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The third instalment in the Great Mother series - preceded by Hasumi and Yumiko- looks at first sight like a traditional tape, portraying patterns of behaviour in Japanese society. A young man terrorises his wife to such a point that she turns more and more to her mother. Increasingly, the two women conspire together against the husband, and eventually find the guts to defy his orders. Idemitsu however has an extra 'character' play a part: a video monitor, which 'witnesses' the action but remains to all appearances indifferent to it. The 'silent witness' is mainly ignored by the characters - it serves, for instance, as a table - but at the end of the story the young couple do quite consciously watch the screen, as though it were a feature-film. The husband remarks, 'What a poor actress, they used to be much better'. Or, are past and present fusing into one? By bringing in the monitor, Idemitsu manipulates time and space, and lends an extra dimension to her narrative.
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Rob Perrée
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Scenario: Mizuho Johta, Mako Idemitsu, Camera: Michael Goldberg, Lights: Shunichi Fujioka, Sound: Tetsu Furudate, With: Yoshiko Imai, Haruyo Matsuda, Seigo Ishikawa
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