Story: During the 18th century the girl Kiyoha (Anna Tsuchiya) is sold into a red light district in Edo. There she learns to sing, dance and how to lead a conversation like a geisha. At first Kiyoha is of the lowest rank, but apart from her feisty nature there is also something else about her that drives men crazy. Soon she secures the favor of her suitors and concerning her rivals she can come out on top. However, she eventually hopelessly falls in love with the young man Sojiro (Hiroki Narimiya). At the same time she becomes the new oiran, the daugher of joy with the highest rank within the amusement center, and is courted by the samurai Kuranosuke (Kippei Shiina) who even wants to make her his wife. With her newly won power Kiyoha learns to bend the rules according to her will in the establishment and prefers to spend the night with poor men who have their heart in the right place rather than with rich noblemen. But she can't be happy this way and so she continuous dreaming of the day at which she can flee her life while her protector Seiji (Masanobu Ando) is holding off the most obvious harm from her.
Review: Sakuran is a movie with visual inventiveness. It has many lush colors, which are mainly somewhere in the red and gold scale area. It tells its story in an almost pop-like fashion, or at least it's not a typical geisha drama playing in Edo.
Director Mika Ninagawa brings the distinctive sense of color and individual view of the world with which she has rewritten the history of photography and become know around the world. With this uncompromising "Edo costume drama" she makes a glittering debut in film. Rather than a conventional "oiran tragedy", she has pursued and ageless unchanging "reality of woman", and combined this with a gentle melancholy of emotion. Spurning eye-catching effects and composites, she has relied instead on her vivid sense of color.
Ninagawa is a top photographer but still pooled her special talent in the film that steps nimbly out of the frame work of conventional Japanese film. Sakuran is vivid and powerful, a film of the past that touches deeply into hearts that live now.
Reference art work:
Actually, many people in the world were inspired by the movie with lush color and contrast of red and golden. The dominating and coquettish main actress with colorful dress up in kimono made all female to rebel our origin good character.
Now, there is a nail tech who wants to use the theme of Sakuran with confident, gorgeous and individualize color and flower patter compromise with glitters and jewels. This kind of technique is called nail colored drawn on pottery.
The roses drawing on the nail just like the color of the kimono which was worn by the courtesan. The black line symbolize the hair bun of woman. The lace implies the low and gentle of a woman and the glitters on the nail implies the hope of being rich and future.
http://naileyes.pixnet.net/blog
Reference:
http://www.xtimeline.com/evt/view.aspx?id=130068
http://naileyes.pixnet.net/blog
http://www.sakuran-themovie.com/
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ReplyDeleteGlad to know that there are some other kind of artwork as people usually thought of paintings, photographs when we talk about artwork.I love this artwork so much! It is good to know that the artwork gave inspiration to many people in the world, and even created a fashion!
ReplyDeleteIs there any reference to show it is related to any art movement/history/other artwork?
Thanks for your sharing!
Janice
The art work of Ninamika is always surprise me with that shocking and stunning scene and atmosphere. The composition of the scene and signature of colorful flowers is marvelous. Also, the use of "Montage" technique is powerful to express the core message and feelings of actors. I love Ninamika indeed, haha.
ReplyDeleteDear Bobo,
ReplyDeleteNether in your post or in your presentation did you mention about the original manga that this film is based upon. It would be very important to look at this manga to understand the stylistic innovations and visual interpretations that Ninagawa made. You also mention that it's not a "typical geisha drama playing in Edo" but what is typical? And how is this film atypical? You can also compare this film to the work of Baz Luhrmann who is famous for stylizing classic themes. In your final paper, try to identify where Ninagawa's "visual intensiveness" is played out most.