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Though
French New Wave cinema was closely scrutinized by Western
critics and film scholars in the 1960s, Japanese New Wave
Cinema as a whole had received little attention. Individual
directors such as Nagisa Oshima, Shohei Imamura, and Masahiro
Shinoda had received some attention, but a study of Japanese
New Wave cinema and its relation to the culture and history
of 1960s had yet to be made. With Eros Plus Massacre,
author David Desser hopes to fill this gap.
The subjects
covered in Eros Plus Massacre—the title taken
from a 1969 Yoshishinge Yoshida film of the same name—are
subjects that are important to Japanese New Wave Cinema: politics,
youth, identity and its relationship with sexuality, women,
minority groups, and other issues specifically related to
film such as cinematic time versus real time.
Each
chapter generally begins with a summation of the time period
and information on how filmmakers responded to these given
situations. The film critique is split between issues of social
relevance and an analysis of film technique. For those who
are unfamiliar with cinematic terminology, some of these passages
can seem quite dry, and because of the unavailability of many
of these films in the Western market, self-critique can prove
to be quite difficult. However, the issues of social relevance
in 1960s Japan far outweigh the possible dryness of the filmic
language used. It is quite valuable to understand what issues
were being tossed about when the directors made their films.
Also, for literature fans, it can help to give light to the
concerns found in the literature of such Japanese authors
as Kenzaburo Oe and Haruki Murakami.
Desser's
main goal in writing Eros Plus Massacre was to try
to rescue the period's films from a general encapsulation
by other Western film scholars such as Noel Burch and Donald
Ritchie. As with many other areas concerning the study of
Japan, there was a tendency to ascribe Japan a certain type
of static timelessness. This means that Burch and company
tried to make the culture of Japan quite turgid and unmovable,
meaning that the aesthetics of Japan really had not changed
since 800 A.D.
This
turgidity also applied to film. Because of their film techniques,
Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu were considered quite revolutionary
filmmakers in the West, but in Japan they were the height
of conservativeness. Burch and others tended to state that
Oshima and company were the inheritors of the traditions of
filmmakers such as Ozu and Mizoguchi. However, this statement
is an insult because it does not recognize the changes in
content and film techniques utilized by the New Wave directors.
Not only does Desser try to rescue New Wave film from "tradition,"
but he also attempts to paint a picture of the changing Japan
of the 1960s.
One aspect
of the book that the reader will quickly notice is Desser's
less than keen opinion of the scholarship performed by other
film scholars such as Joan Mellen, Keiko McDonald, and especially
Noel Burch. In his introductory chapter, Desser states that
his method of film evaluation is not perfect and that there
are many other ways that these films can be studied; however,
at some points, his critique of other scholars almost comes
off sounding condescending.
A good
book on a subject that has yet to receive enough academic
attention, Desser's Eros Plus Massacre does a fine
job in introducing and critiquing a number of films that might
have sunk into obscurity in the West. With the recent trend
of worldwide politics drifting to a far more conservative
nature, the Japanese New Wave films—along with their
French, British, and American counterparts—should come
under increased study to show how cinema can be used to cast
light on the problems of the world and modern society itself.
(September,
2007)
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