The Face of Another

The Face of Another (1966) is third collaboration between the director Hiroshi Teshigahara, composer Toru Takemitsu and writer Kobo Abe. The trio's achievements could be seen as pretentious and hilariously gritty, but somehow they always manage to completely enthrall me. It seems almost if their work became more subtle the more they worked together. The Pitfall's experimentality was strongly present throughout the film and even Woman in the Dunes was a bit, but that roughness was fitting for the film. The Face of Another is a significantly more restrained effort because even the unconventional bits flow smoothly.

The main character of the film (played superbly by Tatsuya Nakadai) explores the ambiguous nature of identity after his face is accidentally deformed and then replaced by a new one. Despite its heavy themes the film advances in a clearly comprehensible way that might be a bit ambiguous once in a while, but it never goes to the extremes of the trio's earlier films that are much more obscure (but not necessarily bad that way). The writing is intellectually very stimulating and provokes strong emotional reactions as it follows the questionable ethics of the main character.

Whereas Woman in the Dunes was formally claustrophobic, The Face of the Another is schizophrenic. After the menacing and experimental opening the film's form diverts a little from what is expected from the trio. The intense close-ups are fewer and Takemitsu's wonderful musical score is more subtle than before. The lighting and cinematography are just about as refined and powerful as they can be.

What could have been a misadventure in obscurity and pretension turns out to be yet another masterpiece from the famous Japanese New Wave trio.

Score: 10 out of 10

The Pitfall

The Pitfall (1962) was Hiroshi Teshigahara's debut as a fiction film director. I've got to say that this is an incredibly ambitious film for a debut because it barely keeps itself together during the 90-minute running time. Initially the film seems like a story of two miners trying to make a living, but eventually it ends up becoming a cryptic mystery combined with a ghost story and social critique. There's also a (possibly unintentional) level of dark comedy that becomes dominant on a few instances. The narrative rushes between these different aspects at such a fast pace that I'm not sure what to make of this film even though there are obvious hints of brilliance scattered all over the film.

Even if you think the screenplay fails there's a lot to be enjoyed about the film's form. Takemitsu's sparse and experimental musical score sets the atmosphere all the way from the very first scene with its menacing tone. Segawa's striking black and white cinematography is guaranteed to pull anyone into the film's fascinating world.

The Pitfall was the first of three collaborations between the director Teshigahara, avant-garde novelist Abe, experimental composer Takemitsu and brilliant cinematographer Segawa (the first three collaborators would also make another film together afterwards). One of the other collaborations would be Woman of the Dunes (1964), one of my favorite films of all time. The Pitfall pales in comparison to this masterpiece because it is incapable of handling its own ambition in writing.

Score: 8 out of 10

Woman in the Dunes

Watching Hiroshi Teshigahara's Woman in the Dunes (1964) was a stunning experience. In the movie, an etymologist is searching for insects in the desert only to be eventually trapped in a sandpit with a widow. He is forced to live down there and shovel sand. Even though the premise sounds simple, the film is utterly complex, engaging and, most of all, haunting. It is one of the most famous films of the Japanese New Wave - a cinematic movement I'm extremely interested in.

What I love the most about the film is its rich content. The story can be seen an allegory of a lot of things, but even the allegorical subtleties are a bit meaningless in the end because the film is a stunning portrayal of isolation and existential crisis. Sand's role changes in the film a few times, but its metaphorical power never fades away - it is also probably the finest cinematic depiction of sand in general. The characters are also extremely fascinating: intially they seem rather blank, but the hidden complexity is revealed bit by bit.

The film's claustrophobic and intimate form is haunting and unforgettable. Initially, the shots of the beautiful scenery left me in awe, but as the plot thickens the form becomes very close to the characters - even to the point of extreme close-ups of sand on their skin. The cinematography is simply perfect in its movement and framing. The use of sound is brilliant: after I had watched the film, I left the DVD menu on because I wanted to hear the wind blowing - the effect I had listened to for 140 minutes. The sound design has such a hypnotizing and gripping feeling to it. Toru Takemitsu's awesome musical score blends in with the sound effects brilliantly.

Hiroshi Teshigahara's Woman in the Dunes is one of the finest films I've ever seen and I believe it is even more rewarding on multiple views.

Score: 10 out of 10