A Cinematic Voyage Featuring 'Eraserhead'

Cinematic Voyage

After finishing work at ten o'clock at night and often not getting home until the witching hour, there is little I'd rather do than pour myself a glass of wine and watch a random movie. I have now exhausted most of the good films available at the DVD store in Tachikawa, signalling that the time to come home must be approaching. Anyway, here is a list of some of the more interesting and enjoyable flicks I have seen in the last couple of months....

1) Eraserhead (1977) David Lynch

A vision of the twisted nightmare of parenting - which is made all the more haunting by the fact that the doctors "don't even know if it is a real baby". It is surrealism at it's best. This is Lynch's best movie in my opinion. (Mulholland Drive in second place.) Interestingly, according to the IMDb "shooting was so sparse, that at one point Henry opens a door, and Jack Nance (the actor) ages 18 months before entering the room."

2) Down By Law (1986) Jim Jarmusch

Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni and John Lurie end up sharing a cell after each has had the misfortune of running in to the law.

3) United 93 (2006) Paul Greengrass

This really is a harrowing movie depicting the last hours of the plane which was hijacked on September 11th. The only one that missed it's target.

4) Gummo (1997) Harmony Korine

This film is grotesquely brilliant and one fears, painfully true to life. It is one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen. The scene with the boy sitting in a bath tub of putrid green water, eating spaghetti in tomato sauce as his mother shampoos his hair into a spike, will live with me forever. Not to mention the cat killing. It is all worth it for the ending though.

5) American History X (1998) Tony Kaye

Violent neo-Nazis in American suburbia. It is a film that punches you in the face and forces you to ackowledge the frightening reality of racism, fear, bad education and group psychology in today's society.

6) Modern Times (1936) Charles Chaplin

My first Chaplin. Set at a time when the industrial revolution was in full swing. It made me laugh - what more could you want?

7) Goodnight and Goodluck (2005) George Clooney

The battle between reporter Edward Murrow and Senator McCarthy in the 1950s. A time when Hollywood was beseiged by paranoia induced by McCarthy in his quest to oust Communists and all those affiliated with them from America.

8) Freaks (1932) Tod Browning

Some say this is exploitation cinema at its most overt. It was banned in England until 1963. The tag line reads "Can a full grown woman truly love a MIDGET?" Encounter "nature's mistakes that could so easily have been you or I" - the pinheads, the bearded lady, the siamese twins, the armless girl, the human skeleton and the living torso. Given that a film like this could never be made today it really makes for rather shocking viewing. It is however a great film - a simple love story with a chilling ending.

9) The Hustler (1961) Robert Rossen

Paul Newman is a pool Hustler. A very sexist movie but with a strong moral message: gambling doesn't pay and wont fulfill you, whereas love (would you believe it) will.

10) Don't Come Knocking (2005) Wim Wenders

An weary old actor disapears from a film set in the middle of the desert. It is not the most uplifting film ever and the characters aren't particularly likeable. It is basically about an old man searching for meaning after a tumultuous life in the limelight.

11) It's All About Love (2005) Thomas Winterberg

This film doesn't even come close to the brilliance of 'Festen' but it is a captivatingly surreal movie set in the future. The world is falling apart at the seems. Dead bodies lie prone at the bottoms of escalators and on sidewalks. There has been a loss of gravity over some parts of Africa, resulting in people flying off the planet. Joaquin Phoenix and Clare Danes play a couple trying to reconcile their relationship in a fragile reality. I felt it started off really well but lost it a bit two thirds of the way through. It could have been really good.

12) Mean Creek (2004) Jacob Aaron Estes

The story is not particualary original and was thus rather predictable. It wasn't a bad film though. Some kids take the school bully on a trip down the river.

13) Rize (2005) David La Chapelle

A documentary film about the rise and evolution of 'Clowning', an expressive, powerful and seemingly aggressive dance form, in South LA.

14) Mr and Mrs Smith (1941) Alfred Hitchcock

The original 'Mr and Mrs Smith'. However, unlike Brad and Angelina, they are not out to kill each other. No. This Mr and Mrs Smith discover that after three years, because of some glitch in the law, they are not actually married. The question is, with the gift of hindsight, would they do it all over again? A charming comedy.

And.... one of THE WORST FILMS EVER

15) The Garden (1990) Derek Jarman

Filmed on location at Dungeness and Derek Jarman's garden this is a film that is trying very hard to be original, artistic, intelligent and controversial but which fails monumentally in all respects. Overt homosexuality, the story of Christ, a boy with a snail, dreadful acting, amateur photgraphy, crude effects and a wishy-washy soundtrack. A total waste of time.

Kevin Shield - City Girl - Lost in Translation

Coldplay - Talk - Lost in Translation

Happy New Year 2007 / Akimashite omedeto

December 31st. A bitter dusk descended over Tokyo. The streets of Asakusa which lead up to the shrine were overflowing with people. The air was filled with the smell of toasting sembei rice crackers. Plastic blossom sprouted in pink and white festoons from above the souvenir shops and red lanterns illuminated the long avenue.

New year is the most important festival in Japan but it is not really an excuse to party like we do back home. It is a time for family. A time for spirituality. Asakusa was just getting warmed up for a night of eating, drinking, coin tossing and prayer. Even those who don't go to shrines or temples on a regular basis visit one around new year. People essentially go to wish for luck, success, and good fortune in the coming year.

I was accompanied by a friend of mine from England. Despite her assertion that she didn't believe in it, we joined the throngs at the shrine and exchanged 100 yen for a slip of paper with our end of year fortune written on it. It is effectively lucky-dip. They range from very bad to excellent. I got a 'regular fortune' as was my friend's. Mind you, this was an improvement as the first time I tried back in June, I got a bad fortune. For a country that is so scientifically and technologically advanced it is surprising how superstitious people are. Many Japanese are keen believers in palmistry and that blood types act as predicators of ability and personality. I have heard that employers have been accused of favouring applicants of a certain blood group because of the belief that they will be better employees.

Shintoism, the native religion of Japan is accepted by most, in conjunction with Buddhism. I expected Japanese people to be active followers of these belief systems. Of course some are, but everyone I have spoken to has little interest in meditation or living in a Zen way. However, come new year's eve, everyone seems to take an interest in religion. They all want a 'taste of the action'. It somehow seemed like this shrine was a distributor of hope. Like gamblers in a Vegas casino, they lined up to toss a coin and clap and pray, or shake a canister in the hope that the stick that came out would bear a lucky symbol.

As far as I can make out the real winner here was of course 'the house'. Upon my first visit to this shrine I remember seeing an attendant stripping off all the bad fortunes that had been tied to the wire racks. He did it with such insouciance I couldn't help but feel that this was all a money making operation and not very spiritual at all. However, for all of us work weary people, living our little lives in a seemingly unjust world, perhaps the most we can hope for is a little luck.

One could argue that religion shouldn't capitalise on this human weakness, but that is the world we live in. On the other hand, the exchange of money for luck may actually be necessary to the promulgation of Buddhism. Buddhist monks survive on handouts. Even today you see them begging on the streets of Tokyo. The idea is that if you give money to them you will be granted good fortune.

It would seem though that everything comes at a price these days. Value is relative to cost. If something is free, people rarely believe it is worth anything. Look at art, haute couture or most significantly, jobs. Nowadays, the actual worth of people themselves seems to be determined by their financial status. It is no wonder people seek solace in religion, alcohol or gambling. In a society that rewards the seemingly lucky, as opposed to the deserved, one that esteems commodity over quality, people need reassurance that they are of value and that their lives are worth living. Perhaps that was why even my friend and I paid for a fortune.

Later that night we caught a train to Roppongi. The connecting subway from Shinjuku was full of young people heading to the clubs in the party capital. I got a couple of emails from a friend of mine who was trying to convince us to join him at Grace. He is a teacher in Okinawa. I met him at the training in London back in March. My friend was pregnant though, so we opted to join the open air countdown party at Tokyo tower. We jumped in a taxi. The seats were covered in white lace and driver wws wearing pristine white gloves. The traffic was very congested and by 11:40 we still hadn't arrived at the tower, so at the next traffic lights we gave a handful of change to the cabbie and walked the rest of the way.

There were several thousand people lingering at the base of the Eiffel tower lookalike. We overheard a Japanese guy asking a group of Russian girls in yellow Pikachu costumes if there was going to be fireworks. I guess no-one really knew what was going on. I was dismayed to realise that in the rush I had forgotten to buy booze. In the time it took to speak to my parents very briefly on the phone and half heartedly buy a bottle of diet coke from a vending machine (no drink somehow being worse than a soft drink, just) everyone had started running to the north side of the tower. Looking up, we searched for a clock. There was no clock. Everyone was staring up at the tower. What was going to happen? Someone started the countdown. "Ten, nine, eight..." We joined in. On "ONE" a screen displaying '2007' flickered on and that, well, was it! No fireworks, nothing. We all cheered of course and we were joined by three very genki Japanese lads who were shouting "I'm no plan, I'm no plan - let's party!"

We walked back into the centre. It reminded me of dear old Hastings on a Friday night. There is nothing like a horde of drunken, rowdy western blokes to add atmosphere. Actually there was a real mix of nationalities here: Brits, Indians, Americans, Jamaicans, Turks.... It is not something you see in Japan very often, but Roppongi is a very multi-cultural district. The Japanese say it is not Japan. We stood about people watching and I knocked back a couple of rough tequila shots that a club promoter was distributing.

We ended up in a busy coffee shop and drank lattes and watched all the drunks on the street below. This was my first new years abroad. It is funny how things never go quite to plan but somehow it was a good night. We had a real laugh despite the horribly long and cold journey back to Toyoda. It was 3am when we descended to the subway. People were asleep on the platform. We had to change at Shinjuku and our connection was a 20 minute wait so we kept ourselves warm by huddling in an all-night sandwich bar. After standing most of the way back on the slowest train ever, we finally got home at about 5am. One good thing about it all was the absence of a hangover the next morning, or rather afternoon, which was when we woke up.

Farewell 2006. It has been good. I just wonder what the following year has in store? A trip to Vegas maybe - try my luck.

Christmas Day

The 25th December felt like any other day. Of course, even back home I no longer wake fitfully throughout the night in eager anticipation of a crackly, bulging stocking hanging by the fireplace with a half eaten mince pie and empty sherry glass on the hearth. Yet this year didn't even bring back a hint of that childhood excitement which is evoked at the sight of baubles and the familiar smell of pine needles and Christmas lunch. This year it was decidedly not Christmas. There were no decorations, piles of presents, the sound of laughter from the kitchen, a white table cloth, a roaring log fire, the cat asleep amongst sheets of torn wrapping paper, champagne or Marks and Sparks nibbles.

There was however, a half bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin, some faded memories of recorder recitals around the tree in front of merry relatives and thankfully, a copy of 'Bad Santa' on DVD. (I couldn't get my favourite version - the X-rated 'Badder Santa'. Perhaps it is unavailable because it would be wasted on the Japanese. There are no swear words in their language, thus the generous helping of extra obscenities in 'Badder Santa' really would be 'lost in translation' so to speak.)

I fixed myself a nice strong cup of tea and snuggled up in bed. I left the curtains closed but the sunshine filtered through the cracks. Merry bloody Christmas. It was 10.30am and after about half an hour of watching the debauched shenanigans of an alcoholic Santa, I wondered if I should make a G&T. I decided to wait until lunch time - figuring that drinking alone on Christmas morning might be taking it a bit too far.

By 2.00pm I was in an 'English' pub in Kichijoji. My co-worker had organised a Christmas lunch for all displaced expats in the Tokyo area. Those who attended were all teachers from my company. There were about 18 of us. I knew about half of them when I arrived and a few more by the time I left at 10.00pm. The deal was, pay 3,500 yen for all you can eat and drink in two hours. Given that I am still vegetarian - the deep fried chicken cartilage and raw horse meat did not tempt me over to the dark side, I chose to go for the 1,700 yen (9 quid) all you can drink option and a basket of fish and chips. The others enjoyed a very festive dinner of chicken wings, fish and chips, cold fajitas and ice-lollies. Needless to say, all were rather disappointed with what was supposed to be 'Christmas dinner'.

Two hours and three pints of beer, a sloe gin, a blackcurrant chu-hai, four G&Ts, two Moscow Mules and a glass of white wine, later, I was having a rather jolly time. People reminisced about Christmases of yore and yule tide family feuds and spoke of what they would be doing if they were at home now (still sleeping). The TV screen opposite our table was playing J-pop MTV videos - not even cheesy Christmas songs. It was rubbish. If we had been in a pub in England we would be listening to Slade and talking to the lonely old man sat at the end of the bar. It just wasn't Christmas. Every now and then someone would point this out - as if I hadn't already noticed. Do I sound bitter? Well, perhaps I am. One thing is for sure - I will appreciate it all the more next year.

There is something about Christmas that makes everyone yearn for magic and family, mince pies and.... PRESENTS! Hmmm. Maybe our depression wasn't caused by the lack of recognition of our beloved Christian festival in an alien culture, but our greed for material goods that we knew everyone else was getting except us. Perhaps it was a bit of both. Everyone seemed to be a little homesick, even if they knew they were only missing out on Aunty Jean getting so drunk on sherry she fell asleep in the dog basket.

As the evening progressed, the group began to shrink in size. A few people went to see the new James Bond film (or zero, zero seven as they say in Japan). One guy went to Shinjuku in search of a real Crimbo dinner. Some went home to boyfriends and girlfriends, meaning that soon it was just Dom from New York, Dan from England and me left. My parents called me. I had sent them plastic food. They said they had mailed me a box of Christmas goodies (it arrived on Boxing Day.) Unfortunately the battery on my phone ran out before I had a chance to finish the conversation. Dom and Dan and I drank a toast our first Christmas in Japan and swore never to do it again.