Japan Cuts ’23: Father of the Milky Way Railroad

Kenji Miyazawa was poorly served by his publishers in his lifetime, but anime and manga adaptations made him a posthumous giant of Japanese literature. His life was tragically short, but his father believed in his talent, at least most of the time. The Miyazawas’ close but sometimes difficult father-and-son relationship is the focus of Izuru Narushima’s Father of the Milky Way Railroad, which screens tomorrow as part of this year’s Japan Cuts Festival of New Japanese Film.

Masujiro Miyazawa is a reasonably prosperous country pawnbroker, like his grouchier father. He considers himself a contemporary man of the late Meiji Era, but Masujiro still assumes his firstborn son will succeed him in the family business. However, as Kenji grows older and more headstrong, he envisions other destinies for himself, including as an agricultural expert and as acolyte in a severe Buddhist sect.

Of course, writing was his true calling, but it takes a family tragedy to re-awaken his fantastical creativity. Throughout it all, Miyazawa’s father continues to support him, despite often losing patience in his flaky behavior.

In fact, their relationship is surprisingly believable. There is a lot of tear-jerking in Narushima’s film, but he and the cast earn their big emotional pay-offs. Sadly, this is the kind of deeply felt family drama the American film industry cannot be bothered with anymore. There is no secret abuse to expose or power dynamics to subvert. It is just a family, relatively progressive for its time, dealing with the challenges and disappointments of life.

Fantasia ’17: Matasaburo of the Wind (short)

Kenji Miyazawa’s Night on the Galactic Railroad is the one Japanese children’s book non-Japanese speakers might know and even own. It has been adapted as anime features and inspired films like Giovanni’s Island. Miyazawa’s story “Kaze no Matasaburo” might not be as familiar to English audiences, but it was also the subject of several feature treatments. The characters of Miyazawa’s classic tale have been reconceived as anthropomorphic animals (as was often the case with Railroad) and the narrative is simplified, but the purity of spirit remains in Hiroki Yamada’s animated short Matasaburo of the Wind (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Even though summer is fast approaching, Saburo Takada has transferred to a remote provincial school. In this case, the city native is rather stunned to find herself sharing a classroom with a bear, a tortoise, a rabbit, a frog, and an earthworm—as fellow students. There is also a human boy who rather fancies her. Much to his annoyance, some of friends get it into their heads she is Matasaburo, the son of the wind god, because she arrived in such gusty weather. Its rubbish of course (starting with her being a girl), but she will have a fateful encounter with the real Matasaburo.

Yamada’s deceptively simple animation is packed with warmth and nostalgic goodness. The streamlining of the story boils it down to its essence, but the twentysome-minute running time is still long enough to feel substantial. The supportive but unobtrusive score further heightens vibe of summer rain and cicadas chirping. This really is bitter-sweetness at its sweetest.

After watching Wind, a complete retrospective of films based on or inspired by Miyazawa’s work suddenly sounds like a heck of a nifty idea. Yamada’s adaptation is just good for what ails you. Very highly recommended, Matasaburo of the Wind screens this afternoon (7/30), as part of the Fragments of Asia shorts block at this year’s Fantasia. Kang Heekyung’s superhero romance Rainbow also screens as part of the block. It is also sweet and well-meaning, but it cannot match the charm and depth of Matasaburo.