Japan Japan

Infobox Film
name = Japan Japan


image_size = 300 px
caption =
director = Lior Shamriz
producer =
writer =
narrator =
starring = Imri Kahn
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = 8 August, 2007
runtime = 65 minutes
country = Israel
language = Hebrew, English
budget = 200 USD
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://www.jehuti.com/japanjapan/
amg_id =
imdb_id = 1090327

"Japan Japan" (Hebrew: יפאן יפאן, Japanese:日本日本) is a 2007 film directed by Lior Shamriz.

Cast

Plot

The film tells the story of Imri, who at 19 goes to live in Tel Aviv, but dreams of moving to Japan. Through his relationships and encounters and in diverse cinematic tools, we are introduced to the young man's life. An exploration of living in the exotic city of Tel Aviv is presented through a hero who is himself in the midst of exploring his own choice of an exotic place. A unique correlation is formed between the hero's misconception of Japan and ours of him. The movie was constructed by both improvised and pre-scripted scenes, as required by the nature of each scene.

Production

The film was reportedly produced for as little as 200 USD, with volunteer actors and no additional crew [cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/people/2008/03/ndnf_08_intervi_2.html |title=Interview |publisher=Indiewire] . Nevertheless, it was presented at some prestigious venues around the world such as the Locarno Film Fesival [cite web|url=http://www.pardo.ch/jahia/webdav/site/pardosite/shared/pdf/2007/Line-up%202007_EN.pdf |title=Locarno Film Festival Website] , the New York Museum of Modern Art [cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/films.php?id=8108&ref=calendar |title=MoMA Calendar] , the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival and many film festivals. Due to dozens of copyright violations [cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/3599/reykjav-k-film-festival.html |title=TimeOut London Magazine] the film has not been commercially released. It is, however, distributed through the underground network of illegal art distribution.

Critical reception

The film received polar reviews from the critics, ranging from "cutting edge, brilliant" [cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2008/03/ndnf_08_assessi.html |title=Japan Japan (2008): Reviews |accessdate=2008-04-04 |publisher=Indiewire] [cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0813,the-new-class,389085,20.html |title=Japan Japan (2008): Reviews |accessdate=2008-04-07 |publisher=Village Voice] to "the horror of video when it falls into the wrong hands" [cite web|url=http://www.larazon.es/26277/noticia/Cultura%20y%20Espect%C3%A1culos/%ABGarage%BB,_Irlanda_encuentra_hueco_ |title=Japan Japan (2008): Reviews |accessdate=2008-03-04 |publisher=La Razon]

The filmmaker said about the film: "One interesting challenge was how to create an interesting viewing experience in a film where it is impossible for the viewer to experience the film through the hero's eyes. As the hero says himself: 'Whoever looks at me, expects to see the drama or the thoughts, but the face is empty."' [cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/people/2008/03/ndnf_08_intervi_2.html |title=Japan Japan (2008): Interview with the director |accessdate=2008-10-04 |publisher=Indiewire]

References

ee also

* Lior Shamriz filmography

External links

* [http://www.jehuti.com/japanjapan Official site]
*imdb title|id=1090327|title=Japan Japan
*rotten-tomatoes|id=Japan_Japan|title=Japan Japan
* [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809919710/info "Japan Japan"] at Yahoo! Movies
* [http://www.indiewire.com/people/2008/03/ndnf_08_intervi_2.html Interview with the film's director] - from Indiewire
* [http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=3567 Review by Bill Weber] - at Slant Magazine