Asian Cinema at the Forum ­ NETPAC Award to The Blessing Bell

Japanese cinema made waves as seldom before at the Berlinale. The photo on the front cover of the International Forum of Young Cinema booklet was taken from Lee Sang-Il’s Border Line, a remarkable compilation of interwoven stories about people living on the borderline of existence: economic, psychological, self destructive.
       The high-water mark of the Berlinale was the retrospective tribute honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yosujiro Ozu (1903-1963). Ozu’s acclaimed classic, Tokyo monogatari (Tokyo Story) (Japan 1953), was highlighted in the official program. This, in addition to four more seldom seen Ozu films programmed in the Forum: Umaretewa mita keredo (I Was Born, But ...) (1932), Ukikusa monogatari (A Story of Floating Weeds) (1934), Banshun (Late Spring) (1949), Bakushu (Early Summer) (1951) ­ all of which aptly demonstrated his maturing skill as he approached the making of Tokyo Story.
       The best of the Asian films programmed in the Panorama was also a Japanese feature: Junji Sakamoto’s Bokunchi (Bokunchi ­ My House), based on a popular comic strip about Little Itta and his younger brother who don’t realize that their elder elegant sister, who has returned to the island for a visit, is actually the younger boy’s mother.

        Considering that the Forum had booked 19 Asian features and six documentaries, the NETPAC Jury did not have an easy time reaching a decision. The prize was awarded to Sabu’s Koufuku no Kane (The Blessing Bell) (Japan). Celebrated also as a popstar ­ he had been awarded Best New Actor in Katsuhiro Otomo’s World Apartment Horror (1991) ­ Sabu has rapidly developed into a cult director in seven feature films to date. The Forum introduced him to the Berlin public with Unlucky Monkey (1998), a comic portrait of an unlucky yakuzi gangster, followed by Monday (2000), the amusing story of a man waking up in a hotel room with but one clue (some ceremonial salt in his pocket) as to who he is or how he got there. His primary theme of »comic coincidences« is given full throttle in The Blessing Bell, whose main figure is a Japanese-style Buster Keaton. Nothing seems to bother Igarishi (Tarajima Susumu) ­ not the fact that he loses his new job on the first day of work, nor that he arrested by the police for just happening to be present when a yakuzi boss commits suicide, nor that he finds in his hand the winning ticket of a bounteous lottery, nor that the money is stolen by a young mother whose daughter he has saved from a burning house. One humorous twist follows another, while Igarishi, the stoic, takes everything in stride. The last twist comes when he returns home ­ at full gallop, he revisits all the scenes of his previous fortunes and misfortunes, like the filmmaker himself has pushed the playback button on a video cassette.
       The NETPAC Jury gave a Special Mention to Garin Nugroho’s Aku Ingin Menciumu Sekali Saja (Bird-Man Tale) (Indonesia), a sensitive political statement on religious beliefs and national ethics in Papuan Indonesia during its current independence movement.

        Another Asian standout was Park Chan-Uk’s Beksoneum naegut (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) (Korea), a compelling psycho-drama exploring the theme of vengeance by people caught in a web of fateful events. Hailed by many as the best Korean film of the season, it’s directed by the same talented filmmaker whose JSA (Joint Security Area) (2000), a tense polit-drama set in the No Man’s Land between North and South Korea, set a modern-day box-office record in Korea. Now Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance confirms Park Chan-Uk’s status as an authentic auteur.

Ronald Holloway