WIT Life #123: International acclaim and disdain
Anecdote Article, Film, Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life 
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WITLife 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 together with her own observations.
I was really happy to hear that Eri Fukatsu (37) won the best actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival for her performance in the Japanese film Akunin (Villain). It also features Satoshi Tsumabuki (29) who stars in the title role and is pictured with Fukatsu on the right. Akunin is a tragic love story based on the novel of the same title, and Fukatsu plays the part of a young woman who runs away with a construction worker (Tsumabuki) who inadvertently killed someone. It was directed by Lee Sang Il (36), and all three were in attendance at the festival. Fukatsu is the first Japanese actress to take home the trophy since 1983.
I have liked Fukatsu ever since seeing her in the 2005 drama Slow Dance, which also stars Tsumabuki who is one of my favorites. In this drama you wonder if their romance is ever going to take off due to the age difference and passivity on both their parts, but overall it is a feel-good love story. Akunin opens in Japan this Saturday, and I am looking forward to it making its way to the States to see the newest of what this couple with great on-screen chemistry has to offer.
In other news, yesterday’s New York Times had a scathing editorial about Japan’s unstable political situation entitled Japan’s Leadership Merry-Go-Round. It finishes with the line, “Revolving-door leaders with constantly shifting agendas are not in Japan’s interest — or the rest of the world’s.” Stay tuned until next week’s DPJ election to choose a new party chief to see if the short-term prime minister pattern plaguing Japan can be broken.
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