Carmen Comes Home has the distinction of being the first Japanese film shot in color. But because printing it was so costly, a black and white version was also done. That meant that actors had to act every scene twice. Amazing!
At the time the film was released, the American occupation was winding down. Director Keisuke Kinoshita designed this gentle satire to reflect the profound changes Japanese society had undergone because of the American influence throughout the country.
Kinoshita was interested not only in chronicling how the patriarchal culture of rural conservative areas reacted to the liberal American ways but also designed the narrative to "soften the blow" among all those who were traumatized by strange new experiences.
Japan's defeat in World War II led to the gradual emancipation of women in the culture. In the urban areas, women became sexually involved with American soldiers much to the chagrin of Japanese men, often former soldiers who felt emasculated.
In Kinoshita's story, his protagonist Kin using the stage name Carmen Lily (Hideko Takamine) returns to the small town where she grew up after becoming a well-known dancer. But actually she's just a striptease "artist."
Carmen is accompanied by fellow dancer Maya (Tokisho Kobayashi), a comic figure bored by the lack of excitement in Carmen's hometown. Carmen's father Shoichi (Takeshi Sakamoto) was never happy about his daughter leaving in the first place and as a deeply conservative man, is ashamed that she has taken up such a profession.
At first the School Principal (Chishu Ryu) hides his deep-set reactionary nature by convincing Shoichi to support his daughter in the name of art and culture as well as "human rights." All the while we're smiling because let's face it, Carmen is hardly an "artist" unless you consider her and Maya's laughable dance routines to be true "choreography."
But when Maruju (Bontaro Binyake), the to wn robber baron, colludes with Carmen to put on a live "nude" show for 100 yen a pop, Ryu throws a fit and apologizes to Shoichi for initially supporting the intrepid stripper. In days gone by, Shoichi may have ended up committing hari-kari but here he realizes that the "shame" he had to endure over his daughter's behavior has a silver lining.
It should be noted that the men in the town turn out in droves to see Carmen's show which features a small taste of nudity when Carmen and Maya drop their outfits at the climax of their routine for a few seconds. Of course, I doubt that such nudity would have been at all permitted in a small town despite the liberal post-war climate, but the joke is the men are game for at least a modicum of bacchanal diversions.
As to the aforementioned silver lining, Carmen's triumphant performance even causes Maruju to lighten up (albeit after imbibing a surfeit of sake) and ends up returning an organ to the blind musician vet Haruo (Shuji Sano) who earlier had to give it back to the businessmen after going into debt. Even better, Shoichi can pass on Carmen's profits from the show to a local school which they plan to use to improve the children's education.
Kinoshita's lesson to all those Japanese people who a few years earlier were bloodthirsty militarists was the new liberalism in society was not such a bad thing. The shame of open sexuality was not real as Carmen is shown to be thoroughly harmless. And while Kinoshita's is clearly critical of exploiters like Maruju, even scheming capitalists may serve a positive purpose within the community.
Of course, it's all wishful thinking as someone like Maruju probably would have not shown any signs of a good heart as Kinoshita depicts things here.
Carmen Comes Home could have used some judicious editing especially in the opening sequence in which it takes an interminably long time before our protagonist is introduced.
As cultural history, Carmen Comes Home proves to be a fascinating glimpse of a once authoritarian society now embracing liberal democracy with all of the attendant pluses and minuses.
At the time the film was released, the American occupation was winding down. Director Keisuke Kinoshita designed this gentle satire to reflect the profound changes Japanese society had undergone because of the American influence throughout the country.
Kinoshita was interested not only in chronicling how the patriarchal culture of rural conservative areas reacted to the liberal American ways but also designed the narrative to "soften the blow" among all those who were traumatized by strange new experiences.
Japan's defeat in World War II led to the gradual emancipation of women in the culture. In the urban areas, women became sexually involved with American soldiers much to the chagrin of Japanese men, often former soldiers who felt emasculated.
In Kinoshita's story, his protagonist Kin using the stage name Carmen Lily (Hideko Takamine) returns to the small town where she grew up after becoming a well-known dancer. But actually she's just a striptease "artist."
Carmen is accompanied by fellow dancer Maya (Tokisho Kobayashi), a comic figure bored by the lack of excitement in Carmen's hometown. Carmen's father Shoichi (Takeshi Sakamoto) was never happy about his daughter leaving in the first place and as a deeply conservative man, is ashamed that she has taken up such a profession.
At first the School Principal (Chishu Ryu) hides his deep-set reactionary nature by convincing Shoichi to support his daughter in the name of art and culture as well as "human rights." All the while we're smiling because let's face it, Carmen is hardly an "artist" unless you consider her and Maya's laughable dance routines to be true "choreography."
But when Maruju (Bontaro Binyake), the to wn robber baron, colludes with Carmen to put on a live "nude" show for 100 yen a pop, Ryu throws a fit and apologizes to Shoichi for initially supporting the intrepid stripper. In days gone by, Shoichi may have ended up committing hari-kari but here he realizes that the "shame" he had to endure over his daughter's behavior has a silver lining.
It should be noted that the men in the town turn out in droves to see Carmen's show which features a small taste of nudity when Carmen and Maya drop their outfits at the climax of their routine for a few seconds. Of course, I doubt that such nudity would have been at all permitted in a small town despite the liberal post-war climate, but the joke is the men are game for at least a modicum of bacchanal diversions.
As to the aforementioned silver lining, Carmen's triumphant performance even causes Maruju to lighten up (albeit after imbibing a surfeit of sake) and ends up returning an organ to the blind musician vet Haruo (Shuji Sano) who earlier had to give it back to the businessmen after going into debt. Even better, Shoichi can pass on Carmen's profits from the show to a local school which they plan to use to improve the children's education.
Kinoshita's lesson to all those Japanese people who a few years earlier were bloodthirsty militarists was the new liberalism in society was not such a bad thing. The shame of open sexuality was not real as Carmen is shown to be thoroughly harmless. And while Kinoshita's is clearly critical of exploiters like Maruju, even scheming capitalists may serve a positive purpose within the community.
Of course, it's all wishful thinking as someone like Maruju probably would have not shown any signs of a good heart as Kinoshita depicts things here.
Carmen Comes Home could have used some judicious editing especially in the opening sequence in which it takes an interminably long time before our protagonist is introduced.
As cultural history, Carmen Comes Home proves to be a fascinating glimpse of a once authoritarian society now embracing liberal democracy with all of the attendant pluses and minuses.