Hameln

Long shots of everything moving or not moving; but oddly enough I enjoyed the scenes here, I wanted to watch and enjoy them. I was intrigued that the camera didn't move; each time the shot changed it just jumped elsewhere, but it never moved an inch (unless you count the clouding of the wind, when the "holder" couldn’t stay still). Only during the "memory" shots was the camera allowed to move, to shake. Otherwise, it was as if it wasn't even there – the film had no camera, so it felt like I was simply peering through a window into the unknown. Once again, you can feel Tsubokawa's spirit in the film – a nostalgic sigh for the past, piano tuning and melancholy. The setting itself is also interesting, as we peer into a village that in a few (decades) years will be deserted, as all its inhabitants are now pensioners. That's why the clearing out of the old school, long disused, is so painful for its headmaster, and not only for him. This pain, the sigh "for the golden old days", is very palpable and I believe it is mainly due to the camera. Of course, even the few actors who appear here are very skilled and know how to play their part. It's a no-nonsense film with the great Nishijima Hidetoshi. (27.02.2015)