Seemingly not much more than student 8mm
films - made while teaching at college - these two early documentary shorts are
very personal works, specifically looking at her relationships with two family
members: one close and one distant.
Embracing
(1992)
Raised by her grandparents in Nara,
Kawase is essentially an orphan though both her parents are alive. Her mother
seemingly lives with her new family, while little is known of what became of
her father. Starting with a conversation with her great aunt about how her
parents met, her adopted mother asks her why she would want to find those who
left her. Nonetheless, Kawase tries to track her father, visiting the places he
formally lived in Osaka and Kobe and the Hyogo region. Eventually, she is able
to locate his current residence and gains his phone number. But, does she want
to make that call?
Katatsumori
(1994)
Her second documentary short is a
portrait of her great aunt who raised her. Kawase plays the annoying child,
endlessly poking her camera in her great aunt's face as she goes about daily
chores, mainly tending to the "garden" at the front of their house.
But she also takes some more covert shots of her from a distance through
windows. There is little in the way of story here, more a love letter to the
woman who raised her, as they watch the garden grow together.
"Embracing" is very much an art
film: out-of-focus abstract shots, with a constantly moving camera - at times
irritating, at times very effective. The storytelling is at times unclear, but
as we build towards the climax, things fit into place and is quite moving.
"Katatsumori", however, is more conventional in its style: more
straightforward camerawork as she films her great aunt going about her
business.
You can see a change in Kawase between
the two films. In "Embracing" her hair is short, her face is blank,
her images abstract, with a more experimental and disgruntled youth, angry for
answers. Though "Katatsumori" sees Kawase regularly smiling, with
longer hair, appearing more the decent, girl next door than the more lost soul
of "Embracing". This more abstract storytelling and poignant
conclusion make "Embracing" the stronger of the two, though these are
best watched as a pair, giving a rounded portrait of what would become one of
Japan's most respected directors in later years.
Perhaps "Embracing" helped
answer some questions and saw a coming-of-age for Kawase, more comfortable in
herself two years later. She was once searching for her parents, but with
"Katatsumori", she has realised her great aunt's words at the start
of "Embracing": she is the women who raised her, and so always knew
where her home was.
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