Masahiro Motoki in Yojiro Takita's Departures. Picture © 2008 Departures Film Partners
Strength from Adversity: A Contemporary Japanese Cinema and Art Festival, The National Gallery, London, April 15 – 17 2009
The UK premiere of the surprise winner of this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film will be among the highlights of this latest film season at The National Gallery, a three-day celebration of Japanese cinema featuring a series of talks and screenings.
Masahiro Motoki in Yojiro Takita's Departures. Picture © 2008 Departures Film Partners
Okuribito (Departures), Yojiro Takita’s tale of an out-of-work cellist who finds work in a funeral parlour following the dissolution of his orchestra, defied pundit predictions to win the hotly-contested award after earning $33 million at its domestic box offices.
Using his pride in his new-found career as a focal point (having originally thought the job was for a travel agency when he applied), the film closes the programme on Friday (April 17 2009) by casting central character Daigo Kobayashi as a gatekeeper between life and death.
Masahiro Motoki in Yojiro Takita's Departures. Picture © 2008 Departures Film Partners
Veteran Japanese filmmaker Hisako Yamada, who has dedicated her career to depicting unsung heroes of Japanese culture, will talk after a showing of Barefoot Gen, Keiji Nakazawa’s 1983 autobiographical account of a young boy’s experience of the bombing of Hiroshima.
A host of films feature across the three-day festival. Picture courtesy The National Gallery
Other films include Fudeko and the Angel’s Piano – a story of a wealthy bureaucrat who devoted her life to caring for disabled children in 18th and 19th century Japan – and another premiere for Kikujiro No Natsu, a Cannes Golden Palm nominee in 1999 by influential director Takeshi Kitano.
Kikujiro was a Golden Palm nominee at Cannes. Picture courtesy The National Gallery
James Malpas of Sotheby’s will open the festival with a talk on Japanese art andits influence on Western artists.
Full programme:
Wednesday April 15
The Influence of Japanese Art on Western Artists, Sainsbury Wing, 3pm.
Portrait of Artistic Genius (documentary, Katsushika Hokusai), 4pm.
Thursday April 16
Hadishi No Gen (Barefoot Gen) (suitable for children with accompanying adult), 12.30pm, followed by discussion with director.
Fudeko: Sono Ai – Tenshi no Piano (Fudeko and the Angel's Piano) (suitable for children), 3pm.
Friday April 17
Kikujiro No Natsu (12), 1.30pm.
Okuribito (Departures) (suitable for children with accompanying adult), 5.30pm.
