Movies, “I Girasoli(Sunflower)” and “Les Parapluies de Cherbourg(The Umbrellas of Cherbourg）”
Once upon a time, there was an NHK documentary program about a Japanese soldier who was interned in Siberia during the war, but after his release, stayed there, got married, and became a Russian citizen. Not only this story, but there must have been many similar cases all over the world. If he had left behind a wife, a lover, or a Forgiveness in Japan, it would be exactly the same situation as in the movie “Sunflowers”.
As long as there is war, such a tragedy could happen anywhere at any time, as depicted in the films “Sunflowers” and “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”. Both films have extremely simple stories, but with beautiful theme music, they were both moving hits. Although they are not films that loudly appeal to the “anti-war” movement, they have a deep emotional appeal.
One of the outstanding parts of “Sunflowers” is the scene in which the two are reunited at a train stop in Russia. The expressions on the faces of Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren were superb. Both were perfect in their performances. If a young Japanese actor had done a bad job, the scene would have been ruined. If a Japanese actor were to shoot that scene, I personally would use Ken Takakura. Then, would the actress be Chieko Baisho? I knew it.
Another scene in which I was impressed by the acting and direction was the scene in which the main character meets a stranger (the husband’s current wife) at the last house she finds after visiting her husband. When he shows her a picture of her husband, she instantly becomes upset. When she looks at the doorway, she sees a little girl standing there. Sophia Loren’s expression at this moment is as if she instantly realizes everything that is happening. She also sees a crude bed and two pillows on it in the house she has been invited into. When Sophia Loren took one look at them, she gave a very convincing performance… Jealousy, despair, anger, sadness… She did her best to give a difficult performance to express “a woman’s conflict,” which included all of these things. To tell the truth, Sophia Loren is not my favorite actress, but I thought her performance in this movie was very good.
“The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” depicts a story that must have happened countless times around the world (and is probably still happening at this time), in which a woman, unable to wait for her lover who was taken away by war, falls in love with and marries another man. When I saw this film, I was struck by the beauty of Catherine Deneuve. As a child, I was surprised to see such a beautiful woman.
As an aside, it is said that a fine has recently been imposed in China for “lip-syncing”. The “Umbrellas of Cherbourg” is the originator of the “lip-syncing” technique. Also, speaking of Cherbourg, I recall that it was a “military port” where dangerous reprocessed nuclear fuel was shipped to Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdqBuE3xvlg
#film #movie #sunflower #片山俊幸
