In the world of movies, the drama is mostly reserved for what is happening on screen, not behind the scenes. Inadvertently becoming a symbol for independent filmmakers in Japan, Suzuki Seijun had his name attached to an “incident” in film history that would not only change the culture of making films in his native country but set a precedent for indie filmmakers around the world.
This year marks the centenary of Suzuki Seijun’s birth and, in celebration, Metro Cinema in cooperation with the Japan Foundation is presenting a select handful of Seijun’s remarkable body of work on brand new 35mm prints. William Carroll is a prof from the University of Alberta, who specializes in Japanese cultural studies. He’s written a book entitled Suzuki Seijun and Postwar Japanese Cinema and he is the curator for Metro Cinema’s showcase of Suzuki Seijun’s films.
William Carroll joined CKUA’s Tony King on Thoroughfare to talk about the feisty independent filmmaker who counts directors such as John Woo, Wong Kar-wai, Quentin Tarantino and many others as his admirers.
