Films with timeless appeal

THINK JAPANESE cinema and instantly one name springs up... Akira Kurosawa. Talking about the legend, actor Kamal Hassan once said, "When I was in Japan for a film shooting some years ago, I tried to meet Akira Kurosawa. I was informed that he was in the midst of editing his film. I told the director's secretary that I was willing to see him any time. I then learnt that when Kurosawa went into the editing room, he did not come out till he had finished editing the whole film. He ate and slept inside the room and did not talk to anyone till he had completed his work. Such was his dedication."

For Kurosawa fans in Chennai, here's a golden opportunity. A Japanese film festival is being held on June 21 and 22. Organised jointly by the Japanese Consulate in Chennai and the International Cine Appreciation Forum at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce auditorium, the festival will feature two films directed by the maestro.

"Madadayo" is the last film directed by Kurosawa, while "The Story of Jiro" was first made into a film in 1941 and dramatised later many times.

Akira Kurosawa was born the youngest of four brothers and four sisters, in Ohi-machi, Tokyo, on March 23, 1910. He was a good painter. In April 1936, he joined director Shigeo Yano as his third assistant. It was in March 25, 1943, that "Sugata Sanshiro", his first directorial venture, was released.

On an average, the master directed two films every year. In April, 1959, he established Kurosawa Productions and began making his own films. He built the Kurosawa film studio in 1983 at Midori-ku, Yokohama. Kurosawa died on September 6, 1998. He had nearly 32 films to his credit.

"Madadayo" is about a professor and his relationship with his students. The film is set in the period between 1943 and 1962. Professor Uchida tells his students that he is going to retire shortly. But Takayama, Amaki, Kiriyama and Sawamura continue to visit their German teacher's house regularly. When the students gather to celebrate their teacher's 60th birthday, bombs are dropped on Tokyo. A bomb falls on the teacher's house and destroys everything. Professor Uchida then stays in a hut and the students are amazed by his hermit-like lifestyle.

The starcast includes Matsumura Tatsuo as professor Uchida, Kagawa Kyoko as his wife, Igawa Hisashi as Takayama, Tokoro George as Amaki, Yul Masayuki as Kririyama, Terao Akira as Sawamura, Kobayashi Asei as the priest and Kusaka Takeshi as the doctor. The story is based on the work of Uchida Hyakken. The photography is by Saito Takao and Ueda Masaharu. The music is scored by Ikebe Shin'ichiro and the film is produced by Kurosawa Hisao. The script and direction are by Akira Kurosawa.

The second film of the festival is "The Story of Jiro". Ohama, the stepmother of Jiro, takes care of him and he always like to play with her children. The film traces the life of Jiro from the age of six to 16 and is told in a poignant manner.

The scriptwriter, Ide Masato, has written some scripts for Kurosawa, including "Red Beard"(1965), "Kagemusha" (1980) and "Ran" (1985).

Directed by Morikawa Tokimisa, the film's photography is by Yamazaki Yoshihiro and music is scored by Sada Masashi and Watanabe Toshiyuki. The story is based on the novel by Shimomura Kojin.

Ise Masato stars as the 10-year old Jiro, Higuchi Tsuyoshi as the six-year old Jiro, Takahashi Keiko as Jiro's mother and Kato Go as his father.

S. R. ASHOK KUMAR

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Section  : Entertainment