Arakimentari
Now here is an interesting documentary that you may not know much about. It concerns the Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, a man famed for his controversial photography of virtually anything that you can see with your own eyes, including naked ladies and their modesty, or to categorise it more succinctly, naked housewives. Having released over 300 themed photographic books and snapped many...
Now here is an interesting documentary that you may not know much about. It concerns the Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, a man famed for his controversial photography of virtually anything that you can see with your own eyes, including naked ladies and their modesty, or to categorise it more succinctly, naked housewives. Having released over 300 themed photographic books and snapped many famous models, as well as Bjork’s Telegraph cover, this film is a brief insight into this wild 62 year olds work and lifestyle.
We start out in the room of one of his naked housewife shoots, with Araki giggling and photographing his way to the end of another session. We see how keen his subject is to disrobe and show us her own version of the channel tunnel. We see shots of him adjusting pubic hair and tweaking nipples, so the details he is after are freshly captured, whilst over the top we hear his models saying how great he is to work for, how happy they are when they are around him and how he takes care of them. And how happy he seems to be. As one of the interviewees says, one Takeshi Kitano, “when I work I suffer, Araki doesn’t”. And my god does he enjoy it. He is a walking energy time bomb, always enthused, inspired and happy, he giggles his way through the whole documentary. Like Bjork says about his work, in relation to it treading the fine line between being art and dodgy, “its not what you do, it’s the way that you do it”. We then move through his more porn focused shoots, through his bondage work and eventually arrive at his artistic side. A side that is even more bizarre because of the way we have been introduced to him.
Although we don’t get too close to him, we are following him around. We find out that one of his most famous works was a book that he made about his wife’s death, one that followed her around in her final days. Even though, the documentarists don’t probe this issue in detail we do get a general sense that he has felt the type of loss that few of us have yet to feel. In this reviewers mind, it certainly seemed to make sense why he is the way he is. Apparently after her death he photographed nothing but the same piece of sky from his balcony, which sounds like a man in pain to me. We are also illuminated by his approach to art and fragments of his beliefs. Such as the fact that as a whole all of his pictures are about life and death and that he is stood in the middle observing both from the same standpoint. He further illuminates on this and I am sure would be of great interest to anyone with the vaguest interest in amateur or professional photography.
He also discusses the reason why he has so many cameras around him, specifically when he is shooting the housewife stuff. It is so he can take his own photos at the same time as satisfying the magazine who has commissioned the work. The documentary intercuts naked shots, much more artistically framed, with images that rarely have the models heads in them. Although kind of worrying, it does show that the guy never stops thinking, and that there is always more than one image or interpretation in front of our eyes at all times, it just depends how we are looking.
The structure of the film, according to the director on the illuminating commentary, was based on how they found him. Firstly they were in at the deep end with the porno shoot and later on, in their 8 day shoot, they discovered a depth to him that was not apparent at first. Although, this depth is still surface issues, the clever editing does keep raising questions and driving on the documentary as it progresses.
THE EXTRAS
1. COMMENTARY
This is one of the good ones. It is with the Director Travis Klose and Producer Jason Fried. They discuss how they financed the shooting of the documentary through their Visa and Mastercard’s, even though they did get some funding through donations to get to Japan. They tell us how they landed Takeshi Kitano as one of the interviewees: as he was a friend of the older Araki for 25 years, Kitano agreed to do it just because of ‘respect’. Still on the gossip front, Araki would take the filmmakers out drinking and eating after they had finished shooting for the day, so their limited budget was more than supported by the friendly and open Araki. They also illuminate on the shooting process, more tales about Araki and their own reactions to his work.
2. ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE (57 MINS)
I liked this part a lot. It was an uncut tape of one of the sit down Araki interviews. He discusses his relationship to his subject, whether genitals, flowers, the sky or just faces. He talks about his inspirations and the influence of locations on his work, why he is happiest when he is shooting, how he is a genius (and he believes he is, one ordained by god), how Takeshi Kitano is an ascetic, which is why he suffers during his work, as well as why all his work now is just a revision of his work from the 60’s and 70’s. He also discusses the key differences between filmmaking and photography and why he prefers his art form, as it is more immediate. He says that “the symphony of art is movies” but he has no patience for the complicated, interactive, multi disciplined art form himself. He uses Japan’s master filmmaker Jasujiro Ozu as an example to justify his own favouritism for the immediacy of photographer. He says he finds it crazy that man will isolate himself for 1 year just so he can write a 120 page script, in fact Araki starts laughing and calls it “laziness”. He also giggles his way through telling us why boys should never voice their sadness and why they should keep it locked inside. He says that if someone is feeling like this, they should keep quiet and start taking photographs, that this is the way that you can unlock your sadness, presumably so you can focus on life in front of you and not your memories. Anyway, it is Araki and the general sense is that you can take most of the things he says with a pinch of salt, even though you have to admire his dedication and the way he has kept going. He also further adds to what he means by POINTS. This is the concept that this reviewer will mainly be taking away from this documentary, even though there are many other things of interest.
This is a great addition to the film itself and if you pour yourself a drink the size of the one he is drinking, you maybe will find yourself giggling along with him by its conclusion.
3. PHOTOGALLERY
These are a selection of 36 photos of the self navigation variety that encapsulate a wide selection of his work.
The DVD presentation is excellent. The picture, as it was shot on video, is pristine and the sound good. Tartan have included 3 different sound formats, either 2.0 stereo, 5.1 surround or DTS 5.1 surround. I listened to the 2.0 stereo and I am sure the other options would be just as clear.
The extras add a lot more insight in to Araki, especially the 57 minute uncut interview. The commentary I found very interesting from a film making and gossip point of view. Although I new nothing at all about Araki, I feel that this documentary is a small slice of a much bigger world and from the perspective of being inclusive and insightful, I find this Tartan release another little gem in their catalogue. Although it will only appeal to some, those who do find the subject interesting will be very pleased with this greatly produced and thoughtful DVD. For those with no interest what so ever, let me tell you that this has got so much nudity in it may even make you blush!
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