for instance, family honor and tradition are values that are so
eloquently portrayed in the house of the Inoyama family. Born into a
family of bookkeepers who consider the abacus as the family’s
lifeblood, young Naoyuki painfully learns the value of upholding the
craft his family fought so hard to preserve and inculcate in the next
generation. What you will find interesting in this film, as in most
Japanese films, is the fact that there are no stereotypical
characters. No villains. No heroes. Just plain human beings with
strengths and weaknesses we all can identify with.
Labor
of love
A
passion for work is another trait that I admire in the Japanese
people. In the movie Railways,
Hajime is a 50-year old executive of an electronics company who quits
his job and returns to his hometown to pursue his childhood dream- to
drive the local Ichibata Railways. For him, there is no such thing as
a small job. He devotes himself completely to his work as a train
conductor and driver, personally attending to the needs of every
passenger on the train. Again, the conflict does not directly come
from the anti-heroes, but from a series of unfortunate circumstances.
Rebirth
The
theme of rebirth also resonates in most Japanese films I have seen,
particularly in In
His Chart
and Tomorrow’s
Joe, in
which one person’s death leads to another person’s rebirth and
redemption.
Based
on the novel by Natsukawa Sosuke, In
His Chart
tells the story of a young doctor Ichito who begins to question the
profession he has chosen upon seeing his patients suffer and succumb
to their deaths one by one. Later, he meets Azumi, a cancer patient
who opens his eyes to a new and higher calling. Of all the films in
the festival, this one will certainly tug at your heartstrings
especially in the last part where Ichito reads Azumi’s letter.
A
hands-down personal favorite is Tomorrow’s
Joe, an
adaptation of the popular boxing manga “Ashita no Joe” by
Takamori Asao and Chiba Tetsuya. Set in the late 1960s, it chronicles
the life of a delinquent living in the slums and finding hope and
purpose in boxing. While in prison, he meets professional fighter
Rikiishi and vows to challenge him in what could be the film’s most
powerful moments, emotionally and visually. This film proves that,
in life as well as in the ring, it’s not over till it’s over.
Comedy
of Errors
Of
course, it’s a myth that Japanese movies are always serious. This
year, Eiga Sai provides great laughs with Happy
Flight, a
comedy about a commercial aircraft bound for Honolulu, and all the
interesting people in it – from the co-pilot to the first-time
cabin attendant. What began as a peaceful flight suddenly becomes
chaos in the air when the plane hits a bird by accident, resulting in
a reversal of fate for everyone on board. Of course, airplane
comedies of this kind have been done before, such as the Airplane
series,
but it’s more than just a comedy of errors. It’s a comedy with a
heart that brings out the best in us in times of crisis.
Art
and Life
I
have yet to see the other five movies in the festival’s line-up,
but I am already overwhelmed by what I saw: the technical artistry,
poignant narratives, and brilliant performances woven together to
create masterful pieces of cinematic tapestry.
Indeed,
the long queues of viewers who graced every screening during the
festival's first run at Shangri-la Mall clearly represent a voice
crying out for more high-quality films that bring art to life, and
life to art. This is exactly what every film in Eiga Sai does—all
in quintessential Japanese style.
