CineandStuff has posted a marvelous interview with Shohei Imamura about his rare film A Man Vanishes (Ningen Johatsu / 人間蒸発, 1967). The interviewer is Imamura's son Daisuke Tengan (né Daisuke Imamura). Tengan is a screenwriter and occasional director. Tengan is perhaps best known for his collaborations with his father (The Eel ,1998 and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge, 2001) and Takashi Miike (Audition, 1999 and ).
A Man Vanishes is a powerful documentary that explores the boundaries of objectivity and subjectivity in the medium - a line that is crossed when the wife of the missing man of the title begins to fall in love with the film director. This interview is particularly insightful about how Imamura came to make the film, and some of his editorial choices about what to show and what to leave out. It is a travesty that this film is not yet available on DVD in the English speaking world or in Europe. For a wee glimpse, here is the trailer:
