The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan

Trigger warning: This discussion includes talk about sexual assault and sexual violence. This is a theme apparent in the film and the source material. It is mentioned a few times. The topic is not spoken about in detail, but I wanted to share a general trigger warning for those that would prefer to avoid the topic altogether.

Subtitles for the intro: "It's not that I specialise in treating fingers. I'm a psychiatrist in fact. Inferiority complexes dig holes in the psyche, and I fill them in."

As always, there are spoilers ahead!

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If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here.

In 1964 Director Hiroshi Teshigahara's film Woman in the Dunes won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes. The film was the second of four in which Teshigahara would collaborate with writer Kōbō Abe.*

The Face of Another rode the coattails of Woman in the Dunes but was nowhere near as successful. Although both films have a very bleak undertone, The Face of Another feels more jarring and less abstract in its confrontations.

The story is of a man horribly disfigured from an accident in the lab where he works. He manages to find a possible solution to the isolation and desperation he experiences when he is given the opportunity to have a new face with which to navigate life.

The story has many philosophical themes set in a Japan that is still wrangling with its post war cultural identity.

Thankfully I have managed to procure two big brained and generous guests!

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous articles and books on cultural history and film.

Jennifer Coates is a Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield. She has written extensively about Japanese cultural history and cinema and is the President of the British Association of Japanese Studies.

During the intro to the show I mention a video essay that I watched during research for the film which I found very interesting. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yarOXWeZlzY

Although this is not directly relevant to the film, one of the earliest shots is an x-ray of a skull in conversation. This is reminiscent of the very early 1996 film usually known as Macintyre's X-Ray Film. Just a small historical film curiosity which you might be interested in. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMYHawAKmA

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:35 Source Material: Kobe Abe's book

06:33 Abe and Teshigahara's collaboration: Woman in the Dunes

07:38 Face Masks

10:55 The manufactured Japanese New Wave

14:31 Japan in the 1960s

19:39 Alienation and Philosophy

24:47 Boundaries and skin

26:17 Moral boundaries

30:52 The skin, Japan and saving face

34:14 Scarring and the bomb

41:05 Identity and Japan

47:40 Visual delights

52:46 Legacy

55:03 Face transplants

56:51 Recommendations

Recommendations:

When the Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)

Eyes without a Face (1960)

Suture (1993)

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be having a giant sprawling chat about the scientist Bernard Quatermass. You can watch the three earlier Quatermass films, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967) in all sorts of places including major streaming platforms. The series (if you want to get really nerdy about it) are available as a boxed set on Apple TV and from other retailers. At least some of those episodes are available on YouTube. The first season of the TV series (1953) only has a few episodes as the rest were lost forever!