WIT Life #260: Shohei Imamura Film Festival at Asia Society
Events, Film, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life, Writers 
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends along with her own observations.
First of all, a belated 明けましておめでとうございます！ It’s been a busy start to 2014, but I’m happy to be blogging again in the year of the horse (午年 or umadoshi). It being umadoshi is good news for people like me whose animal sign is the horse, as one is said to have good luck when the zodiac sign for the current year is the same as the one from the year when you were born. This makes me what is called a 年女 (toshi onna), and I’m hoping this year of the horse gives me faster feet in the many marathons I run…
In conjunction with the Japan Foundation, the Asia Society is currently featuring the Vengeance is Shohei Imamura film series from January 17-February 1. I have been a fan of Imamura’s ever since seeing The Eel (「うなぎ」, with Yakusho Koji playing a former convict) in 1997, and was glad to have the opportunity to check out some of his other flicks. He was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d’Or awards, one for Unagi, and one for The Ballad of Narayama (「楢山節考」) in 1983, screened this past Saturday night as part of the Imamura film festival.
Set in the 19th century, the movie takes place in a small rural Japanese village where they have a tradition of bringing elders who turn 70 to the summit of Mount Narayama, where they are left to die. They are carried there by their sons, and this unusual custom is obeyed as it is seen as a necessary offering to the mountain gods who watch over the townspeople in their daily lives. The story focuses on Orin, a 69-year old matriarch whose time to go to Narayama is soon approaching and who wants to put things in order within her family before then. Her worries include making sure her sons are taken care of and that there is enough food to go around. As you might have guessed from the poster above the movie is sexually explicit at times, even including a bestiality scene! The tapestry of the humans’ lives is interwoven with scenes of nature such as animals copulating, feasting on one another and singing.
The Vengeance is Shohei Imamura film festival concludes Saturday night at 6 p.m. with Black Rain (「黒い雨」) from 1989. Tickets are still available and the screening is free, so check it out if you’re interested!
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