Apocalyptic tension within three movies by Kurosawa Kiyoshi (Cure, 1997; Retribution, 2006; Pulse, 2001).

The specters of the dying city arise

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/Fotocinema.2022.vi24.13672

Keywords:

Cinema and city, modernity, apocalyptic cinema, fantasy cinema, ghosts, japanese cinema

Abstract

Given the fact that cinematography captured the first images in movement of the modern city, it would be poetically appropriate if it managed to arrive in time so as to capture the last images of its final stillness, right before its disappearance. In few filmographies like Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s can we perceive the continuity between modern city and imagery and contemporary city and imagery. Following the narrative of the last things, this article will focus on three of his movies; moreover, it will also focus on the progressive decay of the Tokyo that it is portrayed, until it reaches its ghostly disappearance. These movies are Cure (1997), Retribution (2006), and Pulse (2001). In these, Kurosawa enacts how our present would be when our modern cities -and the concept of modernity that he so well knows- are on the verge of their end. It will be, at this moment, when the viral infection of its ghostly façade becomes the biggest indication of its decadence.

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Author Biography

  • José Manuel López Fernández, University of Vigo

    José Manuel López (josemlopez@gmail.com) has a doctorate in Comunication and works as associate profesor at Social Studies Faculty in the University of Vigo (Spain). He founded the online magazine Tren de sombras  (2004-2008) and was part of the editorial board of Cahiers du cinéma. España. In 2008 he coordinated the anthology Naomi Kawase: El cine en el umbral and has published numerous articles and books chapters. In 2020 won the Best Essay Prize about Internacional Cinema awarded by the Galician Audiovisual Academy.

References

Published

2022-01-23

Dimensions

PlumX

How to Cite

Apocalyptic tension within three movies by Kurosawa Kiyoshi (Cure, 1997; Retribution, 2006; Pulse, 2001). : The specters of the dying city arise. (2022). Fotocinema. Revista científica De Cine Y fotografía, 24, 215-239. https://doi.org/10.24310/Fotocinema.2022.vi24.13672