Ciné-histoire: A Journey in Japanese Cinema
After the extraordinary ingenuity of the silent era between 1920 and 1935, which constituted its first Golden Age, Japanese cinema experienced its second Golden Age in the 1950s and early 1960s. In fact, from the end of the American occupation in 1952, the Japanese film industry developed with a particularly lively impetus, multiplying daring productions and, above all, crossing the borders of Asia to such an extent that filmmakers began to make their mark at the various international festivals. The orientalist appetite of Western audiences was put to the test, but quickly won over by a cinema whose direction and acting were so offbeat and ‘never-seen-before’. From this new cinematic language emerged a completely unique cinema with a lasting influence.
This 9th programme of Ciné-histoire takes us back to the second Golden Age of Japanese cinema. The world discovered Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi. It wasn't the presence of the kimono and the samurai that caused the fascination: it was another way of thinking about history in motion.
About Ciné-histoire
At the crossroads of historical film and film history, Ciné-histoire offers a thematic series of five films centered around a filmmaker, a period, or a common theme. Each screening is preceded by a brief introductory presentation, and followed by a discussion led by an historian.
Recreating the past, making history, calls for skill, knowledge, and an attention to detail far beyond what is required for mere “costume dramas.” Screenwriters and film directors must be as meticulous as historians, analyzing every facet of history as they reconstruct the lives of complex characters often caught up in moral dilemmas. Only the greatest historical films are able to recreate the strangeness of the past while addressing themes that are both timeless and universal.
