Don't cry. Let's go.
Can you walk?
Is it OK?
Let's put on your shoes.
Slowly. Is it OK?
Ken, I love you.
Sitting in the darkness of the local flea-pit...
Stinking, and sucking a sweet...
I love watching you do all your killing.
Just the memory of it...
Sends shivers up my spine.
I've never killed anyone. I've never used a kitchen knife.
I'm so scared of people.
I'm so gutless.
What a snivelling wretch I am! A salary of 20,000 yen.
I have no friend.
No courage.
No home.
Always sleeping...
...in the all-night cinema.
Oh, that shakes me up!
Ken, I love you!
I was born in Korea and brought up in Japan.
In order to speak without stuttering...
...I choose only words which I can say without stuttering...
...and string those words together.
So I often end up saying things...
...which I didn't really mean to say.
When I was at primary school...
In our primary school textbook there was a piece called:
"Carry the sun in the core of your heart"
But I couldn't say "core."
I kept saying "co-co-core" - so they nicknamed me "chicken."
On another occasion I was rushed to the doctor...
...after doing too much deep breathing.
They say that if you keep singing continuously...
...you'll stop stuttering.
I've tried it 100 times.
Stuttering is an ideology.
The sun stutters...
...as it rises between buildings
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony...
...it stutters.
The peace in Vietnam...
...it stutters across fire-swept land.
The clouds are stuttering tramps.
The Korean Strait...
...is a stuttering frontier.
Have you noticed?
Order and obedience are smooth.
But the sun stutters.
The heart stutters.
Resistance movements stutter.
Stutter.
Stutter and shout.
Me...
I'm a shamefaced stutterer.
But it's because I stutter...
...that I can chew over words properly.
In my own mouth.
My own words.
As I was saying, then, it's not good for old people to stay at home.
It might seem a bit cruel, but they should move out.
- Did you ask this man to come here? - Not exactly.
You mean he's come in here uninvited, on his own? He's an intruder!
A thief!
But don't you want to have someone to talk to?
At our Old People's Society, we've learned a lot from the American system.
- In America... - I don't like America.
Even people who don't like America like running hot water...
...their own cars, Hollywood movies - a high standard of living.
- Where are you off to? - To buy cigarettes.
The minute we have a serious discussion, you disappear.
You want that man to take me away.
But old people's homes aren't some kind of hell, you know.
There are several different kinds.
Some with private bathrooms and toilets.
A home? But who for?
I'll drive you over.
Stop joking. I don't want to go there!
You made me nervous right from the start.
A Japanese smoking a foreign cigarette, dropping ash everywhere!
Go away!
But your son asked me to come here.
Masaharu? That's impossible.
I raised him from a child, all on my own.
He couldn't survive without me.
Wait a second.
Who wrote this letter?
Was it you, Masaharu?
It was really you.
Yes, I took a lot of trouble over it.
I'm not as beautiful as that.
I'm not young any more.
It's a mother who's crossed the water.
Come on, come on, everyone.
It's not a tale from this world.
It's a tale from the swamps of hell
Rather than despair as you plait your white hair...
Rather than live counting your wrinkles...
...it's better to ring bells, like the ravens.
Ghosts and the living dead.
The wrinkled old man and woman go into the swamp...
...and come out of it stripped of their wrinkled skins.
At the bottom of the swamp are countless dead men's skins.
Look... it's all stripped clean.
Here's Yohei, from the second-hand clothes shop.
He's 75 this year.
And this new bride is 102.
And this wife is 95.
Mother!
You must be mistaken, I don't have any children.
In those days everyone respected me and looked after me.
My son above all.
Father!
Where's my father?
Do you know where my father is?
Is father there?
Everyone's ready.
Yes, I'm getting dressed.
I don't want to.
Come close to your mother.
Smile!
You must really look down on me!
Why?
Because I didn't do anything...
You're still thinking about that rabbit?
Yeah. Whenever I took the rabbit in my arms, he would kick on my breasts with his legs.
- Your breasts? - Yeah, right here.
Right here.
You look so happy whenever you talk about the rabbit.
Should we go out to eat? I've got a bit of money today.
How about a Western restaurant?
I don't know how to eat there.
No problem, I'll teach you.
There are certain things in this world, which I left inside a cave.
I slept wherever I could find a bed.
And while soundly sleeping, I dreamed.
In a dream, I saw a man with a wooden stick.
He came out of a dark room. In his other hand, he was holding a book.
His back was bent under the weight of his luggage, just standing there.
I was looking at him!
He opened his book and was reading and crying.
And he kept shivering without pause.
Finally, he couldn't restrain himself. He started yelling in a miserable voice:
"What can we do for the betterment of life?"
What are you reading?
It's a book about how books can have a profound liberating influence on people.
What would you like?
- What do you think? - You can just order.
- This one. - OK, I see.
Spoon. It's for eating soup.
When you eat soup from your plate...
...you use it like this: Fill it up like this, and eat.
Then, when you come to the main course, you take the fork and knife.
You use this part, then cut it like this.
And then put it in your mouth.
I won't be able to do it.
- It's OK, it's simple. - Simple?
If we come here two or three times...
But I don't know when we'll come here again.
Well, I think I'll bring you here for your next birthday.
Do you know these people?
Can we sit here?
- Your girlfriend? - No, my sister.
- Let me introduce you. This is Reiko. - How do you do?
Do you often come here?
Mr. Omi brought me here two or three times before.
Roast beef and wine, please.
- What about you? - I'll have roast beef, too.
So, this is your sister.
You look quite similar.
You haven't come to practice recently.
I've been distracted.
And even people with completely different faces...
...if only their manner of thinking is aligned...
Upon entering a book, they can reach a common ground where communication is possible.
That's what we're talking about.
You could say that books are...
Though many of them seem really good, I think they would be difficult to handle.
You need practice. I've already ordered food.
But it must be hard to eat.
For Americans, nothing could be simpler.
For them, it's hard to imagine what could be hard about it.
If you feel tense, you should just get some brandy.
Don't force yourself. Be at ease at the table.
Young people should have a fun time.
In Europe there has been a new trend recently.
Young people leading a vagrant life.
They leave their parents and come together to live in groups of five people.
They live together, and they are their own parents.
They aren't looking for anything in particular.
And they don't divide stuff into mine and yours.
No matter if it's food or clothing, it's all shared property.
Like a commune.
- Women too. - But...
It's precisely because someone interested in sports...
...can find his new home in the team. That's why I'm urging you to join.
- And there won't be any jealousy? - Jealousy?
For a guy, jealousy is a real problem!
"If the end of the world comes tomorrow,"
"I will plant an apple tree."
-Gheorgiu
In August 1970, a child was born to me.
Nobody gave me permission...
In August 1970...
I called it Jenla.
Nobody gave me permission.
In August 1970...
Another woman fell pregnant.
Nobody gave me permission.
In August 1970...
I thought of the name for this child.
Nobody gave me permission.
I'll teach you a new dance. Come and dance.
It's so boring in this country. Nobody wants to dance.
Do you want to know something?
- What's the best book? - Come again?
- What's the best book you've ever read? - The Bible, of course.
What part do you wash first when you take a bath?
I start by washing the bathtub.
- Are you hairy? - What?
- Are you on the hairy side? - Yes, in parts.
What magazine do you like best?
"Playboy," I guess.
Are you tragic or comic?
Put some more feeling into your questions. Don't just read them out.
- Can you laugh in English? - In English?
It's the same as in any language.
- How often do you go to the loo? - Go on... God alone knows.
How many men have you cheated?
Hey, wait a minute now, I'm serious.
What bad effects do books have on people?
Bad effects?
Well, it's getting more difficult to find men to collect the rubbish.
What's the best book to read in the loo?
The Bible, probably. I read it every day.
- What part do you hide when you're naked? - When I'm stripped? Nothing
- Do you ever count the stars? - At night, I haven't the time to count.
When can you count them?
The stars?
At night, when you put out the light.
Then you can see the stars a bit.
- How about Marx's "Das Kapital"? - Come again?
- Marx's "Das Kapital" - I don't know it.
Hey there, what are you doing?
You can see what I'm doing. I'm eating a rice-ball.
Have you no family?
Yes, but I don't want to go back home.
Why not?
I've won the lottery.
The national lottery.
I bought it in front of the Ikebukuro station.
I won five million yen. But I've no one to leave it to.
I don't smoke Japanese cigarettes.
I had a son.
But he's dead.
And now I've got no one any more.
I'll give five million to anyone who's kind to me.
To anyone who'd take good care of me.
Anyone who'd take care of an old woman like me.
Ever since I was born, no one has ever been kind to me.
I'd give five million yen just to be treated with real kindness.
- Everyone was looking for you. - Everyone?
But she has no family.
That's not true, she has a son and two grandchildren.
I don't know them.
I don't know him.
Don't make a fool of me, I'm Kin, your neighbour.
I don't know him.
She's won five million yen.
You're joking! She made me kill a rabbit.
When no one talks to her, she tells lies and steals.
At first when she was arrested, we used to go along and bail her out.
But she enjoyed that. That's why she stole things.
She'd steal tissues, ladies' shoes or children's clothes.
She stole something again only the other day.
It's no good, Grandma.
Cry "Wolf! Wolf!" and it will work once, but not twice.
So this time she's cooked up another story about winning the lottery.
She's a good-for-nothing old woman.
An old bag of bones. A useless old grandmother.
A useless old grandmother! A bag of bones.
I'm not going home. I'm not going back.
- A noodle stall? - That's right.
What will you do with it?
I want my father to go back to work.
With the noodle stall?
Yes. He used to push a stall around selling Chinese noodles.
I'd like him to go back to it.
You'll find a stall easily enough.
You're very good to your father...
...buying him a stall with your money.
It's not out of affection.
I just want my father to earn his own living.
I'm tired of having to feed him like I do.
Wait inside, I'll just finish off.
Can I take a shower?
All the same, isn't it love?
I have nothing to do with my family.
I don't even remember them any more.
When the family fulfilled different functions it still had some meaning:
Economic, hierarchical, educational...
...recreational, protective, and religious.
But now the State and society have taken over those functions.
All that's left is affection.
Blood ties are still at the heart of it all.
They're the most clannish thing.
Maybe I'm not at the bottom line yet.
I still dream about my father.
You just need time, that's all.
What's up?
Nothing.
I envy you, Mr Omi.
Come over here. We'll make a threesome.
Come on.
- It's a present. - Really?
- We're both going to fly. - Where do you get on?
There, but don't tell Omi.
I've been in this plane before. I've already flown in it.
Don't say a word to Mr. Omi.
- It won't fly. - It will fly.
Liar! Liar!
I hope you can get me some nice soap.
Can anybody give me a towel?
No response at all!
Where did they all go? What to do...
A scholar, a cute boy, a lawyer, a driver... Just someone!
And even the owner here is gay.
How terrible!
Hey, shave me a bit, shave me!
Hey you, murderous little devil!
I am telling you, little murderer!
Come here and shave me!
699, 700...
I've got no razor.
Then get tweezers.
They've been taken away, too.
Oh poor me! What are we gonna do then?
Maybe you'd better not ask about it.
You know, I am really good with cooking.
Don't tell me that's what you're gonna do. Even reading books is better.
- Iwanami Library of Classics, you know... - Iwanami?
I've been reading Snow White again.
Yeah, it's so close to your heart!
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?
Yeah, it's me!
Hey, tell me, what is my fairest feature?
Didn't you promise to wash my cute underwear in the bathroom?
Why didn't you?
Is our nuisance of a landlord spraying insecticide again? That stinking bastard.
He killed them again. How tragic.
Whenever my body enters warm suds, I feel immersed in dazzling radiance!
There is no way to avoid it.
I've always kept an account of all the fish I fry.
I've already fried...
...more then 700 of them.
Someone is calling again.
It can't be... A visitor?
What a surprise.
Is this kid a visitor? What should we do?
What should we do? Make him come over!
Does he even know where he is?
I hope he doesn't think it's an educational institution.
He must have been in trouble with the world.
I wonder if he wants us to use our hands or our mouths?
Look at his wide-open eyes!
How cute!
There are no men or women here.
As long as there is a body...
It's gonna be like this!
Setsuko! Is Setsuko there?
I've brought you a rabbit.
I don't need it any more.
You wanted one so badly.
- I'm not a child any more. - It cost me 1,200 yen!
Go away, I want to change.
Go away! And shut the door!
When I'm a whore...
...I'll buy a huge bar of soap...
...to wash the boy I love.
When I grow up to be a whore...
...I'll leave the door open...
...so the swallows can come in from the sea.
How many days does it make now...
...since Grandma left?
Stop fretting.
- Where's she gone? - Is your football OK?
You have to keep up with the training.
Guts - that's what it takes.
Father...
Don't you want to go back on the noodle stall?
Never mind me, just worry about yourself.
If you're not going to school any more you have to find a job.
No, just give me back the 2,000 yen I lent you.
To do what?
I want to buy a pair of trousers.
That's it.
One way in and two ways out - that's a pair of trousers.
I thought it was going to be something intellectual.
But it's just a pair of trousers. Stupid, isn't it?
Where are you off to?
You've been sending notes to that girl recently.
- I dumped her a long time ago. - A long time ago?
Really!
If you did, how come you're still seeing her?
It doesn't matter.
- What do you mean? - I've already found another one.
- You're such a slut! - What?
Who cares how good those chicks are!
Where's Chikara?
Haven't you heard?
There've been rumours.
The police were round.
Why? What could he have done?
Something political.
An American soldier was wounded.
- He's had it. - That's too pessimistic.
- Is Mr. Omi there? - No, he's at home.
THE CITY IS AN OPEN BOOK. WRITE ON ITS INFINITE MARGINS!
How many times have you argued with your father?
Have you ever tried to make your father earn his own living?
What?
If I wanted this, I'd make my father set up a stall in the street.
After the war, my father had a noodle stall, but then he closed it.
And now he isn't doing anything.
So, one of my friends is selling a cheap stall, and I decided to buy it.
With this, I want to get my dad back in the noodle business.
That's my plan.
Even though it's just a stall, I think that if I get it going...
...and keep encouraging my dad, it can't go wrong.
If it's cheap, people will come and buy it.
What do you think?
You seem quite confident.
Where are the two of you going?
You look happy.
Don't go. It's not worth seeing.
Don't you think?
- Where are you off to? - What do you want?
There's nothing to see down that way.
What are you looking at? There's nothing to look at.
He looks so stupid in that red shirt.
Bloody fool.
Where's he going?
You're either sad or you're cheerful.
I've got too much up my sleeve to go anywhere.
You can't beat that.
You can't beat anything.
- Who is it? - It's me.
What's happened?
Nothing special.
So what do you want?
- I can't live like this any more. - What are you on about?
Have you left home?
Have you beaten your father up?
Or have you sold the old woman?
No, you can't do anything.
The most you can do is to clean that pigsty.
I want to go to America.
How much money do you need to get to America?
You can push your noodle stall to America.
Please open up.
I want to pay you for the stall.
I'll open the door if you like, but you'll be shocked.
- Why? - I've got a woman in here.
If that's all it is, I'm already quite used to it.
Mr. Omi...
Open the door.
OK, come in.
What's going on, Setsuko?
I'm going to live here.
He said I can live here.
I've learned to make pot-au-feu.
I can cook anything now.
- And Reiko? Don't you love her any more? - I love her as well.
Let's go home. He's using you.
Come on!
You're making a mistake.
Don't upset me!
We're going home.
Go away! Go on!
Leave me alone!
Father, what good is history?
Explain it to me.
That's how the book started.
What book?
Don't make fun of me.
We can only live through what we do...
Through the way that we act.
It was too late.
I hid in the cinema toilets.
A cop followed me.
He shone his torch to find me in the dark.
I can't go home any more.
It was like...
Suddenly, I remembered something.
I'd left a new shirt in the airing cupboard at home.
I was going to wear that shirt to go down to the Tanaka workshop.
If they'd taken me on, I'd have been a worker.
I could have been a simple "stay-at-home."
The film will be over soon, and no one will remember me.
When it ends...
...only the white screen remains.
The white screen.
Who said "Everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes?"
All that's left to show are these dozens of men disappearing with this film.
And this blank screen.
I've got no home.
I've got no country.
There's no world for me.
None of that existed right from the start.
Alone, without any family, only photographs count.
With a photo in my hand, I draw "Auld Lang Syne."
My "Auld Lang Syne."
When I was at school, I picked up a little lizard in the park.
I kept it in a cola bottle and it grew too large to come out.
A lizard in a cola bottle!
You don't have the strength to get out! Do you, Japan?
Do you, Japan?
The perpetual humiliation is bubbling in the Korean Straits!
Is it worthwhile dying for my country?
What is it? Just look at him!
What's up with you?
Let go! This stall is mine.
It's my stall! I bought it with my own savings!
- It's mine, I tell you! - You stole it!
- We can prove that it's stolen!
You stole it, father! You fool!
You bloody fool!
You fool! Let go! Let go of me!
You fool! You fool!
Turn on the lights.
The film ends here.
Now it's my turn to speak.
When you think about it...
...a film can only live in the dark.
When the lights go up like that...
...the world of the film is blotted out.
In this film I dreamed of the human aeroplane.
After the shooting, when I got back to my room...
...with all my moaning and groaning...
...I dreamed...
...I dreamed of the human aeroplane.
I wonder why.
And bit by bit, while that went on, the line between life and film disappeared.
I no longer know what I've become.
And in my dreams...
...I was falling and falling...
I don't know why.
But even if I don't understand, I did fall.
And as I was falling I thought:
"There's nothing to hold on to." That's why I was falling.
Scene 1
Kominato, Hiranai
Higashi-Tsugaru, Aomori, Eimei Sasaki.
This is me speaking, after the clapper board goes.
I speak words written by other people, in other people's speech.
And while the camera turns, I call Mr. Saito "father."
But bit by bit it becomes real.
And Mr. Saito really becomes "father."
Then someone says "Cut!"
"Next scene."
"Hurry up!" "Action."
That's how it is. And you go on to the next scene.
The next scene begins with another lie.
The lie of lies.
And between one "cut" and another...
...I am caught up under the cold February sky.
This fantasy takes hold of me bit by bit.
I can't go home on the screen any more.
Polanski, Nagisa Oshima, Antonioni...
All that is a world that disappears when the lights go up.
You just try showing a film in broad daylight...
...on the wall of a building.
Goodbye.
I won't be back.
A family for 28 days' shooting.
A State only 28 days old.
A father just for 28 days.
28 days of disillusion and anger.
28 days of ashes and hope.
I'm taking off my costume and moving on somewhere else.
A human aeroplane for only 28 days.
A Tokyo life 28 days long.
I loved Humphrey Bogart.
I loved Cinemascope...
...town shooting...
...love scenes...
I loved Mr. Sukita, the cameraman...
...Mr. Terayama, the director; Mr. Usui, the assistant.
I loved the whole of that world, but I don't love the cinema.
Goodbye.
Goodbye, cinema.
Goodbye.