Long, slow and Japanese

November 5, 2007 8:57 PM

Help me identify this Japanese art-house film that I saw iat a film festival in the 90s featuring a widow and a lot of long takes.

My memories are very vague, but the movie was about a young woman who's husband died, leaving her alone and not doing very much. The film featured extremely long takes of well-composed scenes. Two I recall are: a city street is silent until a train comes rushing by, and a long, slow parade of people down a moonlit beach.

I know it's not much to go on, but I'd like to see it again.

posted by Bookhouse to media & arts (10 comments total)

Was it in color or black and white? Was it from the 90s or was it made earlier and being shown as a revival? If the latter, maybe look for it in the work of Kenji Mizoguchi, who made films pre-1960 but is known for his use of long takes.
posted by mediareport at 9:10 PM on November 5, 2007

No, it was color and made, I would think, in the 80s or 90s.
posted by Bookhouse at 9:15 PM on November 5, 2007

Are we sure the woman's husband died? We couldn't be talking about Hana Bi, could we?
posted by The Bellman at 9:32 PM on November 5, 2007

I'm sorry, no, it's probably Mabarosi.
posted by The Bellman at 9:38 PM on November 5, 2007

And it would help if I spelled it right: Maborosi. i think you'll find that's it.
posted by The Bellman at 9:40 PM on November 5, 2007

Excellent! Thanks, Bellman, that's got to be it. I've been asking people about it for years. Thanks a lot.
posted by Bookhouse at 9:42 PM on November 5, 2007

Oh, and I've never seen that Beat Takashi film either, so I'll check it out too.

(Oh, and of course I meant "at a film festival," not "lat a film festival.")
posted by Bookhouse at 9:44 PM on November 5, 2007

I lived for a time near Wajima on the Noto Peninsula, where the movie was filmed. Every time I see that movie it makes me cry with homesickness.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:00 PM on November 5, 2007

If you liked Maborosi, you should check out Koreeda's next directorial effort, After Life. It's beautiful.
posted by chlorus at 6:57 AM on November 6, 2007

It's a crushing and beautiful movie. If you like that sort of filmmaking and are still reading this thread, I cannot recommend highly enough the works of Tsai Ming-Liang, in particular the Hole, the River and What Time Is It There? I have no idea if they are available on video, but he is probably the most incredible master of the long take working today. His films are also emotionally draining, but so beautiful.
posted by The Bellman at 7:00 AM on November 6, 2007 [1 favorite]