| 2007-04-10 | | | The YAMAGATA Documentary Film Library Friday Theater (April–May) |
Screenings at the Yamagata Documentary Film Library present documentaries and movies rarely shown on television or in theaters, including works from the Film Library vaults. * The admission system changes from April.
The YAMAGATA Documentary Film Library Friday Theater
- Wandering Gaze—USA
• April 13 (Fri)
14:00 (single screening) - Route One / USA
Dir: Robert Kramer / FRANCE / English / Color / 1989 / 35mm / 255 min / YIDFF ’89 International Competition The Mayor’s Prize
An American road movie in which director Robert Kramer, returning to the U.S. for the first time In ten years, and his friend Paul McIsaac travel along national highway Route One. It’s difficult to tell whether the people they meet amid the deserted landscape are symbols of America or just simply human beings, but it’s safe to say that the audience along for the ride will unable to forget them.
- 19:00 (single screening)
- Plain Talk & Common Sense
Dir: Jon Jost / USA / English / Color, B&W / 1987 / 16mm / 117 min / YIDFF ’89 International Competition
The director calls this work an “essay.” It extensively uncovers that which is “American,” and by drawing our attention to everything from folklore to American society, the lyrical expression of political Ideology, the history of American language, and even corporate advertisements and statistical surveys, questions are posed regarding the state of the United States today.
Japanese Film and the Post-War Era—Mistakes of the Past
• April 27 (Fri) 14:00, 19:00 (screens twice)- Hen In The Wind (“Kaze no naka no mendori”)
Dir: Ozu Yasujiro / JAPAN / 1948 / B&W / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 100 min
Tokyo, after the end of World War II. Tokiko (Tanaka Kinuyo), who endures the harsh realities of her life while awaiting the return of her husband from the battlefield, is forced to sell herself to pay for her young son’s hospital expenses. Ozu’s second post-war film following Record of a Tenement Gentleman (“Nagaya shinshiroku,” 1947).
Wandering Gaze—Palestine, Israel
• May 11 (Fri)
14:00 (single screening)- Route 181—Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel
Dir: Michel Khleifi, Eyal Sivan / BELGIUM, FRANCE, UK, GERMANY / 2003 / Arabic, Hebrew / Color, B&W / Video / 270 min / YIDFF 2005 International Competition The Mayor’s Prize
19:00 (single screening)- Happy Birthday, Mr. Mograbi
Dir: Avi Mograbi / ISRAEL, FRANCE / 1999 / Hebrew, Arabic, English / Color / 16mm / 77 min / YIDFF ’99 International Competition Runner-up Prize
Japanese Film and the Post-War Era—Domineering Fatherhood
• May 25 (Fri) 14:00, 19:00 (program screens twice)- Torn Drum (“Yabure daiko”)
Dir: Kinoshita Keisuke / JAPAN / 1949 / B&W / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 108 min
Exasperated with the overbearing antics of tyrannical father Gunpei, his family leaves home one by one. What will happen to Gunpei once he is left alone . . . ?
[Venue] The YAMAGATA Documentary Film Library (Yamagata Big Wing 3F)
[Admission] Free admission for members (Member’s fee: 3,000 yen for one year), One time ticket:1,000 yen
[Contact] phone: 023-666-4480 (YIDFF Yamagata office)