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Korea is a tough subject for a Japanese comedy
Saito Torajiro (1905-1982) was possibly Japan's most famous comedy director, who helmed well over a 100 films. Most of his work is absurd and silly, and does not carry a societal edge to it. However, in 1941 Saito wanted to make a film about the lives of Korean farmers. According to Michael Baskett's book "The Attractive Empire: Transnational Film Culture in Imperial Japan" (2008) Saito felt, that where there had been several recent films about Manchuria, the Korean peninsula was not often depicted in Japanese cinema, possibly since audiences didn't care for films set there. Saito traveled to Korea, but soon found out, that the people's plight there was not really the laugh-out-loud subject matter he had initially thought it to be. Kinda funny, huh?
He made the film however, although the tone shifted to be more contemplative than is usual for the director. Usually films the Japanese made about other Asian nations during WWII are pretty hard to watch nowadays, but I was kind of on the fence with this one. Saito uses Japanese actors and possibly shot the film mostly in his home country. You can tell the characters are Korean from the weird traditional hats they wear. Koreans are portrayed as a third world nation perhaps, but the depiction is not vile.
The film is also a musical. There are lots of songs that create an interesting mix when paired with the barren landscape and the harshness in the lives of the peasant characters. I think this film is interesting, not good in the traditional sense, but a fascinating document of its time. There are some nice comedic bits by the director, such as the way how the film shows the couple's children enter their lives. It got a laugh out of me.
He made the film however, although the tone shifted to be more contemplative than is usual for the director. Usually films the Japanese made about other Asian nations during WWII are pretty hard to watch nowadays, but I was kind of on the fence with this one. Saito uses Japanese actors and possibly shot the film mostly in his home country. You can tell the characters are Korean from the weird traditional hats they wear. Koreans are portrayed as a third world nation perhaps, but the depiction is not vile.
The film is also a musical. There are lots of songs that create an interesting mix when paired with the barren landscape and the harshness in the lives of the peasant characters. I think this film is interesting, not good in the traditional sense, but a fascinating document of its time. There are some nice comedic bits by the director, such as the way how the film shows the couple's children enter their lives. It got a laugh out of me.
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- topitimo-829-270459
- Nov 4, 2019
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- The Splendid Gold Mine
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- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
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