“The Written Face” is all about the stage = for the beauty of life

The soul of luck, the parabola

"But when you think about it, it was a miraculous timing. The moment the problem was solved and filming began, the evening light painted both Tokyo Bay and the artificial pond in front of it golden and blended together, leaving an unbelievable beauty on screen. It's not something that can be calculated. It was that Swiss man, Daniel Schmidt, who unintentionally orchestrated it. The word 'fortunate' came to mind. And I clearly learned at that moment that the talent of a filmmaker lies in creating 'fortunate events.'" (Shinji Aoyama)*3

Kazuo Ohno's beautiful dance overlooking Tokyo Bay. A legendary dancer walking on water. A ritual called dance that makes you feel as if you are under a hypnotism. And in Daniel Schmidt's films, hypnosis is nothing but awakening. Daniel Schmidt's ally Werner Schröter filmed Kazuo Ohno prior to "The Written Face." "Stage Rehearsal" (1980), a documentary about the Nancy International Theater Festival, includes Pina Bausch's "Café Müller" and other works. In this film, Kazuo Ohno expresses his love for Maria Callas' "sad beauty." Daniel Schmidt, Werner Schröter, and Kazuo Ohno all love Maria Callas. In Kazuo Ohno dancing on the water in "The Written Face," it seems as if he is depicting the sadness caused by dance, the breakdown of human emotions, and the preciousness of disorder through the parabola of his dance. This is confirmed in the scene on a houseboat inserted as a skit in the silent film.

“The Written Face” (C)1995 T&C FILM AG / EURO SPACE

It is a silent skit based on Jean Cocteau's play "The Human Voice" and " Grand Hotel " (1932) starring Greta Garbo. Here I would like to return to Naruse Mikio's "Late Chrysanthemum ". This is because I feel that the hypothesis that the silent skit "The Written Face" is the world seen by Shizuko (Kaburagi Haruna), a deaf woman who lives in the house of a former geisha, played by Sugimura Haruko, is valid. Shizuko communicates with others through gestures. In the silent world, Shizuko witnessed the story of the former geisha and the beauty of when people's emotions are disturbed. And Naruse Mikio included Shizuko, who had seen the whole thing, on the screen as if to respect her.

"The Written Face" pursues an image that eventually disappears. The parabola of people trying to paint an image. The parabola of acting = gesture. Daniel Schmidt captures this "line" on camera. The most beautiful "line" in film. An unexpected "line." Bando Tamasaburo's beauty is also the beauty of the choices he makes: what costumes did he choose? How did he portray the female impersonator? This film finds value in the beauty of people's aesthetic sense, behavior, and life choices. It is as if the film believes that even if the body perishes, the fortunate souls will continue to dance.

*1 " Bandō Tamasaburo: Everything for the Beauty of the Stage " (Shogakukan)

*2 " Kinema Junpo, late March 1996 issue " (Kinema Junpo Publishing)

*3 " Cinema 21: Shinji Aoyama's Film Theory +α Collection 2001-2010 " (by Shinji Aoyama, Asahi Shimbun Publications)

Text: Daiji Miyashiro (maplecat-eve)

Movie criticism. Contributed reviews to ``Leos Carax: Movie Wanderer'', Eureka's ``Wes Anderson Special'', Real Sound, Soen, otocoto, Toshio Matsumoto Special Pamphlet, etc.

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(C)1995 T&C FILM AG / EURO SPACE