settima

HikaruHayashi

鬼の詩 [Oni no uta / Song of the Devil] (Tetsutaro Murano, 1975)

Apr

29

Jerry Seinfeld – 1954

鬼の詩 (1975)

Keima Kyo entertaining his audience by hanging numerous clay pipes from his face. DP: Yasuhiro Yoshioka.

A comedian, or set in Brooklyn or NYC, for Jerry Seinfeld's birthday (1954).

 

Rakugo (落語, litt. “story with a fall”), is a style of Japanese comedy performed while seated. Armed with a few props, the rakugoka recites a comical monologue using pitch and gestures.

 

A dramatic retelling of the life of rakugoka Katsura Beikyo II. Keima Kyo, a talented rakugoka, is offered apprenticeship from an older successful performer, but refuses. Young and arrogant, he decides to take over the other man's act instead.

#Bales2025FilmChallenge #TetsutaroMurano #GiichiFujimoto #SaburōDate #GiichiFujimoto #JunHongō #YukitarōHotaru #HisashiIgawa #HikaruHayashi #YasuhiroYoshioka #drama #history #biography #BookAdaptation #ATG #Osaka #Japan #1970s

少年 [Shōnen / Boy] (Nagisa Ōshima, 1969)

May

6

少年 (1969)

The boy in his school uniform (Bin Amatsu) at a table in a traditional Japanese room with his meal untouched. A man eats next to the kid who glances at someone or something offscreen. The table is set for three. DPs: Seizō Sengen & Yasuhiro Yoshioka.

#FilmDinner #NagisaŌshima #BinAmatsu #FumioWatanabe #AkikoKoyama #TetsuoAbe #TsuyoshiKinoshita #LoLoCannon #DoYunYu #HikaruHayashi #SeizōSengen #YasuhiroYoshioka #ATG #drama #crime #biography #CarCrash #Japan #1960s ★★★½

少年 [Shōnen / Boy] (Nagisa Ōshima, 1969)

Dec

17

Freebie: National Insurance Awareness Day

少年 (1969)

The boy waiting next to a buzy road. DPs: Seizō Sengen & Yasuhiro Yoshioka.

Freebie: National Insurance Awareness Day (USA) redux.

 

A boy (Bin Amatsu), helps out his father and stepmother's insurance money scam by pretending to be injured in traffic.

#Bales2023FilmChallenge #NationalInsuranceAwarenessDay #NagisaŌshima #BinAmatsu #FumioWatanabe #AkikoKoyama #TetsuoAbe #TsuyoshiKinoshita #LoLoCannon #DoYunYu #HikaruHayashi #SeizōSengen #YasuhiroYoshioka #ATG #drama #crime #biography #CarCrash #Japan #1960s ★★★½

鉄輪 [Kanawa / The Iron Crown] (Kaneto Shindō, 1972)

Sep

20

fried eggs

鉄輪 (1972)

Meg Flower as the young woman eats a fried egg straight from a spatula. She's naked. DP: Kiyomi Kuroda.

#FilmDinner #eggs #KanetoShindō #NobukoOtowa #HideoKanze #MegFlower #HikaruHayashi #KiyomiKuroda #revenge #drama #ghosts #romance #PinkuEiga #Japan #1970s ★★★★☆

刺青 [Irezumi / The Tattoo] (Yasuzō Masumura, 1966)

Jul

18

刺青 (1966)

Otsuya (Ayako Wakao) and one of her samurai clients share sake and a small meal. Beautifully framed by cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa there's all we need to see – Otsuya's facial expressions and the fiery, protective 籠目 (kagome, litt. eye) pattern – with not much more on display. DP: Kazuo Miyagawa.

#FilmDinner #YasuzōMasumura #JunichirōTanizaki #AyakoWakao #GakuYamamoto #HikaruHayashi #KazuoMiyagawa #BookAdaptation #tattoos #spiders #FemmeFatale #Japan #1960s ★★★★☆

刺青 [Irezumi] (Yasuzō Masumura, 1966)

Jul

17

National Tattoo Day

刺青 (1966)

Seikichi tattooing (the correct term for the act-of is tebori) the 絡新婦 / じょろうぐも [jorōgumo, litt. “entangling bride”] on Otsuya's back. DP: Kazuo Miyagawa.

Otsuya's (Ayako Wakao) is forced into #prostitution and marked with a large spider tattoo. As the figure slowly takes shape under horishi Seikichi's skilled hands, Otsuya too transforms.

#Bales2023FilmChallenge #NationalTattooDay #YasuzōMasumura #JunichirōTanizaki #AyakoWakao #GakuYamamoto #HikaruHayashi #KazuoMiyagawa #BookAdaptation #tattoos #spiders #FemmeFatale #Japan #1960s ★★★★☆