DisinterestedWisdom

If we look past the gorgeous cinematography, and the exquisite natural beauty that surrounds this film, what becomes really interesting, to me is that there is a kind of a community conversation taking place incorporating young and old alike. In classrooms, in bedrooms and in pubs, people are talking and they are discussing and trying to make sense of the things that are going on around them. The feast of Santa Lucia which punctuates this handsome and compelling story adds weight to the simplicty and cohesiveness of the community. The children's dialogues, are among the most endearing as they endeavor to figure out a world, in their terms, which confounds even many of the adults. I found this aspect of the film richly rewarding and it seems to me that what's being captured here is life for many of us, not in some distant abstract past, or some contrived settings, but the life of our recent forebears who were just on the cusp of modernity, a modernity that's symbolized by the kind of war that had no precedent and which rages silently in the backgroun. There are a number of subtexts here as well, not least the shift from a communal way of life to an individualistic one. And this we see clearly in Lucia, who in many ways mirrors her father's individualism, but unlike his experience is propelled into a new and untried reality. I think everything about his film is quite extraordinary, in fact as a mediation on time, change and the reluctance to encounter change. The acting is uniformly outstanding as is the scripting. The cinematography, incorporating the exquisite vistas of the European alps is surpassing.

I tend to view Burning and Poetry as masterpieces, but I'm somewhat disappointed in this film. That stems in part from the scenes of religious conversion which are a bit drawn out and not really enjoyable to watch (these could have easily been abbreviated), but more critically, the portrait of Shin-ae's emotional state feels very andro-centric, not least the scene involving the pharmacist. It made me a little uneasy. There are also a number of transitions in her character which are simply too abrupt, and in general a lack of believability in what happens to Jun and how abruptly it does. It begs the question of why she would have left him in the first place? And while Jeon Do-yeon does an extraordinary job as the beleaguered mother, Soon Kang-ho as the ever cheerful Jong chan becomes a little wearying. The film otherwise lacks depth because we're never invited into her psychological state, and remain mostly voyeurs watching her at arm's length.

At the center of this moving film is a moving story of unrequited love. It's never clear why Taro remains aloof to Orin's overtures, but the meaning is clear, as it is in many other films by this director, that people want to both give and receive love. Orin, an itinerant musician, blind from birth gives generously of herself both because she has to in order to survive - but also because she longs for human touch. Raised among other women like herself, she knows little of human affection, but longs for it. Taro, hardened by circumstance is tragically alienated from longing, a theme which this director would revisit repeatedly in his other films. The cinematography here is exquisite as is the acting. Shima Iwashita, as Orin performs this role with deep conviction with her voice conveying maximum meaning and effect. Yoshio Harada as the silent brooding Taro is also quite excellent. That said, the film is somewhat linear, with little in the way of subplots and only some flashbacks to break up the narrative, but it is deeply imbued with circumstance and human sensitivity that it bears repeat viewing. It can be difficult to find, but is avaiable on the Internet Archive in it's entirety. A triumph of Japanese cinema, it won he nation's highest award in 1978.