A masterpiece. Among all Japanese films that I have watched, ATG films always deeply intrigue me. Mastumoto certainly attempts to create a conflict between two poles, such as the avant-garde and the documentary as the reading suggests. Before entering the discussion of his combination of different genres (or even beyond the traditional-defined film medium itself), I want to briefly discuss this dichotomy embedded in this film. The film starts with a poem claiming one person as both wound and knife, both victim and executer. This dichotomy is settled at the very beginning of the film. Later around 4:22, Gonda and Eddie are placed on two opposing side of the screen, showing this dichotomy again. This also indicates the paternity conflict. The imagery of rose is also two-sides. On one side, it is extremely attractive and beautiful. On the other hand, it hurts people who hold it. This reminds me the Marxism theory of synthesis. The conflict between thesis and anti-thesis will create a new synthesis which is higher than the original thesis-antithesis level. This motivates the social progress. The new synthesis will become the new thesis, seeking a conflict with its anti-thesis. As Matsumoto is very aware of the past major film theories, (I really love the quote from Mekas) it is also possible that he learned the writings from Sergei Eisenstein or Dziga Vertov, who highly borrows from Marxism. Therefore, the concept of surrealism and seeking higher truth may also be connected to the concept of “eye” attributed to camera. Vertov’s work “Man with a Movie Camera” definitely demonstrates this idea. Therefore, the foundation of the documentary-side in “Funeral Parade of Roses” may originate from it. However, as the prompt suggests, this film also aggregate so many other genres or even elements beyond cinema to construct a deeper truth. From my perspective, this practice may compensate the innate disadvantage in documentary genre itself.
It is easy to firstly identify the documentary-side elements in this film. This film uses a lot of non-professional actors and actresses, mitigating the illusion of real from the sense of acting. The audiences will be more persuaded by its narration. Also, when the assistant yells out “Cuts,” audiences are aware of the fakeness of this narration, cancelling the illusion as well. The following interviews on either the cast or some random passers-by are also elements of documentaries. They are revealing their personal feelings of the plots, their identities, their dreams and their living conditions. These are not mingled with the narration part (or melodrama part, which will be discussed below) because such information is given purely orally by these people. There are no direct reproductions through images. Furthermore, the response or adaptation from the current events, such as the students’ riots, the wars and even the film posts on display, actively enhance the sense of the newsreels, which could be considered as the early form of the documentary.
However, a significant problem in the documentary-end is the unreachable truthfulness. The editing and the montage inevitably create new meanings instead of faithfully demonstrating the happenings that “once have been there.” Many documentaries, even in early periods, are proved to contain false information or overabundance of propagandistic messages. Robert Flaherty's “Nanook of the North” exaggerates the wilderness of the residences and invents many scenes. The camera perspectives and montages from Leni Riefenstahl’s “Triumph of the Will” certainly glorifies the image of Hitler. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve this superficial level of truthfulness because of the innate cinematic languages. Then, Mastumoto attempts to achieve a deeper sense of truthfulness in the unconscious level. Memories, or sense of memories, may facilitate this practice. The pieced images could become analogies for audiences to recall or recollect, from their daily viewing of different films or even other medias. There are two threads of this adding-up: referring to previous dominating genres that people are familiar with, then exploring the future possibilities of the cinema itself through style of “avant-garde” (manipulating time and borrowing from installation art and television).
For the first thread, Matsumoto clearly refers to melodrama, slapsticks, and some aspects of Jidai-Geki through many devices. The core of the plots still shows the sense of melodrama, even its editing skills are avant-garde. The essence of the scripts for the narrative part demonstrates a clear pattern of Eddie’s whole life, while the audiences need to paste all the parts scattered around together. Several photographs show him as a baby. After his father left, his personalities start to change. He uses make-up. When he uses lipstick, his mother beats him. He witnessed his mother meeting another man. He kills both of them. He then works in a bar, causing a typical triangle between him and Gonda and Leda. Finally, all three are dead. This kind of love affairs and struggle is typical for most melodramas, only the characters are more complicated than the normal examples. This familiar structure from a familiar genre will mitigate the sense of pioneer which may frighten the audiences, making this film more acceptable. The abundance of sex depictions also reminds the audiences the pink films as well, which becomes a powerful advertising device to appeal to the audiences, enlarging the span of its potential targeted viewers. The camera shows all different angles of the naked bodies, with many close-ups. This may clearly recall the pornographical aspects of the pink films. In addition, the reference to slapsticks also create this sense of amusement and entertainment, relaxing the audiences from the more serious and uncanny avant-garde parts of the film. In many fighting scenes, Mastumoto accelerates these shots and uses very simple and delighting background music with quick tempos. This quickly connects to the Hollywood slapsticks such as Keaton’s or Chaplin’s work. This play of time is harmonious with the more avant-garde style of manipulating time. However, it is more familiar to the audiences, replacing this work together to the stream of all the past masterpieces. In one shot, Eddie and Guevara lean on the walls that is full of Pasolini’s film “Edipo re”. They both have the theme of killing fathers. This is also a device of linking this film to previous works in more clearly genres. Finally, from 37:49, the background music for the quarrel between Gonda and Leda are traditional Japanese theatrical music. In this scene, Gonda is dominating the fighting against Leda and kicking him, showing the sense of male chauvinism. Utilizing the traditional instruments for the music here links to the genre of Jidai-geki, which are mostly adaptations from histories or traditional theatres. This genre here seems to ironically criticize the traditional Japanese patricentric culture.
Furthermore, this film also has lots of avant-garde elements. Among those numerous examples, two significant parts are the manipulation of time and the mediums beyond-cinema. Isami’s response has already clearly analyses the relationship between this film and Godard’s jump cuts. Therefore, I will not repeat this argument. There are many repetitively used shots placed in different places of the film. Sometimes they seem to show a continuity in narration, while some of them appear as the hallucinations or dream of Eddie. His memories and dreams contribute this manipulation of time. There are also many moments that the audiences could feel the sense of omens from the objects. After the scene showing dead Leda, there are two dolls on the ground. One of the dolls has a needle pinned on the neck. Another doll’s two eyes are both pinned by the needles. At the end of film, the deaths of Eddie and Gonda clearly revive this pattern. Gonda kills himself by cutting his neck, and Eddie tears his two eyes. This seems to be a De Ja Vu. This manipulation of time is significant for the seek of the deeper truth. One specific aspect of dream is that people do not know the beginning and the ending. The jumps cuts and repetition clearly imitate the similar sense of dreams and deeper memories. Therefore, the memories of Eddie are scattered around the film and freely connected. Finally, as the Mekas’s saying that “all definitions of cinema have been erased, all doors are open now,” this film also aggregates many other art forms. The scenes in the galleries showing the paintings of masks are linked to the gallery-environment. The scene depicting seven naked males’ backs with one rose thrusted in one’s butt clearly creates the sense of action arts or happenings, which is a widely used art form during this period in response to the wars and nuclear horrors, such as Yoko Ono’s “Grapefruit” and “Cut-pieces.” The reference to this new wave of art reforms could intensify this film’s connection with its contemporary political issues. Finally, television dominates many scenes in the film as well. The Eddie’s group gathers around to watch the television. The news of detecting drugs is also delivered through the form of television program. Therefore, this film seems to break the boundaries of instantaneity of cinema, which the audiences merely stay in theatre with darkness for two hours. The television, a familiar medium that represent the audiences’ daily routines, seems to arouse more perpetuating senses for the audiences. This generalization also represent the accumulation of the audiences’ or the characters’ unconsciousness or memories, because people will receive the news and understand the worlds through watching cinemas.
《蔷薇的葬礼》是一部关乎自我毁灭的电影。它向我们展现了上世纪日本跨性别的边缘年轻群体的世界,在这个世界里,绝望、爱与死亡构成了一种戏剧性的谵妄,这种谵妄的强度对于观众而言,实际上如同被施了迷魂药一般。 主人公Eddie,爱到绝望,美到扭曲。黑白粗粝的摄影效果中,Eddie黑而浓密的睫毛,精致的唇妆,微笑抑或言语,皆有一种隐秘而微妙的堕落美,恰如日本文化中的野菊花,美丽、端庄。他放肆地穿着女人的服饰,和同为异装癖的地下同性恋俱乐部的友人行走在东京的街头,毫不顾忌地走进男厕。那是日本的1969年,全共斗运动席卷日本新一代,年轻人渴望摆脱政治上的虚无。学生运动、反越战,一切已经垮塌,日本沉没,没有未来。那是Eddie,又何尝不是六十年代末日本青年的造像:颓废、恍惚、扭曲、荒唐。松本俊夫的镜头不过是对日本精神缺失的现实世界投去的最低限度的一瞥。 电影的镜头在不断的闪回、跳转之下逐渐拼贴出了Eddie不堪的过去:Eddie与母亲相依为命,对母亲有着极强的占有欲。他对母亲说,忘了那个男人,母亲大笑。当母亲有了别的男人后,他感觉一种被母亲遗弃的愤怒,于是他就把仇恨与暴虐施加在母亲身上。。。。。。自此,就如同神谕在他身上下了诅咒一般,Eddie万劫不复。和帕索里尼的电影《俄狄浦斯王》不一样的是,松本俊夫继承并颠覆了弗洛伊德有关“俄狄浦斯情结”的命题,Eddie的人设被定为弑母、与父乱伦。在影片末尾短短五分钟不到的时间里,剧情发生了颠覆性的反转:父亲权田意外发现了Eddie夹在《父亲的回归》的书里被烟头烫过的全家福,父子乱伦的真相昭然若揭。权田自刎,Eddie自戳双目。从他的眼里流淌出来的,是血,是泪,是一朵绝望至死的蔷薇从绽放走向枯萎的印证。这是蔷薇的葬礼,也是晦涩而扭曲的爱,惨烈骇人,凄美异常。他是伤人的剑,也是剑伤的人;他是刽子手,也是受害者。 这种由精神变态引发的冲破伦常的故事,特别容易对观众造成心理冲击波,但也恰恰说明,人类关心这类故事、命运和悲剧的下意识,正是指向着谋求一种满足和解释:它缘何如此发展,形成悲剧的社会原因何在?说到底,人是社会的人,人的本质并不是个人所固有的抽象物,在其现实性上,他是一切社会关系的总和。松本俊夫对非常态伦理文化的透视,把观众的关注点引向了一些边缘群体。不要否定,他们在城市里形成了一个不可渗透的小小的区域,那里藏污纳垢,产生和消化一切罪孽,自生再自食,沿一种不可理喻的规律循环。他们病中带痛地生活在大多数人的对立面,遭受着憎恶与排斥。其实电影更多地是隐喻了战后丧失了秩序、信仰和方向的年轻一代,性倒错、嗑药、对国家的不信任,自我的放逐,都是那个特定的年代的标志。 《蔷薇的葬礼》其作为实验性的先锋电影和上世纪六十年代电影日本’新浪潮’时期的发轫之作,其对索福克勒斯《俄狄浦斯王》这一悲剧的充满野心的改编,用近乎极端的方式挑战观众的感官,带着挑衅的高调直指同性恋和异装癖问题,也使得电影外的反传统主题意义远超电影情节,成为同类中独一无二的作品。无论是其极具争议的题材,还是先锋前卫的表现方式,这部影片都已经在日本电影史上留下了浓墨重彩的一笔。 而松本俊夫作为与寺山修司、大岛渚齐名的日本60年代独立电影三大支柱之一,直接推动了日本电影’新浪潮’的发展。从《蔷薇的葬礼》、《十六岁的战争》到《Ginrin》、《石油的起源》,松本俊夫一直保持着实验性的创作,这些作品也为观众提供了全新的感官体验。但精英化的前锋艺术与大众文化本身就有冲突,所以多数时间这些只是小众地生存在夹缝中。边缘艺术让大部分人望而却步,然而那只是表象,先驱者的思考将会影响一波又一波艺术创新领域的研究者和活动者。 诡谲的画面,前卫的艺术,这份坚硬晦涩令松本俊夫远离大众的艺术审美。但这份实验精神,也令人肃然起敬。
令人回味悠长的一部片,充盈着种种实验镜头,导演的才华是超赞的!
60年代是《广岛之恋》的年代,这样拍电影,不坏,但也好不到哪里。
“一个人的精神是通过反复的自我否定而到达极致。”……松本俊夫,高开低走,总在实验,也不愿自我否定踏入主流一回。父亲的扮演者土屋嘉男是七武士中那位妻子遭山匪掠辱的农民,儿子的扮演者池畑慎之介则“将”在十余年后出演乱。同为新浪潮代表的筱田正浩客串出镜演他自己。
看的有点不认真,总之没觉得哪里美~
其实我没看懂,但是电影的感觉我还是很喜欢。
以为老男孩够狠了,朴赞郁放到这儿还是保守了啊。
娇萌美少年!!大家都在说这部电影怎么怎么个先锋怎么怎么个牛逼,不好意思!!!我只看见那个美少年了!!!我看见那个美少年之后我就看不见其他剧情了!!
如果是彩色的也很好
库布里克发条橙确凿无疑的东瀛源流.重点不在乱伦、异装癖、性爱等各种类别标签之上,亦不在所谓纪录片手法或者先锋电影手法诸如自然灯光、现场录音、模拟采访、快速剪接、快进、多次闪回、黑白等等,重点仍放在情节上,松本俊夫用一切影像手段表达出的是毫不晦涩的、具体的情绪,扭曲的绝望,爱与死亡
悲剧啊。。。
非常西化的日本浪潮
影片被称为日本新浪潮先声之作,也是开启日本电影同性恋文化的第一部作品。全部使用非职业演员,男同性恋异装者在镜头前演出自己。我在观影过程中感受到戈达尔、阿伦雷乃、克里斯·马克等法国新浪潮名将的痕迹,一部很新很浪很潮潮潮潮潮潮潮到爆的电影。影片也被许多评论家认为对后来库布里克的《发条橘子》有直接影响(人物造型以及里面的暴力场景)。
人,都是戴面具生活着
我一直觉得,同性电影中,无论是0还是T,毕竟还是男/女性,这是本质的东西,如果0就是伪娘T就是男人婆,那么根到底还是异性电影,根本就不是什么同性爱
9.5;won't u follow me down to the rose parade?
在不断自我否定以寻找自我的途中,我是伤人的剑,也是剑伤的人;希腊悲剧的东瀛版本,弑父娶母变成弑母睡父,更突破底线,也更触动人心;导演在艺术手法上做了大胆的尝试:跳接、拼贴、快进、闪回、静态图片、仿纪录片……从心所欲不逾矩,令人目不暇接;扭曲的倒错之美,绝望的同性之爱。
丝毫不觉得主角是美少年,难看的要命!从来不喜欢这类题材,无论话题有多刺激,观念有多激进,手法有多先锋;作为承上启下的探索过渡,此片形式大于内容。
如果宝冢戏剧《凡尔赛的玫瑰》通过全女班扮演的男性提供了一个少女臆想中的梦境的话,那么《蔷薇的葬礼》则是其反向版本,它建立了一个全男性的酷儿乐园,其中男性成为了女性,混乱,毒品,以及焉指不详的政治激进,这同样是一个美学的世界。但《蔷薇的葬礼》通过重置俄狄浦斯神话构成了一种回溯——“父亲的回归”:另类的是,异装癖在语境中更亲源于拉康,弗洛伊德而非“性别搬演”的酷儿理论,“门缝的”母亲与镜像面前的少年,弑杀母亲,以便取代她,当Gay吧老板(与原文本对应的“另一个父亲”)再一次倒下时,我们终于发现了命运的另外的必然性,特尔斐的神谕赤裸裸地曝露在我们面前,最终,她(他)选择不再抵抗,以一种唯美的死亡走向自我之消亡,如同地上的蔷薇。
一点都不实验呀完全没有想象中那么难懂(可能也是被预告片骗了)。剧情甚至还比较老套:童年阴影,消失的父亲,失足的母亲,出柜,为男人撕逼,撕逼撕出人命... 但是画面和叙事方法都很先锋(好了付兰兰我知道你学的谁了),演员也很大胆犀利令人印象深刻,结局更是惨不忍睹。。#修复版
果然卸了妆都丑