'69'

'69' Anybody else seen the film adaptation of Murakami Ryu's novel '69'? I had no idea that the Kyushu dialect played such a large part in both the atmosphere and plot of the work, since I read it translation. In the movie, the protagonist's friends constantly comment on how he reverts to 'textbook Japanese' whenever he starts getting serious about some topic. I also seem to have forgotten how much humor there was in it. Then again, the fact that Murakami Haruki (no relation) seems to have a fairly low opinion of such levity in the student movement has left a much deeper impression on me. In short, I understood about 45.7% of the movie because of the dialect, but I was (ambivalently to be sure) swept up in the exuberance of (Japan's) 1960's nostalgia.

Ame Agaru This was another film I saw recently, and despite the fact that it was full of Edo period dialogue, I still managed to catch more of it than that pesky Kyushu dialect. As a 'humanist' period piece, its lineage as an unfinished Kurosawa Akira project is fairly obvious. It does seem to be from a different era. Compared to the irony and (strangely defensive) emphasis on heroism in recent period works, this one focuses on the nobility of the common people and the moral bankruptcy of the elites. Very post-war. Quite heart-warming.

Ghost Squad Um. This one isn't a movie, but a video game. LL and I spent some time and money on this one today in Shibuya, and our wrists are still quivering from the experience. It features two full-size sub-machines with which to smack-down the baddies. We were terrible at rescuing hostages. Much more effective in shredding up the scenery. I might have to go back and play some more soon.
On a side-note: we spent more money on that game than one and a half hours (plus two drinks) at Karaoke.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, Karaoke is cheap during the day. The above cost only 800 yen for both of us.