Oh yeahhhhh, I'm actually staying comitted to writing a blogevery singleday. Plus 8 EXP.
Black Sun (1964) - Koreyoshi Kurahara
Black Sun is different to say the least. It's a fever dream of epic proportions. The story is pretty original, a Japanese drifter who loves jazz meets this African-American GI who has just shot another soldier and is being tracked down by the MP's. The GI, whose name is Ghil, has been shot in the leg and is for some unexplained reason trying to get to the sea. Mei, the Japanese drifter, has never seen a black man before and, being obsessed with jazz which is a music genre that is primarily preformed by blacks, is totally amazed. Mei has envisioned all black people to be able to sing and dance with unparalelled ability. However, Ghil can't carry a tune, which causes Mei to lose respect for Ghil. Soon Mei is slinging racial slurs like a pro and Ghil is threatening to shoot him. They both get on the wrong side of the law eventually, and they have to overcome a language barrier. Mei soon realizes Ghil wants to get to the sea and obliges him by taking him to a bombed out town. Ghil is saddened to find that the water thereis polluted, and begins to cry. Mei storms off, only to hear Ghil singing as he leaves. Mei stops and goes back, and they both overcome their differences, it dosen't end there though.
Yeah, there are some epic faces in this movie, but this was the best picture I could find.
Mei once again attempts to find the sea for Ghil, albeit, a less polluted one this time. In the haunting climax, Ghil lashes himself to a weather balloon on the rooftop of a building surrounded by MP's, Mei shoots the rope after a few minutes of hesitation, and Ghil floats off towards the sea as Mei weeps and is captured by the MP's.
Okay, so that was a weird one, lots of things are left unexplainedand the film has an extremely broken message about racial-profiling, orat least, that's how I interpreted it.The radical filmography is excellant, such as thestill imagesspliced into the reel at appropriate times, and the camera focus on the posters of Jazz singers while Mei and the local prostitute spend an evening together while up-beat jazz music plays.It will definately stick with you after you watch it.
Favorite line: (Heavy Japanese accent) "Go home Ghil! Go home to your mama!!"