Introduction

This is my second effort at putting together a blog for movie reviews. Specifically, I will review pieces of Japanese films that are not widely known to American audiences. I hope to do my little part to introduce folks to the cinematic works of directors like Mikio Naruse, Yasujiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Kinoshito Keisuke and many, many more. These directors have crafted a nuance of Japanese film that I find intriguing; namely, the failure of a society's culture and norms to provide adequate means to resolve the problems faced by its members. What's more, many of these social norms act to further exacerbate these problems.

These films are uncompromising in their reflection on the brutal nature of society; they remain faithful to the fact that the day-to-day ordeals faced by ordinary people are rarely ever resolved to any ideal level of satisfaction. People in adverse circumstances are heralded not so much for their ability to overcome what afflicts them, but rather for their ability to survive to the next day. As such, these films rarely have happy endings. There is no permanent resolution of conflict, only day-to-day survival. Additionally, much of Japanese literature reflects this same theme, so I'll be reviewing some books as well.

Basically, that's it, my reviews of depressing Japanese films and books. I hope to do as many as one a week, but more realistically I'll probably knock out a couple a month. Hopefully, I'll remain faithful to this endeavor.