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スーツを買う (Suutsu o kau)
Released: 2008
Director:
Jun Ichikawa
Starring:
Yukiko Sunahara
Sabakichi
Takaaki Yamazaki
Shin'ichi Kashiwagi
Sumiko Matsumura
Running time: 47 minutes
Reviewed by Eric Evans
There's an old adage about a good craftsman never blaming his tools. While some filmmakers act as if they couldn't possibly create their vision without cutting-edge tech and effects (not to mention a nine-figure budget--I'm looking at you, James Cameron), Jun Ichikawa took to the streets of Tokyo with a video camera and crafted two interesting and at times beautiful films: "Buy A Suit" and "Tokyo Rendering." The latter is little more than street scenery shot with a static point of view, but with a twist--prose poems are superimposed over the action. Some of them are stoic, some strange, and some quite funny; Ichikawa juxtaposes a bustling Tokyo street scene with the caption "Why did you come to this village?", which draws outright laughs. It's light fare even at 27 minutes, but the humor and novelty sustains a viewing. "Buy A Suit," however, isn't just an exercise. It's a gentle, 47-minute swan song to a directorial career full of tales of human drama.
The film follows one day in the life of a young woman (Yukiko Sunahara) as she arrives in Tokyo to see her brother after a 5-year absence. She tracks him down to discover that he's living on the streets in a blue tarp and cardboard shelter, eating garbage and philosophizing about how people only care about themselves. The story, such as it is, is secondary to the relationships we see play out in a handful of scenes: Sister and brother's friend have lunch; Sister and brother reunite; Sister and brother eat a snack; Sister and brother meet brother's ex for dinner. Before discovering his homelessness we learn that the brother was a kind of math prodigy who a college friend describes as "maybe too smart," which prefaces his behavior and situation quite elegantly. When the brother is interviewed for a "man on the street" news segment, Ichikawa occasionally cuts away to the sister sitting nearby, watching. She doesn't see the vaguely frightening ranting of a street person, but rather the eccentricity of a family member, and it's reflected in her soft smile. The characters don't reveal much of themselves, but rather hint at a backstory through dialogue and expression.
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That Jun Ichikawa's final film would be a quiet, personal drama about a woman and her brother isn't surprising; No other director drew more comparison with Ozu, and no other director better earned that comparison. What is something of a shock is that Ichikawa chose to shoot and edit the story himself on high-def video, rejecting a professional lifetime spent perfecting his craft on sets with crews, DPs, lighting designers, etc. If Ichikawa wanted the DIY excitement of shooting on video without the financial burden or watching eyes of a studio, well good for him. "Buy A Suit" proves that a true cinematic storyteller can tell a story without bells and whistles. What the film lacks in technical polish it more than makes up for in narrative interest.
Note: The "Buy A Suit" DVD includes both features.
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