Shape without Shape
(“Sugata naki sugata”)
1935 / B&W / 16mm / 29 min
Editing: Kamei Fumio
Music: Fukai Shiro
Presented by Tokyo Dento
Production Company: P.C.L.
Source: National Film Center
Made as a promotional film for the 50th anniversary of the Tokyo Dento. After the title “This brave figure! A cultural warrior who has lost the battle between tradition and modernity!” appears on the screen in apparent homage to Eisenstein’s The General Line (1929), an old steam locomotive leaves, and a new electric locomotive runs by valiantly. First, a hydroelectric power plant is introduced. Then, after beautiful winter views of the Mt. Fuji area, the origin of the water for hydroelectric power, we are introduced to a thermal electric power station which supplements electric power demand. The construction of Oigawa Power Station and the illumination of places like a stadium, a stage and a movie theater which consume generous amounts of electricity are also introduced. This film preaches that to create and use the invisible figure of electricity is impossible without the efforts of linesmen who check the facilities in the heavy snow. A PR film which ends this way is unthinkable today, but this one finishes with the scene of a linesman falling in the snow.