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ドキュメント 路上 [Document Rojo / On the Road: The Document] (Noriaki Tsuchimoto, 1964)
Mar
26
Road Traffic Act 1934
A look from a Tokyo cab driver's perspective. We see the dashboard, heavy trucks ahead, and behind, and the reflection of the driver in his rearview mirror. DP: Tatsuo Suzuki.
Bad drivers: the start of compulsory driving tests in the UK was established on March 26, 1934* with the Road Traffic Act.
“This film portrays the traffic war that goes on every day. — Tokyo, 1964”
– opening title
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Le mystère Koumiko [不思議なクミコ / The Koumiko Mystery] (Chris Marker, 1965)
Oct
11
1964
A closeup of Koumiko's face, taken from a television screen. DP: Chris Marker.
“Mr. Everyman explains how to look like a Japanese and thus impress those wild and not very civilized people. Mrs. Everyman replies that for savages, they look remarkably civilized. Meanwhile, Mr. Everyman, seeing more people looking even more Japanese, is reassured. Mrs. Everyman sees soldiers parading in European uniform. She smiles ironically. But now a number of typical Japanese walk into the house. Her irony disappears. And Mr. Everyman is not ashamed to admit… he is mystified.”
– narrator
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0課の女 赤い手錠 [Zeroka no onna: Akai wappa / Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs] (Yukio Noda, 1974)
Sep
12
National Police Woman Day
Rei (Miki Sugimoto) wielding the red chain of her handcuffs. DP: Yoshio Nakajima.
Rei (Miki Sugimoto) is a member of Division Zero, a top secret division of #Tokyo's police department. Hired to investigate a high-profile #kidnapping, she infiltrates the gang and kills them off with her signature blood-red handcuffs.
0課の女 赤い手錠 is the first of no less than 9 instalments. Based on Tōru Shinohara's #manga 0課の女 [Zero-ka no Onna] who may be better known for his さそり [Sasori / Scorpion], which in its turn was adapted into the popular Female Prisoner Scorpion series of WiP films.
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新宿泥棒日記 [Shinjuku Dorobō Nikki / Diary of a Shinjuku Thief] (Nagisa Ōshima, 1969)
Aug
14
Love Your Bookshop Day
Umeko (Rie Yokoyama) in a bookstore. In the foreground a large fallen pile of books. DPs: Seizō Sengen & Yasuhiro Yoshioka.
Umeko (Rie Yokoyama) believes to have caught Torio redhanded (Tadanori Yokoo, whose character has been renamed “Birdey” in the English translation), shoplifting from her bookstore. Torio however is a performance actor – and real-world Art Theatre Guild performer – and the act of stealing is part of his research. The young people's encounter sets something in motion. Together them embark on committing crimes in #Tokyo's labyrinthine #Shinjuku neighbourhood and find their mirror images in a #kabuki play.
新宿泥棒日記 is a playful, dangerous exploration of youth and rebellion in a rapidly shifting Japan.