An Artist of the Floating World - Kazuo Ishiguro

“If o a sunny day you climb the steep path leading up from the little wooden bridge still referred to around here as ‘the Bridge of Hesitation’, you will no t have to walk far before the roof of my house becomes visible between the tops of two pingko trees….”

This is how the book starts. As you can see just with a few lines, Ishiguro’s writing style is incredibly elegant. The last paragraph is also lovely literature but hopefully you will find that out after reading this review. Sometimes you feel you can visualize what it happening in this book which is a trait of a great writer.

The novel, which takes place in post-Second World War Japan, centers on a retired artist as he looks back to his career, comes to terms with his mistakes and revises his convictions as well his relationships with mentors, disciples and colleagues. It is very simple but at the same time with profound meaning.

I find interesting that when you read a novel that you end up liking you sort of develop certain feelings (sympathy, empathy, resentment, etc) towards its main character. I could certainly do it with this novel that with the beautifully composed writing and interesting themes makes a valuable reading.

This is the second novel I read by Kazuo Ishiguro with the first being his more famous “The Remains of the Day” (which I only finished two months ago). There are some common topics between the two: the main character, in this case a butler that used to word for an English Lord in his Oxfordshire mansion, also reflecting upon the past, his career (and its meaning and sense of purpose) and his relationship with his employer and staff.

I will probably try to read more by Ishiguro in the future. One thing I particularly enjoyed about the two novels is the way they reflect on the reader stereotypes (of the Japanese idiosyncrasy and the English post-war society) without I believe actually seeking so.

If I have to recommend one of the two I would go for “An Artist of the Floating World”. Both are very good books but “The remains of the day” only grew in me as a reader towards the end as it failed to engage me. Instead, I greatly enjoyed the former since the first sentences copied above.

Bonus track: the movie “The Remains of the Day”, with a cast including Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and Christopher Reeve, is also very good indeed. Did you watch it? Did you read anything by Ishiguro?

Once

I have been lucky with movies recently. I picked up “Once” in the DVD shop as I like the description in the case. A few hours later, I liked the film very much as well. From IMDB: “A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story”. It is one of these movies that are sometimes called “small” (with no disrespect) as it is a simple tale of loneliness being replaced by love and friendship. But most importantly, it succeeds in being different and original.

One of main features of this movie is its music. One of the songs (“Falling Slowly”) won the 2008 Oscar Academy Award for Best Original Song. Without being a classic musical there is music all along it and it is simply beautiful. My favorite scene is when the GUY and the GIRL play this song together for the first time in the instrument shop.

I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You'll make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

(thanks stlyrics!).

It is hardly surprising that the music is really nice considering that the main characters are musicians and not actors. Indeed, Glen Hansard, the GUY, is very famous in Ireland.

So if you like small but touching stories that do not are necessarily the product of big budgets and if you like singers/songwriters that can convey deep emotions with no more than a guitar, give it a try.

Strictly Sexual

By chance I came across this film (Strictly Sexual). The comments I saw on internet about it mentioned a film that was much more than a movie about sex. And they were right: this is a romantic-comedy much more interesting than any rom-com you can watch. Here is the trailer:

I liked it a lot. And it made me remember other American indie movies that I enjoyed very much (Sideways, About Schmidt, Little Miss Sunshine, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Juno) and how much more I like this sort of cinema over the typical Hollywood stuff.

Bonus track: reading on the movie in IMDB I learnt that the script-writer is one of the leading characters who said something really interesting and encouraging: “"There has never been a better time to be an indie filmmaker. If you have a story to tell, you can grab a digital video camera, get your actor friends together, and make a movie... Just work hard and put your heart into it”. The budget for this movie was US$ 100,000!