Japanese Film at UICA

Every year the UICA in downtown Grand Rapids hosts an international film series called Chiarascuro. This year, the theme is "The Muses" and the selected films explore various aspects of the arts. I was asked to choose a Japanese film to be included and I chose "Achilles and the Tortoise" (アキレスと亀), a film by Kitano Takeshi, who also directed Sonatine, Hana-Bi, Kikujiro, etc. It's the story of a man obsessed with art and his craft of painting, but it raises interesting questions, since it's never quite clear if the man's talent is up to his dedication to the ideal of art, or how far he can push against his ideals for commercial success. Is commitment to art for art's sake enough?

The film is showing this Sunday, Jan. 31st, beginning at 2:30pm, and admission is free. It is at the UICA, 41 Sheldon Blvd. SE, and will be followed by a panel discussion, on which I will be sitting as the honorary "guy who knows stuff about Japan" along with a "guy who knows stuff about painting."

That will be the only Japanese film in the series, but there is one other film that deals with Japan and may be of interest to you as well. It is a German film called "Cherry Blossoms" (Kirschblüten - Hanami) and has a strong focus on the unusual Japanese dance form called butô. I have not seen it and am not sure of the story, but I believe it focuses on a German man who meets a Japanese female butô dancer. It will be showing on March 14th, and I plan to be there as well (though I will do my best to avoid getting put on any panels).