A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ippeiji). 1926. Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa.

(2/26/00-2/28/00)

This was a very difficult film to concentrate on. I can admire the sheer exuberance of the editing and the camerawork, but that still didn't involve me in it. However, I was better able to follow it than I was 20 years ago.

Masao Inoue actually began to bother me as the odd-job man. He just seems to be morose, but there were scenes when his mood changed and he seemed more interesting.

The film was interesting to watch at the time, but very little of it stayed with me. It had an added soundtrack which I liked at the beginning, but less so as the film progressed. The music at the scene of a parade was too much and such sound effects as that of a dog barking really began to grate on me.

Crossroads (Jujiro). 1928. Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa.

(1/31/00)

I enjoyed this film very much, but a few days later I couldn't remember my impressions of it. It is very much of a deliberate "art film" (in the sense of Coeur Fidele and L'Inhumaine). It is slow and deliberate with a lot of footage of objects. The performers also act in a very slow, deliberate fashion. I had trouble with this atfirst, but I found myself settling into the film's rhythm.

It is a strory of a young man with a crush on a popular woman. She has many admirers, but also a mate (or so it seems). They play a trick on the young man, leading him to believe that he has killed the woman's lover. It is the same situation which occurs in Little Fugitive, but with much more disastrous consequences.

I would very much like to see this film again so that I could note my reactions in more detail. I doubt if that is likely to happen any time soon, though. I was very impressed with it even though my memory fails me.