相米慎二の映画における孤児たちの共同体

抄録

This study, as part of examining the important legacy that director Shinji Somai (1948-2001) left to film history, considers the theme of community and individual which he developed in his films of the 1980s. As pointed out in previous studies, many of Somai’s films feature helpless characters such as “orphans,” who have no protectors nor place to go. What this study focuses on is their making various gestures repeatedly, such as singing or dancing, to establish a place for themselves. In Somai’s films, those helpless characters are frequently found singing or dancing, especially in adverse circumstances. These actions also help them form a temporary community with others in the same circumstances. In Typhoon Club (1985), junior high school boys and girls happen to be shut up in their school building during a typhoon, which leads to a temporary group of boys and girls. The legacy that Somai has left to us is explored by examining these groups or communities in his films, that is, the “communities of orphans.”