Review: Strawberry Shortcakes

[spoilers]

I went to see Strawberry Shortcakes at the ICA today. It's a film that is part of the Japan Foundation's touring film programme, "A Life More Ordinary: A Portrait of Contemporary Japanese People on Film". The programme aims to bring to the UK Japanese films that don't fall into the usual import fare ie there are no bullets to the head or blood splatter, no clashing katana or bizarre ghosts with long hair.

Perhaps the Japanese don't want us to think they're obsessed with sex, violence, robots & monsters.

In a documentary style, Strawberry Shortcakes follows the life of 4 Japanese women in Tokyo: a prostitute, a receptionist at her brothel, an OL, and an artist. It focuses on how they make a living, their inner thoughts and their relationships with men. It's based on a manga by Kiriko Nananan.

I thought it was an interesting film, with 4 female leads, which allow female characters to come to the fore. The acting was effective, if a little stilted but perhaps that's just the typical behaviour of the Japanese female in a patriarchal society.

Campaign

Watch an innocent and naive newcomer fight opponents, his own side & even his own wife to try and win in a few weeks.

A cliched fantasy film?

No, the story of a Japanese council election!! No, it's not boring, really. Before you go to YouTube to watch kittens savaging woollen balls , check out Campaign! The Kawasaki Candidate.

In Kazuhiro Soda's first feature length film, he follows an old student friend, Kazuhiko Yamauchi, who was plucked out of obscurity as a Tokyoite coin and stamp dealer and parachuted into a Kawaski council election where defeat would hand control to the opposition Democratic party.

This would be a coup as his party, the Liberals (LDP) has been in national government for nearly all of the last 50 years.

It's a real-life Being There comboed with Mr Smith Goes to Washington.

During the film, we see Yamauchi's wife complain that she has to call herself his housewife rather than his wife. She also gets stroppy when she's told that she should leave her job to help her husband's future, particularly when he has to pay for all election expenses himself.

The workings of the LDP are exposed when we realise that he's a pawn who's there to fill a bye-election vacancy and when the main elections occur in 2 years, he'll be without support.
If he gets elected, he'd have to recruit his own supporters and raise money. He compares the LDP to the military and moans about all the criticism he's getting including the angle of his bows. This is crucial as he is commanded to bow to telephone poles. When he says he is "pissed off", is this atypical Japanese frankness or a hyperbolic interpreter?

Find out what happened after the election [spoilers].

There is a gratuitous moment which has no relevance to the film: a packed commuter train gets going after 4 train "pushers" cram overhanging passengers so that the doors can shut.

Campaign! The Kawasaki Candidate is part of the Why Democracy? project to start a global conversation about democracy. This version is about 50 min long. The DVD, titled "Campaign", with the theatrical version, is 120 min long and can be bought from Film Baby.

Awesome Onsen

I have just been to the onsen (hot spring) at Nishi Otsu, 10 minutes from Kyoto by train.

The indoor spring area was 7m x 2.5m.

The outdoor spring area was about two-thirds of the size of the inner spring. Both had a lakeside view. I found both areas pleasantly warm but the inner area was very humid and it was difficult to breathe after more than 15 minutes. So, I retreated to the outer edges of the outer spring.




Afterwards, I had a fantastic meal experience during dinner. The dining room was warm and pleasant. It had wood-panelled walls and was complemented by the muted western classical CD soundtrack.

Being the only guests, my companion and I had excellent service and the 6 course menu comprised:

• Fish - raw
• Fish and a Prawn - raw
• Fish & a Prawn - battered
• Corn - in a soup
• Beef - Teppanyaki (this was cooked to perfection as I had to cook it myself on the table-top frying pan)
• Double Chocolate Mousse - dark chocolate as the base and light and fluffy milk chocolate above it

Each course was modest in size but was immaculately presented and had distinct flavours.


The onsen building itself was decorated with thick carpets and wood - panelled walls as well as an indoor, illuminated water feature. It conveyed a very relaxed atmosphere. Interestingly, the men wore western suits but the women wore eastern kimonos.

Terrific Tea

I was treated to a tea ceremony in H's home, in her tea room. She then instructed her daughter to perform the ceremony.

Finally,Ⅰ had a go skipping tricky parts.

H also teaches people how to wear kimonos.

I think it is great she keeps the traditions of the tea ceremony and kimono-wearing going in the 21st century and passes on her knowledge to others.

Outrageous Osaka

I've just been to Osaka Castle - the only one with a lift in the middle. Alas, only the outer shell remains, as the inner decor has been modernised to accommodate a museum. It features the story of the castle and also that of its creator Toyotomi Hideyoshi who ordered work be started on it in 1583.

There are some fine models and a detailed 2-part folding screen showing the battle for the Castle between one of Hideyoshi's sons and the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The latter was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan which ruled from 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

The "steroscopic" pictures just gave me a headache.

In the evening, I went to the West of Osaka, to the Bayside to go up the WTC Tower, which has 52 floors and is a quarter of a kilometre high. There were spectacular views of the city, the sea and traffic crossing bridges as well as the nearby, illuminated, Ferris wheel.

I was due to meet H at my Kyoto hotel at 8pm but due to train problems which meant no trains circulated on the Osaka loop for over half an hour, forcing me to take a detour using 2 metro lines, I did not arrive until 9:30pm. OK, so I was running half an hour late due to my tower ascent but 1 hour of my tardiness was not down to me. I did try to ring H but left a message, which she did not get. However, I did manage to speak to her a 9pm.

We went to a karaoke bar, where a Singaporean friend of hers works. She sang Chinese, Japanese and Carpenters' songs beautifully whilst I stunned the audience with my butchering of Robbie Williams' "Feel" and the Chilli's "Californication".

As I had told H I spoke French, she asked me to sing French songs. The only ones I could find were Vanessa Paradis' "Joe le Taxi" and a couple from the Yves Montand oeuvre. I swear my singing French was more melodious than my English.

Japanese journey

I'm typing this from the FREE net kiosk near gates 56-63 (T1 international terminal) and waiting for my Osaka plane. I plan to check out the castle but I'll be staying in Kyoto and hope to go to an onsen with my karaoke - bar - owning friend.





Kansai Airport is unusual in being sited on an island. It is connected by the mainland by a bridge and a tunnel.

It has replaced Osaka Airport for most international flights.

Going Down Under

I'm off to Australia today - for a month - the maximum my travel insurers will allow.

The plan is to be in Melbourne for the first week to catch the Australian Open (1 of the 4 Tennis Grand Slams), Sydney for the second week, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef to learn to dive for the third week & Brisbane for 1/2 week.

Finally, I'm flying back via Japan to spend a couple days in Kyoto and Osaka, again.

I passed through Osaka and spent a couple of days in Kyoto in 2005.