The Face of Time - POV - Aarhus Universitet

68 p.o.v. number 13 March 2002
This sheds light on another important aspect in the Japanese
context. Normally, a viewer not familiar with Japanese circumstances
might think that Tarô missed out on playing with the other
children, but he had also been lucky enough to escape the duty of
cleaning the school after classes. However, for him this was no
reason to feel lucky. It was the ultimate expression of being
excluded and ignored by teacher and classmates. Being excluded
from the group to which one ought to belong is one of the worst
emotional punishments that a Japanese can suffer. First the children
laughed at Tarô, then they completely ignored him. He is made into
an outsider before even having been given the chance to become a
part of the group. It is at this point only that O-Yoshi's kindness and
support helps him to overcome insecurity and loneliness during his
first school day. The two spinning tops seem to symbolize the
friendship that is going to unite them and that ultimately leads Tarô
to give the correct answer when asked the crucial question a last
time. In this way he makes his first step toward becoming an
accepted classmate.
With Ohagi David Greenspan manages to revive memories of times
gone by. A sentiment of gratitude for having been offered this
chance to remember among people who have had similar
experiences in an atmosphere of common understanding spreads
through the group of viewers. Each of them had been himself/
herself the little Tarô for twelve minutes, going through the whole
range of feelings, thoughts, and fears he went through. To me it
looks like the awakening of a common dear dream. The fact that this
short film was made by a foreigner is completely forgotten. That
might be the highest reward a foreigner can get from the Japanese.