A Dream of Resistance: The Cinema of Kobayashi Masaki PDF
Preview A Dream of Resistance: The Cinema of Kobayashi Masaki
Advance Praise for A Dream of Resistance Though director Kobayashi Masaki did not leave behind a large number of works, he conveyed through his films the stupidity, misery, and emptiness of war, which he experienced firsthand when he was forced to go to war. We see the origins of this in the diary, screenplays, and shishōsetsu that he kept on writing so as to leave behind proof of being alive during the days of his youth when death was a constant neighbor. He was regarded as a “filmmaker of steel.” But throughout his films—from his first family drama to his final film, The Empty Table (Shokutaku no nai ie)—you can see the figure of the director himself, drawn to beauty, friendly, easily moved to tears, prone to feeling lonely, straightforward, and possess- ing the heart of a youth. The reason that foreign audiences have praised and loved his work is surely that they identify with the love of humanity that they see in this figure. It has been one hundred years since Kobayashi Masaki’s birth and twenty since his death. I sincerely hope that through Professor Prince’s book, the thoughts that director Kobayashi entrusted to his films will cross national borders and reach a new generation. —Kajiyama Koko, Managing Director, Geiyukai, Kobayashi Masaki archive All people possess dignity and should live in a manner befitting human beings. Through his films, director Kobayashi Masaki insists that this is how human existence ought to be. In The Human Condition, Harakiri, and Kaseki, this dig- nity is conveyed through the tragic dimensions of characters’ lives. In Tokyo saiban, it is communicated by holding all parties, including both accusers and accused, responsible for moving towards peace and a wish for the repose of countless souls. Kobayashi’s insistence on human dignity, situated in his sense of aesthetics and ethics, has struck a chord with many people not only in Japan but in each of the countries in which his works have been shown. 2016 marks one hundred years since director Kobayashi’s birth and twenty years since his death. In commemoration, Professor Prince delves broadly and deeply into the world of Kobayashi’s films, providing an introduction to the international community. This will be a great boon to a new generation of audiences. —Ogasawara Kiyoshi, coauthor of the screenplay for Tokyo saiban A DreAm of resistAnce <9= A DreAm of resistAnce <9= The Cinema of Kobayashi Masaki Stephen Prince Rutgers University Press New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark, New Jersey, and London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Prince, Stephen, 1955– author. Title: A dream of resistance : the cinema of Kobayashi Masaki / Stephen Prince. Description: New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017011903 (print) | LCCN 2017027501 (ebook) | ISBN 9780813592374 (E-pub) | ISBN 9780813592381 (Web PDF) | ISBN 9780813592350 (hardback) Subjects: LCSH: Kobayashi, Masaki, 1916–1996—Criticism and interpretation. | BISAC: PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / History & Criticism. | BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Entertainment & Performing Arts. Classification: LCC PN1998.3.M338885 (ebook) | LCC PN1998.3.M338885 P75 2017 (print) | DDC 791.4302/33092—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011903 A British Cataloging- in- Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright © 2018 by Stephen Prince All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permis- sion from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law. c The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1992. www .rutgersuniversitypress .org Manufactured in the United States of America For Susan contents Introduction 1 1 Conjoining Spirit and World 12 2 A Sharp and Piercing Thorn 70 3 The Logic of Negation 123 4 Guardians of the Gate 178 5 A Pilgrim on the Silk Road 240 Acknowledgments 297 Films by Kobayashi Masaki 299 Notes 301 Index 315 vii
The list of books you might like
