Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Illusionist (Satoshi Kon)

Ambivalent on what to write, I thought of posting on a new acquisition for the library -Jerry Beck's The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons.

Instead my gaze caught Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist by Andrew Osmond.  Bugs Bunny can wait.


It's a serious, hard thought, researched book.  The kind you might find on Truffaut or Cassavetes.

Each film is given a detailed recap together with an analysis contextualizing it within the director's work and film/anime as a whole.  Unfortunately, it's now a definitive collection of Satoshi Kon's complete works.

One passage to keep in mind:

Kon's own comments suggest that asking him why he doesn't make live action is like asking a representational painter why he or she doesn't take photographs.
"Drawing is the common denominator for comic books and animation," Kon says.  "I don't know any other way ... When I make films, I cannot think how to do it without drawings." Asked if he would ever move over to live action,  Kon replies, "I never really thought I'd like to make a live action film... It's perhaps very unlikely I will make one."

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