Cinema Year Book of Japan 1938 (1938)

jl ^■1 \ ut | q ■ iri Cult u r a 1 Films Takao Itagaki THREE-WEEK TRIP— The Board of Tourist Industry In the field of cultural films 1937 has shown a great improvement upon previous years. Generally speaking, 1936 was a year when problems were set, a year when first attempts were made; whereas 1937 has been a year of positive achievement upon a set of definite principles. Inevitably, of course, a good number of the cultural films produced during the year are not entirely free from the established malpractices of the past, and some fail to achieve sufficient success despite the novelty of their ideas. There is also a group of films which are recognizably affected by the critical situation the country is confronted with at the present moment. Since it would be superfluous to dwell upon all these various and complicated phenomena, we shall try only to summarize the state of affairs in the field of cultural films by means of a glance at some of the more significant works produced on a definite programme for specific purposes. The following is the summary. I. Those new ly projected for the purpose of encouraging the domestic use of cultural films : The Bureau of Social Education in the Ministry of Education newly established within the Ministry the Central Committee for Film Education for the purpose of encouraging the use of films through local educational bodies. One of the functions of this Committee is to distribute those films which are either produced or purchased by the Ministry on certain new policies. As a consequence, among the future productions of the Ministry of Education there will be found some that are based on a sound scheme such as has been neglected in the world of Japanese cultural films. Of the 1937 productions Kokuinin Kaiyei f Let Every 1 Japanese Learn to Swim, 2 reels) and Aki no Sanya (jSecret of Nature in Autumn) are noteworthy. The former tries by the use of slow -motion (^fast-speed) camera technique to illustrate the simple but representative styles and techniques of swimming. The latter is an attempt at an artistic representation of nature in autumn through occasional employment of fast-motion (Tlow-speed) technique^ 1 II. Those produced for the purpose of introducing Japanese culture abroad: Attempts had previously been made along this line of production on a small scale and in an irrelevant sort of fashion, but 1937 marked an epoch of progress, attracting the attention of interested people within the country. I he important works in this group are found among the productions of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1 he Society for International Cultural Relations). Poterie / aponaise (Also English edition, Japanese Pottery , 3 reels), L' Art cies Fleurs an Japon (Also English edition, The Floral Art of Japan , 1 reel) and Par la Fenetre des 44