High and Low (天国と地獄 – Heaven & Hell)

High and Low (天国と地獄 – Heaven & Hell)

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

Released: March 1, 1963

            High and Low or (天国と地獄 – Heaven & Hell), is about a wealthy executive, Gondo who is trying to gain control of National Shoes. The film opens up with Gondo and other executives discussing the stocks of the company and how they can override the boss. When the other executives show Gondo the show they want to sell, Gondo begins to tear apart shoe and asks for the businessman to leave. During the commotion of the businessmen leaving, the phone rings and someone one the other line has claimed to have taken Gondo’s son and wants money for the exchange. When Gond realizes his son his safe and their chauffer’s son is taken instead, the business side of him wants his right-hand man to take a check to Osaka. Gondo’s wife and the chauffer plea to Gondo and eventually the film takes a turn to get back the chauffer’s son. As the police get back the son, they find out where the child was hiding out. As they check to see if the owners were there, they stumble across dead bodies that seemed to have overdosed on heroin.

            The film keeps the viewer on their feet and on edge. When you think the police have found the suspect, all of a sudden it seems they have lost them. Until a scene in the film, where ‘pink smoke’ can be seen in a black and white picture, despair becomes and hope. Fast action pace driven with many turns, this was one of my favorites films of Kurosawa.

            In what seems to part two of film, when the police are looking for the suspect, they become aware that he is a supplier of heroin. The film had portrayed heroin, by showing a house filled with people who were in a lot pain and agony. As a viewer watching, it was very disgustful and may make one look way. But what may keep a viewer still looking, is the suspect, who was looking for a victim to try the heroin on.

            In 1919, methamphetamine was developed in Japan (Drug Free World n.d). It had been used during World War II, for Kamikaze pilots. It had reached an epidemic when it was being stored for the military after the war had ended. The usage of methamphetamine got worse in 1960, and by 1970’s the US government made it illegal (Drug Free World n.d). Japan legislated a Stimulant Control Law in 1951 to ban the production, import, and possession of methamphetamine (Ito, 2014). This lowered a number of arrest – from “55,664 in 1954 to 271 in 1958,” (Ito, 2014).

            Japan’s drug use compared to American’s drug use is lower. “0.4% of the Japanese population…between 15 and 64 years old have tried stimulants at least once in their life. In the United States, 5.1 of the population over the age 12 has tried meth at least once,” (Ito 2014). Japan seems to be able to crack down on the usage of drugs but has taken a fall when it comes to treating the addicts.

Reference

Ito, Masami. “Dealing with Addiction: Japan's Drug Problem.” The Japan Times, 23 Aug. 2014, www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/08/23/lifestyle/dealing-addiction-japans-drug-problem/#.Wve3jdMvxPM.

“The History of Crystal Methamphetamine - Drug-Free World.” Foundation for a Drug-Free World, www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crystalmeth/history-of-methamphetamine.html.

Seven Samurai (七人の侍)

Seven Samurai (七人の侍)

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

Released: April 26, 1954

            Seven Samurai (七人の侍), is placed during the Sengoku Period, where farmers are being threatened by bandits. The farmers think of their options on how to stop the bandits, until the old man in the town suggest bringing in samurai. There are two parts to this film; the first part – farmers looking for second samurai, while the second part of the film is the battle – samurai and farmers versus the bandits. Each of the samurai that decide to help the farmers against the bandits each have a distinct character and it creates a mood for the audience to pick a favorite samurai.

            To understand the time period and how things got to the way they were, starting at Tokugawa period, we can see in the film why the peasants were scared at first of the samurais. The Tokugawa era had reflected a lot of death, violence, and no peasants were able to use weapons, (Phillips & Stringer n.d). In the film, when the samurai arrive to the village, the villagers are nowhere to be seen. The two villagers that are with the samurai try and rally the peasants, but with no outcome, the peasants stay hidden. The group then visits the old man, who tells them that even if they have come to protect, the peasants are still cautious and nervous of the samurai who are there to protect them.

            The samurai in the film are all romin (master less) samurai. When the four villagers visit a town to find samurai, they begin realizing the difficulty of finding them and with what they have offer to the samurai that do decide to help, is rather a disappointment. Typically master less samurai still wanted to be considered “better” and would look down on the lower class (Williams n.d). In the film, we seen it when one of the villagers tries asking a samurai, when all he has to offer is rice. The samurai pushes the villager away because helping out a peasant to him would not make him look “better.”

            The first samurai they ask is Kambei, who they watch kill a thief. With persistence, they are able to retrieve a samurai. Even though the villagers can only offer rice, the samurai  still accepts. The journey from then on seems to be an interesting one. As one samurai practices his skills, the other reaches out to friends to help.

            Seven Samurai, seems to revolve on fighting for what matters. The villagers are desperate has they have given food to the bandits, and one of the villager’s wife. The villagers are fighting for their life, while the samurai seem to be there just for help. Love between a samurai and a villager dies at the end of the film, and by the end of the film the samurai deal with loss; while the villagers are celebrating. Where the film ends, I think brings up the question ‘Why aren’t the villagers also grieving with the samurai?’ – In several other scenes before, the villagers were grieving over the lost samurai, but by the end of the film they are seen singing and planting rice while the three samurai left are in mourning. The villagers seemed to have taken the samurai for granted.

           

Reference

Phillips, Alastair, and Julian Stringer. “Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts.” Seven Samurai and Six Women, file:///Users/nessie/Downloads/5-10 Martinez - Seven Samurai and Six Women (1).pdf.

Williams, Matt. “Warrior Puppets: The Samurai of the Tokugawa Shogunate.” Cultural Diffusion and Its Effects on Japan, www.samurai-archives.com/wap.html.

Floating Weeds (浮草）

Floating Weeds (Ukigusa)

Directed By: Yasujiro Ozu

Released: November 17, 1959

            Floating Weeds, also known as 浮草, is directed by Yasujiro Ozu, is a remake of his black and white silent film, A Story of Floating Weed. Floating Weeds follows a Kabuki theatre group. The group is visiting a seaside town, that is pretty well known to the leader of the group, Komajuro. Komajuro keeps visiting a particular place, until his mistress Sumiko becomes suspicious and begins to figure out what is happening. Sumiko tells their actress Kayo to seduce Kiyoshi by giving Kayo money. She obliges, but then began to fall in love with Kiyoshi. Once their relationship is discovered by Komajuro, it seems all hell breaks loose –  the Kabuki theatre group gets all their money stolen. By the end of the film, Komajuro and Sumiko are seen together on a train going to Kuwana.

(The shows the Kabuki group put on were based off the historical figure, Kunisada, Chuji of the Edo Period). Kunisada, Chuji, had similar like character to that of Robin Hood. He would help out those in need and take from the rich to give to the poor.

During the Edo period, Japanese pop culture grew in Kabuki and Okiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print). The class level during the Edo period had a strict system, with the top being the samurai, following that peasants, artisans, and merchants (Edo Period n.d). There was also a fifth type of class that were considered impure (Edo Period n.d).

Floating Weeds, has two women that perform within the show, so as viewer watching, this has to be filmed before late Edo Period. “acted only women…until late Edo Period, a restriction by the Tokugawa Shogunate forbid women from participating,” (Kabuki n.d).

In contrast to Ozu’s film Late Spring or Tokyo Story, this film is in color and the pace is quicker. However, unlike Late Spring, where the plot if rigid, Floating Weeds, seems to have a more cohesive plot. I enjoyed Floating Weeds, I think because with color more emotion was added, the pace was quicker, and it felt more like a film that a narrative peace. Still, it had Ozu’s style of showing the interactions of the Japanese daily lifestyle. In a much more organized way, it can be easily enjoyed.

           

Reference

“Edo Period (1603 - 1867).” Japan Travel News - Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011, www.japan-guide.com/e/e2128.html.

“Kabuki.” Japan Travel News - Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011, www.japan-guide.com/e/e2090.html.