Kurihara uses video for a voyage of discovery into his own identity. He compiled 'Left WING' out of material from his daily video diary. The collection of fragments covers a period of one year and is divided into a prologue and nine chapters with titles such as 'a sand glass' and 'relation'. Each chapter treats a different emotion or activity, in the course of which a girlfriend gives commentary in the background. She cannot, however, be understood by anyone who does not speak Japanese, and even those who have mastered that language will not fully understand the commentary because of the complex mixing. The voice is used primarily for its sound, not for the meaning of the words. The sound track of music, voice and sound effects is an important part of the video as it intensifies the poetry of the images. Some of the chapters would not work out well at all without sound. The sharp viewer/interpreter can discover a certain structure in this kaleidoscope of image and sound. It remains, however, an interpretation being, perhaps, coloured by cultural differences as well. The filmmaker seems to have blossomed between November 1996 and December 1997. Being a withdrawn, or even blocked individual in the chapter 'silence', discovery of the camera and possibly a sudden insight ('lightning') change him into someone who has found a way out, dares to enter into relationships, to be open ('smile'). And all of that thanks to the camera.
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Editing: Yamasaki Yutaka
Music: Kanekawa Satoshi
Yasuyuki Kurihara ° 1965, Tokyo, Japan
Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
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