22 of 26 - and not a hedgetrimmer in sight
Mar. 1st, 2008 11:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarkerJust a little reflection on the rakugo stories. It's kind of interesting to watch the daily 15 minutes, with cliffhangers and hooks and conflicts, and to see how the writers have shaped this to fit the weekly 6 days. But there are so many loose ends and characters that seem to demand more time.
For example, the bartender's wife had a meltdown the other day, mostly there to feed us a little teaser and backfill about Ako (one of the key characters) coming back from Tokyo to the little town. So they didn't really go on to explain why she had this crying jag, just excused it as bad memories, go on . . . the bartender told us it was okay, and comforted her. Or the driver/salesman/arranger, who always seems to have a big smile and happy handshake. What's his story, aside from being the guy that the factory owner and others turn to when they want some odd job handled quickly?
Or Friday and Saturday, when we suddenly got a whole slab of background about the factory owner. His dad was a foreigner, and he grew up not knowing how to use chopsticks. So when his mother brought him to Japan, he had to learn, and felt awkward. But as he grew comfortable, those chopsticks from the little store were the ones that seemed right for his hand. So he wanted to learn how to make them. And . . . a whole lot more. But in two days, we just got enough to see that the story from his viewpoint was a bit different, and to set up the grandmother refusing to forgive him for leaving, but to end up hugging him and tears because he was a treasured child of the family. And . . . blast, there's a whole other story over there about him building a factory and world-wide reputation, to compensate for not being able to make artistic chopsticks.
Frankly, I can see how the last four weeks are going to trundle along and probably end in a stunning climax (the actors have started turning up here and there on TV, explaining that filming ended Feb. 22, and the end is in the can, but it's a secret!). But there are so many loose hairs drifting around - and that's both part of what makes this fun and what will make it as frustrating as can be when they wrap up some part of the main story and characters, but leave the rest unresolved.
Stay tuned, right?
For example, the bartender's wife had a meltdown the other day, mostly there to feed us a little teaser and backfill about Ako (one of the key characters) coming back from Tokyo to the little town. So they didn't really go on to explain why she had this crying jag, just excused it as bad memories, go on . . . the bartender told us it was okay, and comforted her. Or the driver/salesman/arranger, who always seems to have a big smile and happy handshake. What's his story, aside from being the guy that the factory owner and others turn to when they want some odd job handled quickly?
Or Friday and Saturday, when we suddenly got a whole slab of background about the factory owner. His dad was a foreigner, and he grew up not knowing how to use chopsticks. So when his mother brought him to Japan, he had to learn, and felt awkward. But as he grew comfortable, those chopsticks from the little store were the ones that seemed right for his hand. So he wanted to learn how to make them. And . . . a whole lot more. But in two days, we just got enough to see that the story from his viewpoint was a bit different, and to set up the grandmother refusing to forgive him for leaving, but to end up hugging him and tears because he was a treasured child of the family. And . . . blast, there's a whole other story over there about him building a factory and world-wide reputation, to compensate for not being able to make artistic chopsticks.
Frankly, I can see how the last four weeks are going to trundle along and probably end in a stunning climax (the actors have started turning up here and there on TV, explaining that filming ended Feb. 22, and the end is in the can, but it's a secret!). But there are so many loose hairs drifting around - and that's both part of what makes this fun and what will make it as frustrating as can be when they wrap up some part of the main story and characters, but leave the rest unresolved.
Stay tuned, right?
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And in the mail
Date: 2008-03-03 07:44 am (UTC)Did all the actors make TV appearances?
I'm not sure if all of them have been on, but my wife says several of them have hit the daytime shows. They are also opening the set to visitors from yesterday through 3/9.
What did the writer say to the factory owner? Everyone seemed shocked.
Ah - Natsuko (the writer) charged in and asked about his story, why did he leave the little chopstick shop? Kind of the bull-in-the-chinashop journalist, catching some guy apparently having some kind of crisis and hitting him with a hard question. Even the uncle seemed to think maybe this was not the right time! But then Grandma said she would like to hear it, too. Which set up his explanation, that gave us some insights and new views.
Isn't the factory owner a relative?
I think they filled in some background on the factory owner Friday and Saturday. If I got it right, he's the son of a foreigner (that was the James Dean reference) and a Japanese woman (which I believe is true, although I heard his mother was the foreigner?). Not directly related, apparently. But he came to work at the grandfather's shop - because when he was learning to use chopsticks, the ones from the shop felt best in his hands. Working there was good, but the real son was better at it. Anyway, apparently he felt he couldn't make such good chopsticks, felt unloved, and left. Met his wife, the daughter of a small factory owner, and found out that he was good at making the factory go. And grandma kept him at a distance because angry.
The resolution, Saturday, was to realize that she was angry because he was "daiji musuko" (important son). And they ended up in tears.
What was the sheet of paper that Kiyomi gave Ako?
The sheet of paper was a flyer for Kiyomi's rakugo show in Obama - which was what got her out there, and they've talked a couple times about just what she was going to do, but I think they just skipped the show. Ah, well, I guess we've seen her do rakugo before.