For Japan...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStMj8ZEOj4FcIn6y8b0D1rl6dAUKEJajmFiJrkrWh80xpAXswNIv0FFejYv2TMKOJ0J_02VJ4awcgRoJbDEVY1Xzsaw3t498M8EP1N4e2xTmRVWz2eGq2evDTkr24kfRmZnJ-sT4ajngN/s1600/japan+blogathon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStMj8ZEOj4FcIn6y8b0D1rl6dAUKEJajmFiJrkrWh80xpAXswNIv0FFejYv2TMKOJ0J_02VJ4awcgRoJbDEVY1Xzsaw3t498M8EP1N4e2xTmRVWz2eGq2evDTkr24kfRmZnJ-sT4ajngN/s320/japan+blogathon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>This is my entry in CinemaFanatic/JapanCinema's blogathon to benefit victims of the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan...I hope those of you visiting my reel life will donate generously by <a href="https://www.paypal-donations.com/pp-charity/web.us/campaign.jsp?cid=-12"><span style="color: red;">clicking here</span></a>...</i></span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DuI5fZovoqQtm93X85KZkq7O43GcszSqjJVmwFxr1j5jriFR5ZNOXwaPUBm6mKUqsJXQ4fyaK_JaqCokdl4n2mgs30CwTFlchg1FW3NvVMCP7-eX9-PgShPWxLhJZ2EKYyiO_T5DGIgy/s1600/WomanInTheDunes2%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DuI5fZovoqQtm93X85KZkq7O43GcszSqjJVmwFxr1j5jriFR5ZNOXwaPUBm6mKUqsJXQ4fyaK_JaqCokdl4n2mgs30CwTFlchg1FW3NvVMCP7-eX9-PgShPWxLhJZ2EKYyiO_T5DGIgy/s200/WomanInTheDunes2%255B1%255D.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Woman in the Dunes</b></td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I wish I were more knowledgeable about the cinema of Japan, but I am not. That's not to say that I am completely ignorant of Japanese films ...I have seen my share of Kurosawa, most recently, <b>Red Beard </b>(1965) and - amazingly - the first Japanese film I can ever recall seeing is <b>Woman in the Dunes</b> (1964). I was fortunate to have been young during an era when an art house/revival house culture thrived - and it was in a theater dedicated to such cinema that I </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">saw Hiroshi Teshigahara's great film. On the surface it is about an entomologist who becomes trapped in a sand pit with a woman whose life is devoted to the daily shoveling of sand. But more than that it's a consuming existential meditation, beautifully photographed, filled with striking imagery and accompanied by a jarring, expressive soundtrack. I couldn't get it out of my mind then - and I really never have since.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Japanese film I viewed most recently is a completely different kind of film...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Not long ago I posted a blog about food and film - films in which food "played a lead or supporting role." At the end of it I invited others to comment on their favorites of this "genre."  Among the films mentioned was one I hadn't seen, Juzo Itami’s comedy, <b>Tampopo </b>(1985). I was curious and eventually tracked it down…</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-T3eHtJhoKiM1EH9_FjMa0rH9wM4Fbm67am9sVNveZhJ42sb7iLi1GyuECwNbywZQYcvXCFsBg747p6Y_GWRhUcJwwlJYsOWbWRun0XKzujBpnbf7OOruNRuFU-7hz8Opj-NLWQIzefd/s1600/Tampopo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-T3eHtJhoKiM1EH9_FjMa0rH9wM4Fbm67am9sVNveZhJ42sb7iLi1GyuECwNbywZQYcvXCFsBg747p6Y_GWRhUcJwwlJYsOWbWRun0XKzujBpnbf7OOruNRuFU-7hz8Opj-NLWQIzefd/s320/Tampopo+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nobuko Miyamoto in <b>Tampopo </b></td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Goro (Tsutomu Yamazaki) is a truck driver on a long haul with his younger partner, Gun (Ken Watanabe). One night they stop at a roadside noodle shop run by a widow, Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto), struggling to keep her restaurant going while raising a young son. When she asks Goro how he likes her ramen he tells the truth: not very good! He then embarks on a mission to help Tampopo master the art of the noodle bowl…</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A variety of colorful folk join in and weigh in on concocting the correct recipe and developing the proper method of preparing perfect ramen...broth, noodles, style, attitude...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4Ugcx_980t8l96K7kFKVWCOIzBsl5EO9dZJAdxQpLRjMmaxuXfeVwxSbc8vk3KPxnpcKM5veZxkdrqWVb-ela1yUQSB9HEksGh0Z39OYKOqweavpqmBYSca_JKBXyYMAD9JAQIECxi3B/s1600/tampopo_3%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4Ugcx_980t8l96K7kFKVWCOIzBsl5EO9dZJAdxQpLRjMmaxuXfeVwxSbc8vk3KPxnpcKM5veZxkdrqWVb-ela1yUQSB9HEksGh0Z39OYKOqweavpqmBYSca_JKBXyYMAD9JAQIECxi3B/s320/tampopo_3%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Tampopo</b>...sharing food</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But <b>Tampopo</b> is not a start-to-finish narrative. Several vignettes are woven in - all are related to food but not all directly related to the ramen odyssey. Highlights among these side stories include the amusing predicament of a group of corporate types grappling with the menu in a French restaurant, several friends who get together with the intention of eating spaghetti in the western style and…most famous of all…a gangster and his girl sharing a raw but ultimately sensuous egg.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The mastery of ramen is achieved and the film ends on a high note. Goro, a wandering cowboy of sorts, seems almost to ride into the sunset once he accomplishes his purpose. A final scene puts an exclamation point on the link between food and connection/intimacy/love.</span></div>

Japanese Cinema Blogathon Tampopo The Lady Eve (author) Woman in the Dunes For Japan...

This is my entry in CinemaFanatic/JapanCinema's blogathon to benefit victims of the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan...I hope those of you visiting my reel life will donate generously by clicking here... Woman in the Dunes I wish I were more k…

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