Survivor Ballads: Three Films By Shohei — Survivor Ballads( Blu-ray boxset)
First, up on disc one we have The Ballad of Narayama- this was released in 1983, and it was the 11th feature-length film from Shôhei Imamura. It’s set in a 19th-century rural Japanese village, which nestles in a valley between several mountains. The film follows the villagers life's through four seasons- starting & ending in deep winter. Omnipresent in villages life’s and minds is that when they reach the age of 70, you have to climb the Narayama mountain to die- added to this is the grim fact that male babies are often killed with hardly any remorse, while female babies are usually sold or bartered with. The film is beautifully shot & realized opening with grand aerial shots, introducing us to the wooden hut village and its surrounding epic landscape. As we get into the film we move into the huts, largely focusing in on one family who has a grandmother who is nearing her 70th birthday. The village’s daily life is fairly grim, as food is low for many families, and early on we see a dead male baby dumped in a field on the boundaries of the key families land. Yet there are moments humour, love, and sex (which is often sweaty & awkward) weaved through-out the picture. Also dotted through-out the film are wonderfully captured wildlife footage, and in particular of snakes- be they paired, solo sliding by, rolled-up, eating or most fascinating giving birth. The cast is well picked & largely solid/ believable in their acting- and at points, Imamura rather puts them physically through the ropes- with characters ploughing & walking through snow in bare feet, as well as struggling in the environment in basically just rags. The film rolls in at the two hours & ten minutes mark, and is largely well-paced & eventful, sure there are moments of grimness & cruelty- but equally, there is humanity & humour, as well as natures wonder-be it the grand landscape, or animal kind.
Moving onto the disc it's self, and the high definition picture looks wonderful rich & balanced in its colours, with both the season changing landscape & the villages themselves having great crispness & clarity. On the extras side, we get a commentary track from Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp- he begins by talking about when he first saw the film in 1989 at the famous London Scala Cinema. He moves on to talk about the importance of the film/ it's worldwide impact, the awards it won & how it opened up interest in Japanese cinema in the 1980s. As he moves on he talks about the book the film was based on, and the legends that influenced it- going onto discuss the early 1958 version of the story directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. He talks about the film's actors, the characters played, and on-screen action. The track is interesting but at points somewhat sporadic- though it’s worth a play. Next, we have a forty-one-minute introduction to the film by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns- he talks about the film's plot, the stories meaning & more- if you’ve played the commentary this is a little redundant, as similar points/ground is covered.
On disc two we have 1987’s Zegen- and it’s dramatic saga/ nationalist satire following the fate of Japanese immigrant Iheiji Muraoka(Ken Ogata )-who sets down in Hong Kong hoping to find his fortune- with the just over two and a bit hour film charting his life between the early twenty century and the 1940s. The film opens with Iheiji & his two shipmates, who after four years at sea have decided to fleeing ship in rags & loincloths. The three make their way for Hong Kong bright lights- hoping to find their fortune, going first to see a merchant they have been in contact with- this sadly doesn’t go to plan & things are not as easy/ simple as Iheiji first thought. He goes from helping out a barber, a few other jobs, before becoming a spy on the Russians, where he develops an extremely strong sense of patriotism. As his story moves on he gets involved in human trafficker- taking women out of Japan, he gets the idea of using the women to set up brothels, eventually expanding his businesses across the whole South-East Asia. As the year's tick by, and the changing political/world climate shifts the fates of his business, he remains loyal to the emperor & Japan. The film blends historic drama with sly-to-dark humour- so you’ll chuckle from time to time, but it never goes all-out comedy. Ogata is likeable enough as the rags-to-riches Muraoka- with his ageing processes largely done well. Supporting cast wise Mitsuko Baishô is believe as his long term partner/ lover Shiho, and another worthy mention is Chun-Hsiung Ko
as Wang, who is constantly trying to be the fly in Muraoka affairs. The film has fleeting moments of softcore sex, and like in The Ballad of Narayama it’s sweaty & fumbling. Personally, I found the film a little too heavy in its nationalist satire leanings, with the more straight historic drama coming in second, and the films humour/ playfulness coming in after that. So as a result I did find it a bit of trudge to get though at points- though certainly the good acting & wondering quite where Muraoka will land up, in the end, kept me interested. I’d say if you have a good understanding/ interest in this period in Japanese history, you’ll certainly get more out of this than I did. Moving onto the disc it's self- and once again we get a great new print of the film, with a lovely mix of bright & bold colourings & good skin tones. We get another commentary track from Jasper Sharp- it’s a lot more even & less sporadic than the first film's track. He begins by discussing about how the film is is one of lesser-seen/ discussed films of Imamura career, analysing why this is. He talks about the book the film was based on- which sold it’s self as an autobiography, though there is now some doubt of its truth, due to lack of historic mention of the stories lead. He chats about key actors-giving good bios/overviews of key films they were in. He moves onto discuss the history of similar films in Japanese cinema, Imamura documentary films, and much more. All making for a extremely worthy/ interesting track. Once again we get another forty one minute introduction from Tony Rayns- this gives a good overview of the film & it’s themes, though once again he covers similar ground to the commentary track.
Lastly, we have 1989’s Black Rain (Kuroi ame )- not to be confused with the Michael Douglas/ Ridley Scott action thriller of the same name/year. The films black & white feature- it focuses on the aftermath of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and it’s fair to say it’s the most troubling/ grim film of the box set. Black Rain focuses in largely on Mr and Mrs Shizuma, and their niece Yasuko. The film moves between the three making their way through Hiroshima just after the bomb dropped, and five years later as they try to get on with life in the small village they live in. The bomb drop footage and it’s aftermath is most harrowing- going from buildings shredding, glass smashing, and white flash burning. Moving onto burning buildings, scorched & melted survivors, and rivers full of floating dead bodies. The village/ five years later part of the film is more drama set, though no less unsettling- as it deals with the mental & physical effects on the Shizuma’s, Yasuko, and the other villages who were in Hiroshima when the bomb dropped. The films scored with broodingly swooning & slicing orchestrated soundtrack, which adds both gravitas & unease to films unfold. It’s well-acted through-out, with both the family & the villages well realized. The film runs at just over the two hours mark- largely managing to keep a good balance between visually & emotional turmoil. It’s easy to see why Black Rain is seen as one of Imamura greatest film, as well as a troubling effective after-the- bomb-drops statement.
Moving onto this last disc- and the black & white picture is nice & balanced, with a crisp and clear mix of light & shadow. Jasper Sharp returns for one last time with a commentary track- he begins by discussing the connection with this film & classic/ early Japanese directors like Yasujirō Ozu. He moves onto give historic context of the film, discussing the bombing & it’s media cover-up by the Americans. He discusses Japanese A-bomb films, giving in-depth bios of key actors, and discussing other key wartime set films made in the 1980s. He talks about the film's impact/ press when it first came out, and a few more things. Again another largely worthy track, though at points he does come across a little muddled. We get another film introduction from Tony Rayns, and this runs just shy of the hour mark- and it’s the most in-depth/ far-reaching of all the featurettes here. And we get a six-minute archive interview with Yoshiko Tanaka.
Survivor Ballads: Three Films By Shohei Imamura collects together three fairly different films, though each has at it’s heart well realized studies of people dealing with & fighting to survivor life- be it surrounding landscape & it’s changing seasons, general life struggles, or health effecting events. It’s a nicely presented & realized box set- with good new scans for all three films, and a nice selection of largely worthy extras.