By AYAKO KARINO Asahi Shimbun News Service
http://www.asahi.com/english/culture/K2001120100426.html
The 1960s and early '70s were a time of riots in Japan. Angry crowds gathered at the Diet to campaign against the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, while students wearing helmets battled police at Tokyo University to protest American policy toward Japan.
In 1972, as the era of massive student and labor revolution drew to a close, the nation was rocked by a singularly shocking event.
Two groups, the Revolutionary Front and the Red Color Partisans, had gathered at a remote mountain camp in Nagano Prefecture to conduct military training aimed at achieving their final goal of revolution. Both parties shared the radical notion of using arms to liberate the nation, and they had raided local koban (police boxes) and gun shops to get weapons.
Up in the hidden camp, of the 22 young people gathered, 14 were tortured and killed in the name of ``reforming'' themselves, in a forced situation of self-criticism.
What really happened up on the mountaintop-in what is widely known as the United Red Army Incident-remains shrouded in mystery, although many published works have tried to uncover the truth. The best attempt to date is Wahei Tatematsu's novel ``Rain of Light'' (Shincho Bunko, 1998). Thirty years after the tragedy, veteran director Banmei Takahashi has made a film of the novel.
``I've been wanting to make a film about this incident for many years,'' said Takahashi in a recent interview. ``It happened in the 20th century, so I reckoned I'd better shoot it before the turn of the century, or else I wouldn't be able to finish off my 20th century, to close a chapter in my own life. I thought if I didn't do this film, the incident might be recalled, but the details of their deaths would not be uncovered and their souls would not rest.
``It's a thrilling topic for any filmmaker to tackle-especially for those who find interest in analyzing human psychology,'' the introspective director says.
Takahashi spent more than a year finding the best way to present the complex theme, going through trial and error in completing the script. Producer and scriptwriter Takeshi Aoshima came up with the movie-within-a-movie idea, in which a group of young actors and filmmakers struggle to understand the incident while making a film about it.
Although confusing at first, the style follows the passion and heat of the revolutionaries-which the actors also reflect in their own struggle-and their attempts to change the world. As both worlds slip into chaos, we are intrigued.
Actor Ren Osugi, who's made a name for himself appearing in director Takeshi Kitano's films, plays middle-aged filmmaker Tarumi, assigned by a major film company to make a film about the incident. He is of the same generation as the revolutionaries and acts as spokesman for the era, while Masato Hagiwara plays a young filmmaker called Anan. Along with them are the young actors, led by Taro Yamamoto and Nae Yuki, playing the roles of the ``children of the revolution'' in the film-within-the-film. They energetically show the gap between the cadres of the United Red Army in the '70s, and the cool youth of today, oblivious to the past. Breathtaking scenes show the brutality, as each victim is killed for not being the ideal ``revolutionary soldier.'' These are juxtaposed with scenes of the young actors asking, ``What on earth is revolution, anyway?''
``Rain of Light'' thus becomes not only a reflection on the past, but also an emotional drama about modern youths coming to terms with the passions of the '60s and early '70s, which are mostly lost to society today.
``Back in those days, people had the energy and initiative to try to change the world if they felt that it was bad. Now, I understand that it's not `cool' to be willing and passionate. But I want young people to see what it was like back then, and to think about the current situation they're in,'' says Takahashi. ``That's why I didn't want to make a period drama, just showing what happened as part of history. I wanted to show it from a contemporary point of view.''
The United Red Army Incident was a true shock to Takahashi, who had been involved in the student movement back then. The 52-year-old director recalls that he ``could have been one of the ones who got killed.''
Says Takahashi: ``Since the incident, I find myself always belonging to the `losing team.' I ended up running away from the movement, and I have always felt guilty about that. I've lost friends in that movement, you know.''
Many of his comrades-who are still alive-have told Takahashi they are glad he finally captured the incident in a film.
Takahashi has made an engrossing film out of the novel, despite its complex theme. Negative impressions have always revolved around the notorious incident, but ``Rain of Light'' shows that there are many ways to look at-and try to understand-what actually happened.
Asked what his definition of ``revolution'' is now that he has finished this film, one he had been working toward for a long time, Takahashi pauses and says, ``Revolution is perhaps every step I walk in the footsteps of Buddha.''
``Rain of Light'' (130 minutes) opens Dec. 8 at Cine Amuse East/West and Ikebukuro Shin-Bungeiza (03-3971-9422).
===== Kevin Dean Buffalo, NY ICQ: 8616001 http://www.yaysoft.com
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