oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) (08/09/83)
Keiko (Gagnon, Claude; Japan; 1981; 115m) [** 1/2]
On the surface, this a most un-Japanese of Japanese films.
As it was directed by a Quebecker (I believe), this is not
surprising. If you're used to samurai flicks (the best of Kuro-
sawa) and inscrutable Japanese folk tales, this film will come as
a bit of a shock.
It is about ("What's it about?" "It's about two hours
long.") a young Japanese woman (aged 23) whose loneliness draws
her into unsatisfactory relationships with a man and then another
woman. This is a very low-key film, more about the inability of
people to communicate than about their success in dealing with
others.
Gagnon's direction is mercilessly objective at times: many
scenes are filmed without so much as a cut or a camera movement.
It becomes clear that Keiko is a very ordinary ("normal", like
*us*) girl (yes, she is still a "girl"), and we quickly recognize
the situations she finds herself in as ones we may have ourselves
encountered (in either male or female role). At such times
"Keiko" is almost documentary in tone.
Why do we care about Keiko? Because we recognize so much of
her in us. Unfortunately Keiko's life is not *that* interesting,
and the insights are sparing. Gagnon is not a good enough direc-
tor to make "Keiko" consistently rewarding. Worst of all is the
music composed for the film which I would in my most generous of
moods label "mediocre" and "annoying".
Still, for those interested in Japanese cinema and in
Japanese life, "Keiko" is well worth seeing. It did a *very*
short run here in Toronto a month or two ago, and has already hit
the revue circuit.
For a comparable (and better) Japanese director, look at the
films of Yasujiro Ozu: "Tokyo Story" (1953) "Equinox Flower"
(1958) "The End of Summer" (1961) etc.
Oscar Nierstrasz @ CSRG