Monday, January 30, 2006
I went to see the film Memoirs of a Geisha
or Sayuri
as it is titled in Japan.
Sayuri as portrayed by Ziyi Zhang
I was very excited to at last see this film.
It was playing in a new TOHO cinema,
with modern spacious seats, and not too crowded.
It was sold out on my first attempt.
All the controversy concerning wrong nationalities playing certain roles, etc.,
had me curious to know if indeed it would
be a cheesy Hollywood production;
garish, and unauthentic-
Or what?
I suppose if this were a documentary,
we could all go on about how this isn't this,
and that isn't that.
But on the whole, the film works.
The actors and actresses were spectacular.
The scenery, breath taking.
The soundtrack,
featuring luminaries such as celloist Yo Yo Ma,
violinist Itzak Perlman,
and with John Williams' score,
completely captures the essence of the story.
The shakuhachi flute was used slighty past the subtle point,
but the artistry behind the playing made it moot-
I loved the sound of the kodo drums,
they added depth and excitement to the scenes...
The story was a sad and beautiful tale.
In the beginning, I recognizeded the actor Mako
as the old fisherman-
His face captured in a grimace of pain,
as he watches his grandaughters
being carted off after being sold.
Coincidentally, the story is beautifully narrated by Hoshi, Shizuko;
who is also Mako's wife, in real life.
Her narration of Sayuri telling her tale
has an authentic edge of maturity that puts you at ease,
and draws you in to the story.
The child actress, Ohgo, Suzuka who played Suyuri as the child
named Chiyo, was fantastic.
Her scene when she is running,
with those long 9 year old girl in yukata's legs
making her wish for her future just caught my heart.
She captured the role so naturally.
All the roles were excellently portrayed.
I feel Ziya Zhang is Oscar material,
her performance transcends cultural differences-
The supporting actresses gave incredible performances;
Michelle Yeoh as Mameha,
Li Gong as Hatsumomo
and Kaori Momoi as Mother.
Suyuri's debut dance
I loved this story.
I loved this film.
It is the way a film should be-
A total sensual pleasure.
If in fact there were small flaws in accents,
the story being told was not hindered by them.
I totally recommend it.
I now own the soundtrack CD.
It is a nice souvenir of an excellent film.
Till next time...'Mela
11:35 PM
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
© 2006 Pamela MacCarthy
All rights reserved
“Flu, Or Cabin Fever?”
Digital
This is my first digital art work for 2006.
I saw this in the brain fog & fuzzy logic of the flu.
An attack of the humdrums, it was...
Living in Japan,
television here is OK if you are Japanese
and/or follow their sense of humor.
But, if otherwise,
American TV shows once they reach Japan,
are slightly out-of-date.
Take American Idol.
The show has only just now reached here.
I watched the auditions, and wow,
there is some bizarre shit out there.
I guess things haven't really changed much from
The Gong Show days...
After passing through auditions, and meeting Chuck Barris,
The day of the show's taping arrived... I sat in a room filled with all sorts of acts and entertainers;
from clever eccentrics to full-on nutters,
for a 5 show taping session-
My show was to appear last, on Friday's show...
Whatever nice buzz I might've had goin' on at sound-check,
was ridin'on the rims
by the time I appeared onstage.
They had a great pit orchestra; a great group of guys
who could throw some notes together nicely,
but once I stepped on the stage, a cute little tee hee was waiting for me,
or should I say not waiting for me-
there was no microphone.
They changed it up from sound check to overhead mikes.
And no monitors.
Instant dues.
The premise of the Gong Show was different from today's talent shows-
They didn't hold out for talent, they sort of discouraged it.
When or if it appeared,
they played off it for laughs...
On American Idol they very patiently wait to scoop any small trace of talent on to bigger and better things...
Completely different premise, from my own experience...
I know this song is a few years old, but I only just recently heard it.
It's a tune written by Eddie Vedder of PearlJam
for the soundtrack of Big Fish, the Tim Burton film...
It's becoming a favorite of mine:
Tidal waves don’t beg forgiveness
crashed and on their way
Father he enjoyed collisions; others walked away
A snowflake falls in May.
And the doors are open now as the bells are ringing out
Cause the Man of the Hour is taking his final bow
Goodbye for now.
Nature has its own religion; gospel from the land
Father ruled by long division, young men they pretend
Old men comprehend.
And the sky breaks at dawn, shedding light upon this town
They’ll all come ‘round
Cause the Man of the Hour is taking his final bow
Goodbye for now.
And the road
The old man paved
The broken seams along the way
The rusted signs, left just for me
He was guiding me, love, his own way
Now the Man of the Hour is taking his final bow
As the curtain comes down
I feel that this is just
goodbye for now.
The Man of the Hour
-Eddie Vedder, PearlJam
Till next time...'Mela
7:57 PM
Thursday, January 12, 2006
I have a gig tonite at Club Kei, Akasaka.
Featuring Yuichi Inoue; piano, & Stan Gilbert, on bass.
Till next time...'Mela
10:32 AM
Monday, January 09, 2006
Wow. What a day I had.
Michio and I went first to the Fuchu Hachiman Shrine.
It is a tradition we do every year, to pray for a fortuitous year.
I took many photos of Michio,
he was looking very handsome for his Seijinshiki...
Then, we walked together to go to hall where they had the ceremony.
He saw some old classmates along the way.
Outside, all the 20 year olds were dressed in their formal attire.
I saw many girls wearing the beautiful kimono, with ostrich feathered stoles,
golden slippers and handbag,
with updone hair with flowers and hair ornaments.
Just lovely.
The guys were dressed mostly in dark grey suits, some in formal kimono-
Michio dressed in his own way,
as he has always done-
A navy blazer, medium blue shirt, khaki colored slacks,
green & blue silk tie, and a pea coat.
I will do his portrait painting;
using these photos I’ve taken of him
as a guide,
over the upcoming winter weeks...
The thing that moved me about the whole event
was the feeling that seemed to resonate
throughout-
Joy.
On the faces of these young adults, and everyone else who came in contact,
of all ages...
A lot of these young people were meeting up with classmates they haven’t seen since grade school.
”Hisashi-buri!” (it's been a long time, hasn't it?)
Lots of smiles, laughs, group photos.
I was happy to be a part of it...
Michio’s dad, Akio, arrived to go to the ceremony with Michio.
I put my Ipod on to listen to Stanley Clarke's
School Days
to kick start me into part deux
of the festivities:
My birthday celebration.
First of all, I’d like to thank my family;
my mother Shirley & Al, my sisters; Debbie, Wendy & Bonnie,
and all my wonderful friends;
for your thoughtful cards, e-cards, notes, phone calls, and gifts!
You all made my day.
Since it was a national holiday here,
all restaurants, department stores, & movie houses were packed to the rafters.
I hate crowded scenes,
so I decided to do what I truly enjoy;
cook, while listening to excellent music.
Michio came home after the ceremony
and gave me a beautiful hand calligraphy drawn card,
and flowers.
I made an Italian-styled feast for us,
and blew out my birthday candles...
I can’t help but feel that this day
was really something special in that Michio & I
will always have this connection...
We’ve been in Japan 15 years,
and Sejinshiki has never fallen on (my birthday)
Jan 9th.
Just this year, it worked this way,
and my mom tells me I was also born
on a Monday...
It has been one helluva holiday season!
Till next time...'Mela
10:15 PM
Friday, January 06, 2006
One week from tonite, I will have my first concert this year
at Club Kei Akasaka,
on January 13th, Friday.
It is also a belated birthday gig for me.
I will be appearing with
Yuichi Inoue on piano,
and Stan Gilbert on bass...
My birthday is January 9th,
My sun sign is Capricorn, Leo rising...
This year will be a little more than my birthday,
for as fate would have it,
it is a date I will also share with my son, Michio.
Because this year, my birthday also
falls on Seijinshiki,
or Coming of Age day.
He will attend the Seijinshiki ceremony, on my birthday.
I am proud, yet sad...
Happy, but sentimental.
For my birthday, who knows?
Till next time...'Mela
7:00 AM
|
|
Photo: Michio Yves Ueda
