Midnight Eye.

A new issue, an interview, a round-up, a bit of history and three reviews. Kuriko Sato interviews Hirokazu Kore-eda, sticking for the most part to the specifics of production even though the director seems in the mood to paint in broader strokes:

Nobody Knows is a summation of the kind of film I've been doing until now. So for the moment I don't believe I can make a better film of this kind than Nobody Knows. It's better to make a very different type of film and broaden my abilities as a filmmaker. I wanted to create a big lie, meaning the opposite of the documentary-style, naturalist, contemporary films I've been doing. The obvious choice was a jidai geki.

Tom Mes reviews the catalog accompanying the Viennale 2003 retrospective of films produced, distributed and exhibited by the Art Theatre Guild. Mes's review is going to be your best introduction if you're in a hurry; otherwise, definitely go for the generous slice of the catalog, a translation of curator Roland Domenig's essay.

"Jishu Eiga is the name for Japan's ever-increasing phenomenon of self-made films. Made mostly on DV by students and film fans, these no-budgets films range from five-minute exercises to entire features." Mes and Jaspar Sharp present this issue's Round-Up.

Reviews:

• Don Brown on Casshern, the film whose trailer had so many blogs buzzing a few months ago.
• Jaspar Sharp on Yoshino's Barber Shop, a "fresh and naturalistic coming-of-age movie with a sting in its tail." Sharp also notes that this is Naoko Ogigami's debut feature and that the number of Japanese women directors is growing at a healthy, steady pace.
• Tom Mes notes the recent wave of omnibus films in Asia, then focuses on one, Jam Films, with its roster of high-profile Japanese directors, before reviewing the new one at hand, Jam Films 2, featuring four relatively new filmmakers.

Posted by dwhudson at June 30, 2004 1:00 PM