I have to wonder if, when he made Gohatto, Oshima knew it would be his last film, because its final image - of Takeshi Kitano hacking down a cherry blossom tree - so perfectly distils his lifelong rebellion against all things traditionally Japanese.
Although the retrospective continues for a couple more weeks at the AFI Silver, Gohatto was the last screening at the Freer, and its ending was even more appropriate, since it took place smack-dab in the middle of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
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2 comments:
That's a sad but probably true observation. However I don't think he would necessarily have chosen Beat Takeshi Kitano (whom I think cuts the tree down?) as the one to carry on his tradition. Nagisa is irreplaceable anyway. I was in Cannes when GOHATTO was shown and I always thought it a superior work to the other swordplay film showing in the festival that year, CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON.
I stumbled upon your blog while googling about Korean cinema.
And I agree with you on 'In the mood for love' being a masterpiece. And I quite envy you for the poster...
Thanks to you, I have saved a lot of time researching or even figuring out some of the exceptionally talented film-makers around the world.
Almost most of the people I have met who had seen Gohatto, didn't like it, but I loved it. And now I'm just dying to unearth the treasures of Nagisa Oshima. Wish the festival was happening in India.
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