16/04/2009
From 1st to 20th May 2009, Sporting d’Hiver, Salle des Arts - Place du Casino
From 1st to 15th May 2009, Monaco will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa at the Sporting d’Hiver. The public will have the opportunity of discovering the itinerary of a legendary figure, a true cornerstone for the cultural expansion of Japan across the globe.
“The emperor” of Japanese cinema was born on 23rd March 1910 in Omori, a suburb of Tokyo. His father, a soldier from a long line of samurai, enforced upon his family the “principles of an extremely Spartan education”. An ardent cinema enthusiast, he introduced this art to the young Akira, but it was his brother, Heigo, who allowed him to build up such a vast passion for the cinema.
Heigo was a “benshi” (commentator for silent films) and took the young Akira into the cinemas where he worked: this was his cinema-going period and Kurosawa later confessed: “I am surprised myself by the number of films I saw at that time which marked the history of the film industry”.
At 18, as a refusal of academicism, he chose not to go to the School of Fine Arts,. It was the era of the “free university years” which he spent reading, going to the cinema… In 1929, he joined the League of Proletarian artists, then got involved in more activist activities, often on the verge of legality.
He began his career as a filmmaker thanks to an advertisement in the press by a film studio which was looking for assistant directors.
From 1943 onwards, Akira Kurosawa produced film after film, both contemporary (Sugata Sanshiro II) and of a much more realist inspiration, a lesser known aspect of his filmography. Chefs d’oeuvre began to give the master his reputation (Stray Dog, Drunken Angel…). Moreover it was in the Drunken Angel that the double act which was to last 17 years between the director and his favourite actor began: Toshiro Mifune.
He became known to Western audiences through a masterful film on the subjective aspect of truth and lies: Rashomon, which was awarded the Golden Lion in Venice in 1951. The director of the film did not even know that his film had been nominated, even though the producers were opposed.
The AK100 Festival organised by Mr Hidesyoshi Kato, in partnership with the Monaco Japan Association and the Tourist Office and Convention Authority, looks back at the filmography of the “Emperor of Cinema”. Members of the public will have the opportunity to discover objects, posters and décor as well as screenings testifying to his great career and immense talent.
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The programme (screening times not yet defined):
Friday, 1st May: RAN
Saturday, 2nd May: YOJINBO
Sunday 3rd May: STRAY DOG
Friday, 8th May: SANJURO
Saturday 9th May: THE HIDDEN FORTRESS
Sunday 10th May: THE SEVEN SAMURAI
Screening will take place ONCE A DAY, in the afternoon (120 spectators maximum per screening). Free admission subject to the availability of seats. |