VILLON’S WIFE DATE: FRIDAY, APRIL 30 TIME: 7:30 PM VENUE: SUNSET 5 BUY TICKETS ENCORE PRESENTATION DATE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 5 TIME: 4:30 PM VENUE: DWNTN BUY TICKETS

VILLON’S WIFE (Viyon no tsuma)
(Japan, 2009) Dir.: Kichitaro Negishi; Scr.: Osamu Dazai, Yozo Tanaka
Video (originated on 35mm), 114 min., color, narrative, in Japanese w/ E.S

The Festival is proud to present one of the most acclaimed Japanese films from last year, VILLON’S WIFE. Directed by prolific director Kichitaro Negishi (WHAT THE SNOW BRINGS, Festival 2007), the film depicts a post-war Tokyo still raw from the destructive events of World War II, exploring themes of Japanese masculinity, as well as the nurturing feminine ideal. VILLON’S WIFE depicts a long-suffering woman’s relationship with her brilliant but self-destructive writer husband in postwar Tokyo. Based on a semi-autobiographical 1947 novel by enfant terrible Osamu Dazai, the story centers the unwavering commitment of Sachi, brilliantly portrayed by Takako Matsu, who recently won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actress for this role.

After her husband Otani steals 5,000 yen from a middle-aged couple who own a bar where he has already run up a huge tab, Sachi arrives at the establishment as a self-professed “guarantee” for the stolen money. Her beauty and genuine friendliness, against an implied backdrop of Japan’s WWII defeat, soon has the joint jumping. Despite the constant humiliations caused by Otani (Tadanobu Asano, MONGOL), Sachi’s devotion towards him never wavers. The relationship between Sachi and Otani deepens and shifts with Sachi’s growing empowerment. Her continued allegiance to Otani is no longer a passive duty, but a beacon of postwar survival. In many ways, Otani is Dazai’s avatar. In real life, he was the epitome of the tortured artist; an alcoholic, a womanizer, and having a child out of wedlock from a female fan, he also suffered from health problems, primarily tuberculosis during the War. The tortured writer eventually died in 1948. It is apropos that the film was released in 2009, the 100th anniversary of Dazai’s birth.

Director Negishi, as well as screenwriter Yozo Tanaka, paint their characters with subtlety, while Takako Matsu and Tadanobu Asano’s performances are muted, yet carry a visceral undertone that follows the intended blueprint of Dazai’s characters. Matsu as Sachi is especially notable, realizing the late writer’s feminine ideal as she travels emotionally through hell and back, caused by male deep-seated selfishness. Sachi represents a savior for Dazai’s own sins. That is not to say that this film is angst-porn. On the contrary, VILLON’S WIFE is moving and enthralling, filled with quiet moments that allow time to stop and subtle and brave performances by some of Japan’s best actors. Nominated for four Japanese Academy Awards, the film also won the Best Director Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival.
— Anderson Le

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COMMUNITY CO-PRESENTER: Cultural News; Japan Film Society; Little Tokyo Service Center