Venice 67

[Safran]

Hello dear fellow fans -

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/id/5331/67th-venice-film-festival-no-malick-no-wkw-but-tons-more-possible
(Tony does not think WKW can finish on time )

Greetings

[Safran]

News from Venezia

http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/news/woo-sept3.html

http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/news/satoshi-kon.html

[Yuka]

'Norwegian Wood' debuts at Venice Film Festival

VENICE —
Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung crossed cultural and linguistic borders to direct his latest film, “Norwegian Wood,” based on the cult coming-of-age Japanese novel.

The Oscar-nominated director, who has taken home prizes from both Cannes and Venice, filmed the love story with an entirely Japanese cast—creating a painstakingly long process to perfect dialogue.

“We killed several interpreters,” Tran joked, ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in competition for the Golden Lion. “Sometimes when it was tough, the interpreter cried, because I asked her to say something really mean to an actress.”

It is hard to imagine the slight, clean-cut director having said anything mean to any of the actresses. However, he did take painstaking care with the dialogue, writing out what he wanted in English, having it translated into Japanese, and then listening to it spoken to make sure it was melodic, and not too clipped.

“I wanted it to be longer than usual ... to have the music of the lines. I don’t like when sentences are short and going very fast ... Even in my Vietnamese movies, it does not sound natural like in life,” Tran said.

Seeing the film in another language also made it immediately clear to him when something didn’t work—and surrounded by a crew who spoke a foreign language meant he could filter out unnecessary chatter he would have otherwise engaged in.

The film, like Haruki Marukami’s book, is set in Tokyo in the late 1960s. Watanabe, played by Kenichi Matsuyama, is a young university student struggling to choose between two women, one the girlfriend of his best friend who committed suicide, and the other self-confident and independent, representing the future.

The novel has won worldwide popularity, and many directors had approached the author to adapt it to film. More than 10 million copies of the book have been sold in Japan alone, with 2.6 million more sold in another 33 languages.

Tran said he didn’t know why he was chosen, but producer Shinji Ogawa said Murakami wanted an Asian director to project the region’s aesthetic.

“Obviously we did meet with Murakami. Not just once,” Tran said. Murakami made many notes on the first screen play, which Tran called “a fairly important document,” but said they were too numerous to elaborate.

“After this exchange of comments and notes, Murakami said, ‘Go with the film you have in your head. What you have to do is make the most beautiful film possible.’”

Tran said the story about new love easily transcends borders.

“It’s about the pain you feel when you are in the process of love. Love is growing and suddenly something stops it. It happens twice to Watanabe,” Tran said.

Much of the film was shot in urban Tokyo, giving a glimpse into the turbulent 1960s, a period when Japanese youth were opening their embrace to the West in rejection of their fathers’ conduct during World War II. But Tran also goes into the countryside, taking the story to the lush grassy meadows and barren, snow-dusted hillsides—the landscape echoing the mood of the protagonists.

Tran’s direction put the camera’s tightly on the actors’ faces, particularly the love scenes, where he said he wanted the focus to be on the emotion. He asked his cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bing to use a digital HD camera to shoot the film—a decision that Lee, a Cannes-winning Taiwanese cameraman, has complained about in a new book.

Tran said Lee’s views were clear during the filming, but he stuck by his decision to go high definition in order to expose the actors—and their flaws—more.

“It’s really raw, you can really see everything. It’s really necessary for this film,” he said.

Viewers may be surprised that the Beatles classic from which the book takes its name makes little more than a cameo in the film.

“It’s only that the song is too soft, too cute, too sentimental. What happens with the characters is really stronger than that song,” Tran said. “I put the song at the end of the movie because it works like the beginning of the book.”

“Norwegian Wood” is among 22 films, plus a still-to-be announced surprise film, competing for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded Sept 11.

Tran won the Golden Lion in 1995 for “Cyclo,” which tells the hard-life tale of a young rickshaw driver, and his first film, “The Scent of Green Papaya,” took home the Camera d’Or from Cannes and was nominated for an Academy Award. “Norwegian Wood” is his fifth film.

(Source: Japan Today/Associated Press)

http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment-arts/view/norwegian-wood-debuts-at-venice-film-festival

[Safran]

Hello dear Japanese friend !

Thank you very much for this interesting news/site !
In our medias and newspapers not very much referring articles to "La Mostra" to find - Do not know why !!! (I try to follow in internet)

Sofia Coppola´s and Francois Ozon´s new films have quite good reviews, but they are still awaiting some more "highlights" - maybe "Norwegian Woods" - ?

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/movie-reviews-black-swan_1163528
http://cinema-architecture.blogspot.com/2010/08/films-out-of-competition-67-venice.html
http://www.eurovisionculture.tv/ - in the videos you click on, you can watch Carina Lau - on Tsui Hark´s Pressconference -( did Tony accompany her to Venezia ???) or John Woo´s Liftime Award AND Tran Anh-Hung´s Press conference.......and more. Unfortunatly often not well frequented !!!.....and not all translated in Engl.

BTW: Murakamis "1Q84" release in October ! (in one volume - maybe ??)

Best regards
helga

[Yuka]

Hi Helga and everyone,

It’s still reaching 35-37C in Japan. Can’t believe it’s September.
I’m worn out from the heat and work stress.. haha

I didn’t know that 1Q84 German version will be out soon in one volume combining original Book 1-3 in 1024 pages.
It must be thick like a dictionary!! It’s rumored that Book 4 will be available sooner or later.. but I’m not sure .

It seems Mr. Tran Anh Hung is in Tokyo right now for promotions.
I hope his latest film will be shown at Tokyo International Film Festival, too.

Yuka

[Safran]

Dear Yuka

--Thats really very hot poor working girl ! Hope for you the heat ends soon. Here very high temperature-differences from 5-10 C in the morning to sometimes to 20-25 C in the afternoon - Autumn !! (wearing clothes like an onion !)

--Tran Anh Hung in Tokyo already ? Strenuous promoting-time ! A very sympatic man on the video of "Norwegian Wood" press conference.
Has very good critics: "His last film "ICWTR" did not attract much attention here..........and last film seen in France was "Vertical Ray Of the Sun"..........NW : "maybe his best film".........TAH has a knack to work with very good people........!
(Some songs are from the German 70ies band "Can" with Japanese singer -see video)

http://www.arte.tv/de/3407602.html

--"1Q84" - I do not know exactly -only guessed, because other novels with more volumes in Japan where released in one book here. Some over 500 to over 700 pages - but never more. So perhaps the first two volumes only - in one book ? - will see

Wish you a cooled-down night to sleep well !
Helga

[Safran]

Dear movie friends

Venezia is over - Weather- and structural conditions were a bit hard and cool this year. Unfortunately for the Asian Movie also - though John Woo´s Golden Lion ( and good critics for the films like "Norwegian Woods")
Wish them more luck at TIFF ! Have much fun Jenny !

See the winners of the"lions"
http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/index.html

[In The Mood For Leung]

I am so looking forward to watching Norwegian Wood. The winning movie I am not all that excited about. I'm glad that Vincent Gallo won. He's a real actor...off-beat but a true actor.

Thanks Helga and Yuka for the updates. Till next year...

[Safran]

Dear ITMFLeung

You are welcome ! (gives me pleasure you was interested in - but was not very much I could do )

Helga