Recently Viewed: Nezumikozo Jirokichi

Nezumikozo Jirokichi—recently screened as part of Japan Cuts’ Shorts Program 2–managed to hit three major categories on my annual festival bingo card: Jidaigeki, Anime, and (albeit to a lesser degree) Behind-the-Scenes Story Celebrating the Joy of Filmmaking. An impressive feat, considering it runs a lean, breezy twenty-three minutes!

Based on a lost movie from Sadao Yamanaka (a pioneer of early Japanese genre cinema, whose tragically limited surviving work includes Humanity and Paper Balloons and Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo), Nezumikozo Jirokichi honors its source material by building upon it, rather than merely resorting to hollow mimicry. By framing the narrative as a dream—with the dozing director imagining the entirety of the onscreen action just before the camera rolls—animator Rintaro allows himself enough creative license to be a bit fanciful and whimsical in adapting/reinterpreting Yamanaka's original script and production notes. The visual style, for example, is reminiscent of classic Fleischer cartoons: expressive, but not remotely naturalistic; the characters’ movements often lack “realistic” weight and fluidity, but nevertheless convey a great deal of personality and emotion.

The result is a triumph of form and technique, utilizing thoroughly modern sensibilities (particularly the energetic rhythm of the editing) to evoke that quintessential 1930s aesthetic (complete with intertitles and benshi narration). What a lovely tribute to the legacy of a genuine auteur!