I saw this as a two-part NHK World TV drama.
It begins with Japanese fiction writer Akutagawa Ryounosuke ("Rashomon") disembarking in Shanghai in 1921 to be the Osaka Times' correspondent for 6 months.
It's really a series of impressionistic vignettes showing how the reserved, enigmatic, observant Akutagawa interacts with people from all walks of life in Shanghai. The filmmakers do a great job of portraying the colorful, chaotic, exotic, corrupt streets and nightlife of Shanghai in those times.
The transition from the dying empire to a corrupt, shaky republic, laden with the seeds of the ultimate revolution, are all in evidence . Akatugawa confesses that, as an artist, he normally pays little heed to politics, but in Shanghai that is all he can think about.
The short film left we wishing for more. It would have made a great miniseries.
It begins with Japanese fiction writer Akutagawa Ryounosuke ("Rashomon") disembarking in Shanghai in 1921 to be the Osaka Times' correspondent for 6 months.
It's really a series of impressionistic vignettes showing how the reserved, enigmatic, observant Akutagawa interacts with people from all walks of life in Shanghai. The filmmakers do a great job of portraying the colorful, chaotic, exotic, corrupt streets and nightlife of Shanghai in those times.
The transition from the dying empire to a corrupt, shaky republic, laden with the seeds of the ultimate revolution, are all in evidence . Akatugawa confesses that, as an artist, he normally pays little heed to politics, but in Shanghai that is all he can think about.
The short film left we wishing for more. It would have made a great miniseries.
