[Press release from the Cleveland Cinematheque.]
“Rarely Seen Gems of Japanese Cinema,” a festival of four important
Japanese film classics that are little known in the U.S., will be
presented between September 28 and October 12 at the Cleveland Institute
of Art Cinematheque, 11141 East Boulevard in University Circle. The
series, a co-presentation of Case Western Reserve University’s
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, is sponsored by The
Japan Foundation (New York) and CWRU’s Baker-Nord Center for the
Humanities and the Dean’s Office in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“This
is a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Linda Ehrlich, associate
professor of Japanese, world literature and cinema in CWRU’s Department
of Modern Languages and Literatures and the series’ co-curator.
Co-curator and Cinematheque Director John Ewing, adds, “This series,
with the generous support of The Japan Foundation, allows me to bring
four great movies to Cleveland that I have long wanted to show here.”
The
four films, which will run on three Saturdays and one Thursday, date
from the 1930s to the 1950s. They will expose Cleveland audiences to
Japanese history and culture in stories from the Edo/Tokugawa period
(1603-1868) through the post-WWII years. The movies were directed by
four of Japan’s most celebrated filmmakers—Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro
Ozu, Sadao Yamanaka, and Heinosuke Gosho—and feature such great Japanese
actors as Kinuyo Tanaka and Isuzu Yamada.
Ehrlich
and Ewing coordinated the screenings to coincide with and celebrate the
reopening of the Japanese and Korean Art Galleries at the Cleveland
Museum of Art. All four movies will be shown in 35mm or 16mm film prints
with English subtitles; three of the copies are being imported from
Japan solely for the series. In addition, an expert in Japanese
literature, history, and cinema studies will introduce each film and
also lead a post-film discussion with the audience.
All
films will show in the Institute’s Russell B. Aitken Auditorium.
Admission to each program is $9; Cinematheque members and CIA /CWRU I.D.
holders $7; age 25 & under $6. All tickets will be sold at the
door, cash/check only. Free parking for filmgoers is available in the
adjacent CIA lot, located off of East Boulevard. For further
information, call John Ewing or Tim Harry at (216) 421-7450, send an
email to cinema@cia.edu, or visit www.cia.edu/cinematheque.
Rarely Seen Gems of Japanese Cinema
Saturday, September 28, at 5:00 pm
MISS OYU
OYÛ-SAMA
Japan, 1951, Kenji Mizoguchi
A
young Japanese man falls in love with his fiancée’s widowed sister
(Kinuyo Tanaka) in this exquisite romantic drama by the great Kenji
Mizoguchi. Never before shown at the Cinematheque, this little known
classic from Mizoguchi’s greatest decade (his next five films included The Life of Oharu, Ugetsu, and Sansho the Bailiff)
demonstrates his stunning pictorial sense and his sympathy for women.
Linda Ehrlich, associate professor of Japanese and cinema at CWRU, will
introduce the film and lead a post-film discussion. Subtitles. 35mm. 95
min.
Thursday, October 3, at 6:30 pm
RECORD OF A TENEMENT GENTLEMAN
NAGAYA SHINSHIROKU
Japan, 1947, Yasujiro Ozu
Never
before shown at the Cinematheque, this postwar comedy-drama by the
great Yasujiro Ozu tells of a widow who takes in a young boy found on
the streets. Ozu regular Chishu Ryu sings in this one! Garrett L.
Morgan, visiting assistant professor of history at Oberlin College, will
introduce the film and lead a post-film discussion. Subtitles. 35mm. 72
min.
Saturday, October 5, at 5:00 pm
HUMANITY AND PAPER BALLOONS
NINJO KAMIFUSEN
Japan, 1937, Sadao Yamanaka
This
period drama is the greatest work by a promising young Japanese
filmmaker of the 1930s who died in Manchuria (at age 29) 13 months after
his masterpiece was released. Set in 18th-century Edo (Tokyo), the film
is a compassionate portrait of an unemployed samurai, his wife, and
their impoverished neighbors—all leading hardscrabble lives in a shabby
slum plagued by crime, where notions of heroism and honor have lost
their meaning. Kimberly Kono, assistant professor of Japanese at Smith
College and visiting associate professor at CWRU, will introduce the
film and lead a post-film discussion. Subtitles. 35mm. 86 min.
Saturday, October 12, at 5:00 pm
GROWING UP
TAKEKURABE
Japan, 1955, Heinosuke Gosho
The late, great Isuzu Yamada (Lady Macbeth in Throne of Blood)
stars in this beautifully photographed major work by Japan's prolific
but criminally undershown movie master Heinosuke Gosho. It follows a
young girl doomed to a life of prostitution as she slowly comprehends
her unfortunate fate. Ann Sherif of Oberlin College will introduce the
film and lead a post-film discussion. Subtitles. 16mm. 95 min.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We approve all legitimate comments. However, comments that include links to irrelevant commercial websites and/or websites dealing with illegal or inappropriate content will be marked as spam.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.