Cinema
Carmen Comes Home
カルメン故郷に帰る
Keisuke Kinoshita · 1951
Synopsis
Okin, who left for Tokyo, returns to her village at the foot of Mount Asama under the name Lily Carmen, with her friend Maya. Her father, who runs a dairy ranch with his family according to eiga.com, never approved of her leaving and is indignant at this foreign name; he asks the school principal for help, who on the contrary is honoured by the visit. The villagers are curious about the star from the capital, until it is understood that her art is a striptease act, and the local notable organises a show.
Context
Shot in Fujicolor, it is the first Japanese colour feature film, released on 21 March 1951. As a precaution, a black-and-white version was shot in parallel, and most cinemas showed it, since making the colour prints took too long. Serai reports that the film stock, which had low sensitivity, made it necessary to shoot in full sunlight. A sequel appeared in 1952, shot entirely in black and white, and Alexander Jacoby judges it bitterer than the first film.
Who it is for
Eighty-six minutes, comedy, no difficulty. It never had a theatrical release in France; it circulates in a restored version.
Prizes and reception
Restored, it was shown at the Venice Film Festival in 2012; Donald Richie counted it among the best comedies of its time.
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