Combined with the mesmerizing soundtrack, the result is an extremely captivating piece of filmmaking with a gripping atmosphere that kept me absolutely captivated throughout.Īpart from being a terrific documentary in itself, ANPO, Art X War: The Art of Resistance will be a valuable classroom resource for teaching about the links between politics, protest and the evolution of artistic expression in postwar Japan. The editing and cinematography for the photographs and paintings is simply wonderful, with many absorbing closeups and carefully executed panning shots, clearly the result of meticulous and thoughtful planning by Hoaglund and her crew on the documentary. Impressive also is the historical reach of the documentary, which manages to touch on the atomic bombing of Japan (as in Shōmei Tōmatsu’s shocking photographs of A-bomb victims), the impact of the Korean War, 1950s and 1960s protests, and activism against US military bases in Okinawa and elsewhere in the present. As the writer Handō Kazutoshi recalls, “I hated America.” The documentary skillfully depicts the trauma of the ANPO for these individuals and the ways it found expression in their creative work. Activists, such as the renowned folk singer Katō Tokiko and the writer Hosaka Masayasu, offer fascinating insights into the complex motivations of protesters at the time: some simply wanted to avoid another war, others hated Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke and wanted him removed, some wanted to “protect democracy,” and yet others wanted the US military out of Japan (or some combination of all these factors). In the works of painters such as Ishii Shigeo and Nakamura Hiroshi and photographer Hamaya Hiroshi we are transported back to the tumultuous politics and protest of late-1950s and early 1960s Japan, and particularly to the anti-treaty protests of 1960, when hundreds of thousands of Japanese came out to oppose the renewal of this bilateral military agreement. Hoaglund’s documentary does a marvelous job of presenting the treasure Book Reviews 707 chest of artistic expression–in painting, in photography, and in film–born of the ANPO experience. Ordinary Japanese people are portrayed as victims of the American military and their own government which, as one young artist concludes, has never really been interested in protecting the people. Because of the treaty Japan is apparently still subject to an American occupation which began after its defeat in the Pacific War and continues in the form of military bases dotted throughout the archipelago, especially in Okinawa Prefecture. As New York Times reporter Tim Weiner graphically asserts, the ANPO treaty is the equivalent of a relationship between a “prostitute” and a “pimp.” In the photographs, films, paintings and interviews throughout the documentary we learn how the ANPO has bred animosity toward the US, fueled social unrest and shattered lives. Make no mistake, this is a film with a very distinct political position: the ANPO is presented as a wholly traumatizing, destructive and negative force in Japan. Linda Hoaglund’s documentary film ANPO, Art X War: The Art of Resistance is a provocative and thought-provoking examination of the politics and history of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan (ANPO) as seen through the eyes of Japanese artists and their depictions of civic protest, the American military presence in the country, and the ordinary Japanese people who have been forced to live with the consequences of this alliance. 1 videodisc (89 min.) US$275.00 (Institutions/Universities) US$95.00 (Community Groups/Public Libraries/High Schools) US$80.00 (Rental). Cinematography, Yamazaki Yutaka Editor, Scott Burgess Music, Satoshi Takeishi, Shoko Nagai.
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