Tokyo-Ga (Wim Wenders, 1985)
Tokyo-Ga ('Tokyo Images') is a travelogue doco which is supposed to be about Ozu Yasujiro, but it's actually mostly about egocentric Wim Wenders, who speaks the entire commentary in English. It shows aspects of life in Tokyo in 1985: a golf stadium, pachinko (pinball), waxed display food, and teenagers.
There are two segments to do with Ozu: an interview with Chishu Ryu (a major Ozu actor, he is in 52 of the 54 films) and another with Ozu's last camera operator. In both cases there are no subtitles: what the interviewee has to say is represented in Wenders' spoken translation. Those bits are fascinating, but have nothing at all to do with the rest of the film, so it's a very odd cameleopard.
Werner Herzog makes an appearance on the top of the Tokyo Tower and has some things to say in German, which are not translated. And there is a shot of Chris Marker's right eye, as he hides behind a piece of paper. He does not speak.
Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 17 January, 2022 | Now: 17 January, 2022