Critical Writing Index

Capturing "Authenticity": Digital Aesthetics in the Post-Studio Japanese Cinema

by Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano

Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Spring 2009, v. 18, no. 1, pp. 71-93

Digital technologies, and the new possibilities they brought, led to the emergence of a new genre in Japanese cinema; one that uses the "authentic" quality of documentary within fictional narratives. In this article, Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano analyses three films that employ this framework: Dare Mo Shiranai/Nobody Knows by Kore'eda Hirokazu, Tarachime by Kawase Naomi, and Atarashi Kamisama/The New God by Tsuchiya Yutaka. These works blend documentary and fiction traditions to explore the idea of cinematic "reality" via the aesthetic of digital production.

Key words: video document, video letters, documentary, reality effect

ITEM 2009.124 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

Dare Mo Shiranai/Nobody KnowsKore'eda Hirokazu

TarachimeKawase Naomi

Atarashi Kamisama/The New GodTsuchiya Yutaka

Video LetterTnikawa Shuntaro; Terayama Shuji