settima

HikaruHayashi

血は渇いてる [Chi wa kawaiteru / Blood Is Dry] (Yoshishige Yoshida, 1960)

Jul

17

beer

Chi wa kawaiteru (1960)

A man and woman share a meal in a top-floor restaurant. The view is numerous identical modern buildings. She's smoking and they both clutch large beer mugs. Two dishes hold small bits of food with toothpicks stuck into them. DP: Tōichirō Narushima.

 

#FilmDinner #beer #YoshishigeYoshida #KeijiSada #KanekoIwasaki #ShinIchirōMikami #MariYoshimura #MasaoOda #IchirōSugai #RokkōToura #HikaruHayashi #TōichirōNarushima #advertising #suicide #satire #drama #Japan #1960s ★★★½

藪の中の黒猫 [Yabu no naka no kuroneko / A Black Cat in a Bamboo Grove] (Kaneto Shindō, 1968)

Jun

19

Garfield the Cat Day

藪の中の黒猫 (1968)

A young woman in white, strangely resembling a cat, seemingly lapping a drink from a bowl. DP: Kiyomi Kuroda.

A scene with a cat for Garfield the Cat Day (USA)

 

A mother and daughter who are raped and murdered by a rogue samurai, return as cat-shaped onryō, vengeful spirits.

#Bales2025FilmChallenge #GarfieldTheCatDay #KanetoShindō #KichiemonNakamura #NobukoOtowa #KeiSatō #RokkōToura #KiwakoTaichi #TaijiTonoyama #HideoKanze #EimeiEsumi #HikaruHayashi #KiyomiKuroda #revenge #bakeneko #kaibyō #yōkai #folklore #horror #cats #animals #Japan #1960s

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 ★★★★☆