THIS SATURDAY! Japan Film Festival: Talk and Symposium

Hi Blog,

As I posted earlier, I will be giving a talk at the Japan Film Festival.

Tomorrow, in fact, Saturday, April 5th.

Additionally, I will be participating in a panel discussion on Japanese films in the US with several filmmakers and commentators. Should be interesting.

As to what I will be talking about, my topic will be a kind of continuation of my J-Horror article and critique that I wrote for Midnighteye back in 2006: "The Death of J-Horror?".

The new piece is tentatively titled: "From J-Horror to J-Horror-wood: As authentic as a California Roll". Basically, I have some new thoughts on J-Horror and how it is being remade in Hollywood (and abroad) and how it fits in the world marketplace.

There's a chance that after this is all said and done, that I will organize my thoughts into an essay and either post it as a follow up on Midnighteye or on these digital pages. But rather than wait around for it, come and hear it straight from the... erm... horses mouth.

Here's the skinny:

UCLA Symposium (presented by JFFLA and UCLA-JABA)

Date & Time: April 5th (Sat)　Entrance opens at 3pm
Start at 3:15pm
Close about 7pm

Venue: 　UCLA Anderson School of Management　Korn Hall, 110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Theme: Japanese Films in the US: Past, Present, and Future

See ya there!

It's All About the Pace

Hi Blog,

The New York Times has an article in it's Movies section today about the inanity and futility of Hollywood's J-Horror remakes. This article is nothing new really-- hell, I wrote about it nearly three years ago in my 'Death of J-Horror?' feature for Midnighteye. But I wanted to share a clipping from the piece as the article's writer, Terrence Rafferty,[obtusely] makes a valid point at the end that I feel is wrong in its conclusion:

"Rhythm is often the most significant difference between Asian horror movies and their American versions: the good Far Eastern directors know that the most interesting part of any ghost story is the buildup, the dawning dread that gradually makes the world feel alien, uncanny." (link)

Mr. Rafferty includes this discussion of Pace in terms of the difference in horror sensibility vis a vis the East and the West, but it is something that is not unique to horror in and of itself.

First off, Pacing is an essential intangible element in a film -- together with Tone -- that is as important as the time signature in a piece of music. But whereas sheet music begins with this, in a movie, the director needs to find it in the script and then hold it inside herself for the entire duration of the filmmaking process. Sure, you can try to 'fix' the Pace (and Tone) in the edit, but as all editors know a film with a well-defined Pace is easier to cut and breathe life into.

What Mr. Rafferty misses (and I'm at the risk of sounding elitist or overly judgemental here, and that is something I don't want to comes across as) is that the Asian horror works better at times because the burden of proof is off of the filmmakers to make you believe that there is a ghost haunting. The notion of the existence of ghosts is built in culturally-- at least in Japan. So the film is all about building the mood: creating the fright and the dread in the audience-- in short, the Pace (and Tone).

As a bit of comparison, you'll notice that the Japanese zombie movie feels much different than the Japanese ghost movie. Structurally it's very similar to what we get in the west, meaning that it all is indebted to George Romero and the 70s Italian stuff. This is because it is an import. The case for zombies existing in the first place has to be made-- same as in the West. In short, it's not a cultural approach to filming horror, it's how to make their audience feel what the director's desire. Once again, that's done through the Pace (and Tone).