Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 2005 Sommario / Contents

meets a traveling theatre company, and falls in love with the actress
Kaoru, the younger sister of Eikichi, the leader of the company. Eikichi is
suffering extreme poverty, as he has spent all his inheritance. One day
Eikichi hears that Zenbei, a man who bought a mine from him, has made
a fortune out of the mine. Eikichi becomes furious, and goes to negotiate
with Zenbei. Zenbei tells Eikichi to bring Kaoru to him, so that she can
quit the miserable life of a touring actress and marry Zenbei’s son.
Realizing Zenbei’s goodwill, Mizuhara wishes Kaoru happiness, and
leaves for Tokyo.
This film is based on a famous youth novel by the Nobel Prize-winning
author Yasunari Kawabata, published in 1926. The novel depicts a
romantic episode between a student and a touring actress, set in the
beautiful natural landscape of Izu. Some say that Kawabata modeled the
young hero after himself. While popular newspaper novels were a
common source of film adaptations, it was rare for pure literature such
as this to be filmed, and the film’s success opened the door to “literary
films”. By the time this film was made, Heinosuke Gosho had
consolidated his position as a leading director, having directed over 50
silent films at Shochiku. In fact, his filmmaking career really took off
when he was assigned the extremely important task of directing
Madamu to nyobo (The Neighbor’s Wife and Mine; 1931), the first
talkie produced at Shochiku, and made a film that was both a critical
and box-office success. Even so, Gosho mainly continued to direct silent
films, and was only occasionally given opportunities to direct talkies.
Gosho’s expertise in silent film is evident in this film, which effectively
visualizes the fresh lyricism of the original novel. – FUMIKO TSUNEISHI
Prog. 12
KOSHU SAHO TOKYO KENBUTSU [LE BUONE MANIERE IN
PUBBLICO: VISITA TURISTICA A TOKYO / PUBLIC MANNERS:
TOKYO SIGHTSEEING] (Ministry of Education, JP 1926)
Re./dir: Kaname Mori; f./ph: Shigeru Shirai; cast: Kaoru Hose, Namiko
Matsuyama, Sadakazu Yanagida, Hanako Kitamikado; ppp/rel: 1926;
35mm, 4171 ft., 56’ (20 fps), National Film Center,Tokyo.
Didascalie in giapponese sottotitolate in inglese / Japanese intertitles,
English subtitles.
Il Ministero dell’Istruzione prese coscienza dell’importanza del
mezzo filmico come strumento di documentazione e cronaca in
seguito alla produzione e alla distribuzione, subito dopo il grande
terremoto di Kanto, del documentario Kanto taishin taika jikkyo
(Servizio cinematografico sul grande incendio del grande terremoto
di Kanto; 1923). Continuando su tale strada, il Ministero produsse
nel 1925 venti film, fra cui il drammatico Furusato no uta (La canzone
del paese natale) di Kenji Mizoguchi. Koshu saho Tokyo kenbutsu
presenta i luoghi di richiamo turistico di Tokyo nel momento in cui
la città si va riprendendo dai danni del sisma. Il film ci mostra anche
lo stile di vita metropolitano e occidentalizzato dell’epoca,
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evidenziando con umorismo la distanza geografica e psicologica tra
la città e la campagna. Il veterano Kaname Mori (1878?-?) aveva
iniziato come regista con la Yoshizawa Shoten, per poi dirigere un
gran numero di film in costume presso lo studio della Shochiku a
Kamata. Dopo il terremoto si era trasferito alla Teikoku Kinema,
mettendosi a fare film didattici. – FUMIKO TSUNEISHI
The Ministry of Education became aware of the importance of film as a
medium for documentation and reportage through producing and
showing the documentary film Kanto taishin taika jikkyo (The
Cinematic Report on the Great Fire of the Great Kanto Earthquake;
1923) just after the Great Kanto Earthquake, and continued to produce
educational films after that. In 1925 they produced as many as 20 films,
including Kenji Mizoguchi’s dramatic film Furusato no uta (The Song of
Home). Koshu saho Tokyo kenbutsu introduces the tourist spots of
Tokyo just as the city is recovering from the earthquake damage.The film
also shows what the Westernized and urban lifestyle was like at the time,
and humorously highlights the geographical and psychological distance
between the city and the countryside. Kaname Mori (1878?-?) was a
veteran director who had started making films at Yoshizawa Shoten, and
continued to direct a large number of period films at the Shochiku
Kamata studio. By the time Mori directed this film he had moved to
Teikoku Kinema, after the earthquake, and switched to making
educational films. – FUMIKO TSUNEISHI
TOKYO NO ONNA [UNA DONNA DI TOKYO / WOMAN OF
TOKYO] (Shochiku, JP 1933)
Re./dir: Yasujiro Ozu; sogg./story: 26 Hours, romanzo di/novel by Ernst
Schwarz [Yasujiro Ozu]; adatt./adapt: Kogo Noda, Tadao Ikeda; f./ph:
Hideo Mohara; cast: Yoshiko Okada, Ureo Egawa, Kinuyo Tanaka,
Shinyo Nara; ppp/rel: 9.2.1933; 35mm, 4181 ft., 46’ (24 fps), National
Film Center,Tokyo.
Didascalie in giapponese sottotitolate in inglese / Japanese intertitles,
English subtitles.
Ryoichi, che frequenta una scuola di preparazione all’università, vive
con la sorella maggiore, Chikako, che gli paga la retta. Egli crede che
la sorella faccia la dattilografa durante il giorno e la traduttrice alla
sera, ma un giorno viene a sapere che in realtà lavora in un bar dalla
dubbia reputazione. Addolorato, Ryoichi rimprovera Chikako e
finisce con l’uccidersi.
Sullo sfondo di una grave recessione, questo dramma psicologico,
narrato in modo estremamente cristallizzato e sobrio, è ambientato
quasi esclusivamente in un’unica stanza, nel giro di un solo giorno. I
personaggi sono solo quattro: Chikako; suo fratello Ryoichi; la
fidanzata di Ryoichi, Harue; il fratello maggiore di Harue, un
poliziotto che interroga Chikako mettendo alle strette lei e il
fratello. In questo film Ozu continuò ad esplorare le tecniche da lui
introdotte in Sonoyo no tsuma (La moglie di quella notte; 1930),
raggiungendo un livello di tensione continuo grazie agli studiati tagli