Cherry Blossom Time in Japan

James A. Fitzpatrick sends the Technicolor cameras to Japan under the supervision of cinematographer Wilfrid M. Cline to shoot pictures of Japanese cherry trees in bloom. We also get to see dancers celebrating the season, while Fitzpatrick shouts about how tolerant the Japanese are, and Shinto.

Well, maybe. The copy that ran on TCM this evening shows signs of having been pulled from 16mm. Print, given the fuzziness that afflicts it. Even so, the colors are vibrant and beautiful, with the rich, velvety blacks that early Technicolor is capable of. It's a lovely slice of the high life of a bygone era.

Cherry Blossom Time in Japan (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Beautiful entry in MGM's TravelTalks series takes us to Japan where we see some of their famous landmarks but the real treat are the various cherry blossoms (as the title tells you). We learn about Japan's three different religions and see some figures from each of them. We also see the three monkeys, which tells of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Finally, we get to visit Mount Fujiyama but this trip is all too brief. Fans of the TravelTalks series know that the Technicolor is the main attraction and in some of the shorts its put to better use. This here is one of the best looking shorts I've seen from the series and it's because of the beautiful blossoms and how they jump right off the screen in the glorious color. I'm not one who enjoys flowers, trees, blossoms or anything like that so for it to impress me this much is saying quite a bit. We really don't get to learn too much about Japan but this is only because James A. FitzPatrick lets the images speak for themselves.

For the sheer beauty of its Technicolor photography, it's worth a peek at Japan's love of the natural beauty of plants and trees. The cherry blossoms and azaleas are in full bloom, a woman is shown tending her home garden, and before you know it, the film ends as a couple enjoy the outdoors with the majestic Mount Fujiyama in the background.

The narration is brief and the film really concentrates on the beautiful glimpses we get through the gorgeous color photography of Japan's lovely cherry trees. The limited narration merely mentions how the artistic sense is instilled in the Japanese people with their aesthetic appreciation of nature's beauty.

Before you know it, the James A. FitaPatrick Traveltalk short is over. The same effect could have been accomplished by merely showing some still slides of Japan's cherry blossom time.

TravelTalks visits pre-war Japan during the cherry blossom season. This could have been an interesting insight into everyday life and the cities which were destroyed by the war. This could have been a great time capsule. Instead, they are doing a lot of parks, temples, and costumed ladies. It's not showing anything that hasn't remained the same for hundreds of years. In fact, most of this episode can be seen today and only glimpses of everyday fashion have changed. It's fine. It's pretty enough but the timelessness actually works against this one.