“You get what you pay for when you see the movie”
(book review)
Shotaro Ikenami :You get what you pay for when you see the movie.
Shinchosha 1988
It is a film theory of a Japanese period dramatist.
@The parts that impressed me were:
-If the title conjures up some image, the content is good.
-A great foreign film definitely deserves to be seen. There is a lot to see in a film, even if it is a failure. That’s because they were made in desperation, because huge amounts of money were spent on them. David Lean and Kenji Mizoguchi are prime examples.
-I don’t miss black-and-white films on release. It’s because they have that much intention.
-A film by a master is not necessarily a masterpiece.
-New American directors should always be watched. They have watached old masterpieces in New York and other places, so they are well-trained.
-In films, pay attention to screenwriters. Scripts are the life of a film. Japanese film industry does not value screenwriters.
-Japanese films rarely sell well in other countries, but they can sell well if they are made in the right way.
-You should read film criticism. You can understand your own personality and tastes.
-French films focus on the lives of individuals. In the U.S., people are more than individuals, they have their own nation. There is a wide variety of genres in American cinema. War stories, westerns, personal life, science fiction, etc.
-British cinema is in decline. Indian films are good. Italy sometimes produces good ones. Japanese animation is getting better.
-Japanese TV dramas are not good because they don’t spend much money.
-Good movies should be seen many times. Music, art, etc.
-To watch various kinds of movies to eliminate my own prejudice. Expanding my human horizon.
-The difference between a bad movie and a good movie is the presence or absence of realism. The current Japanese period dramas are full of lies.
-Compare and contrast movies and novels.
-Read the scenario after watching the movie. After that, watch the movie again.
-People only know their own lives, and they are lonely, so they watch novels, plays, and movies. We have an instinctive desire to know many different lives. This longing and curiosity for another life gives birth to plays, novels, and movies.
-The beauty of a movie is that you can learn about another life with your eyes and ears in about two hours.
-The longer you watch a movie, the more fashionable you become.
-I watch one movie a week. Your appreciation develops gradually. You will get the courage to live. It will help you to understand various things, to develop a critical mind, and to improve your nervous system.
(My Comment)
This book is very easy to read. This is the first book I have read by Mr. Ikenami. I thought he was a writer of historical fiction and would not be interested in foreign affairs. However, this was not the case. In fact, his comments are more about foreign films. With such a background, we can imagine that the novels he writes must have great depth.
The most memorable part of the book was that his motivation for watching movies was his interest in other people’s lives. In other words, no one is satisfied with their own life. We all have a feeling that we could have lived a different life. That is the fundamental motivation for watching movies and reading literature. By watching movies, he said, we can appreciate life more deeply. That’s right.
The only problem with this book is that it was written more than 20 years ago, and there are no recent masterpieces in it. This is unfortunate, but it is something we, the readers, can find by learning from him. That is the homework for those who read this book, I would say.
