Richard Kwang Kometa
22 February 2008
A Japanese Cinema festival week is currently going on in Cameroon.
Lovers of Japanese culture have been streaming to the Yaounde French Cultural Centre to savour three intriguing films from the South East Asian country. Titled "Tout va bien", Le fils de l'ombre", and "Mon Jardin Secret" the films were on screen last Tuesday 19 February and Wednesday 20 February free of charge at the Centre Culturel François Villion which is another appellation for the French Cultural Centre in Yaounde.
The films that attracted hundreds of cinema lovers in the capital city are being screened in Japanese with a text translation in French. The town of Mbalmayo was scheduled to have their turn yesterday at the Groupe Scolaire d'Obeck as from 6p.m. while Edea and Kribi localities will be having the films projected at the Lycée Tecnique Edea and Centre de pêch in Kribi as from 6p.m today and tomorrow.
"Mon Jardin Secret" by Yaguchi Shinobu is a 83mm film that came out in 1997. It tells the story of a young girl, Suzuki Sakiko, who loves money even in her tender age and after her University education she gets a job in the bank. Thieves later abduct her into the Aokigahara forest near Mount Fuji, known for its magical effect. The rest of the plot develops with the captivating measures taken by Sakiko to survive even after being thrown in water by the bandits.
As for "Tout va bien", the film talks about a man called Motomura Hiroshi who is involved in an accident one evening as he returns home late. He panics after knocking down a woman and escapes home to tell the bad news to his wife and his desire to turn himself up to the police. Instead his wife, Yoko believes that he would be arrested by the police and that would mean the end of the family. Seeing several other mishaps that the family is undergoing, Yoko suggests that they should dismantle the vehicle into their living room so as to destroy all evidence. The rest of the film is a fascination as it unfolds to a logical end.
Finally, « Le fils de l'ombre" centres around Iguchi Seibei, the hero who is a fighter and widower from the Unasaka clan. With the death of his wife, he has the difficult task of bringing up their two little daughters and his mother. For a man to meet up with such challenges having to return home late at nigh everyday, he gets the nickname, Le fils de l'ombre" meaning the son of the dark. That also is another fascinating plot to discover.
Most of those who have been to the French Cultural Centre for the two days of the film screening apparently found time to learn how relaxing the Japanese film projection could be for those who need some past time.
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