蔷薇的葬礼

不知大家有没有听过华仔的一首歌，叫《马桶》。

“我的家有个马桶，马桶里有个窟窿，窟窿的上面，总有个笑容，笑人间无奈很多。每个家都有马桶，每个人都要去用，用完了以后，逍遥又轻松，保证你快乐无穷。”

华仔性感的声线诠释出关于马桶的惊悚废话，格外悦耳。

歌是不错，但用马桶创作像在玩火，和俗挂了钩。而日本有位影像大师，竟把马桶玩出了逼格，玩出了境界。

松本俊夫

Toshio Matsumoto

这位影响了库布里克创作《发条橙》，引领了日本新浪潮电影运动的艺术家，在此前介绍“鬼畜”之父伊藤高志的时候就有提到过，而刚说的马桶之作也让伊藤高志等一众艺术家入了影像的坑。

▲《新陈代谢（Metastasis）》1972

它叫做《新陈代谢》，名字倒是挺隐讳的。短短8分钟的影像，将马桶玩成了万花筒，格外skr。

除此之外，蒙娜丽莎也难逃他的法眼，1973年，这个没有PS的年代，名画里的蒙娜丽莎被他抠进作品里，仿佛只是将马桶换成了蒙娜丽莎，五彩斑斓的灯光，犹如蒙娜丽莎放飞自我在夜店。

▲《蒙娜丽莎（Mona Lisa）》1973

看似“恶搞”，实际是有着自己独特的美学风格。

要知道，他既是日本新浪潮电影运动的主力军，又是60年代日本独立电影的弄潮儿，与大岛渚齐名，同寺山修司比肩，日本电影史最生猛的那几年，没他不行。

日本电影新浪潮

▲《青春残酷物语》1960

日本新浪潮运动与法国新浪潮，波兰电影运动几乎是同时进行的。

而“新浪潮”一词最早出现在20世纪60年代初的法国，说的是一群青年导演反对体制，挑战权威，企图引领不同的电影风潮，以弗朗索瓦·特吕弗的《四百击》和让-吕克·戈达尔的《筋疲力尽》为起点的电影运动。

▲法国新浪潮运动下的实践者们

法国与波兰电影运动的盛行，同时影响了日本电影界。

60年代初，日本由于电视的兴起，电影工业效益很不理想，新东宝电影公司也宣布破产，大制片公司也都萧条衰弱，因此新浪潮导演不得不进行独立制片。

▲爱看日影都该知道的东宝

同时在当时政治背景下，日本与美国签署了安保条约，日本民众特别是大学生的反美情绪高涨。

▲1960，时任日相岸信介（左）和时任美国国务卿霍特签订条约。

年轻人对日本政府做法表达强烈的不满，在政治上表示极度失望。而新浪潮导演又都是从这帮大学生，年轻人中产生。

▲大学教授与学生组团示威

因此，种种原因导致日本新浪潮运动的必然发生。

日本新浪潮又叫“松竹新浪潮”，是因为年轻导演主力阵容均来自同一家电影公司——松竹电影公司。

▲大岛渚

1959年大岛渚作为旗手，逢《爱与希望之街》公映后，在反对传统电影体制下，还加入了对当今社会，政治层面的批判与探讨，开启了日本新浪潮运动。

▲《爱与希望之街》

此后，松本俊夫、吉田喜重、筱田正浩、寺山修司、铃木清顺、今村昌平、增村保造等年轻导演纷纷加入新浪潮的行列。

这些牛鬼蛇神可都是不好惹的，而其中寺山修司和松本俊夫的身份更为特殊。

我是伤口，亦是刀锋

▲寺山修司

狭义的日本新浪潮是1959到1961年，仅3年寿命，广义的日本新浪潮则是以1983年寺山修司的去世为终结。

寺山修司与松本俊夫共同的特殊点，既是电影人，又同为实验影像，独立电影艺术家。

▲松本俊夫

松本俊夫一生仅执导4部长片，《蔷薇的葬礼》，《脑髓地狱》，《修罗》和《十六岁的战争》，量少而质精。

在《电影的变革》中，松本俊夫总结，“艺术必须对抗政治现状。”

▲《蔷薇的葬礼》1969

他在1969年执导的《蔷薇的葬礼》是日本首部讨论同性恋和异装癖文化的作品，被称作日本新浪潮先声之作，同时也是ATG的开山之作（ATG是活跃于上世纪60到80年代的日本先锋电影制作公司）。

▲《蔷薇的葬礼》1969

它改编自古希腊戏剧《俄狄浦斯王》，是关于一代君王俄狄浦斯王为逃避弑父娶母的预言与命运抗争的悲剧故事。

松本俊夫则将这个古老神话搬到现实舞台。

▲《蔷薇的葬礼》1969

同性恋少年艾迪是异装酒吧的头牌，与酒吧老板偷情，老板娘因被横刀夺爱而自杀，艾迪在最终发现，酒店老板原来是自己的亲生父亲，最终自戳双目，陷入无尽的深渊。

▲《蔷薇的葬礼》1969

“我是伤口，亦是刀锋”是片头引用的波德莱尔的诗句，其指艾迪。弑父娶母变为弑母恋父，两性关系改成同性爱恋，本身就很“新浪潮”。可松本俊夫除了在剧本上下功夫，还结合自己的实验影像经验，用极其前卫先锋的拍摄手法，让电影得以升华。

▲《脑髓地狱》1988

另一部《脑髓地狱》也赚足了噱头，《脑髓地狱》原著被誉为“日本四大推理奇书之首”，是日本作家梦野久作倾尽毕生心血撰写的作品，在松本俊夫之前，无人敢挑战这部奇书，而他却用15年时间做到了完美消化。

▲《脑髓地狱》1988

但自70年代后，松本俊夫便专注于实验短片，独立影像的制作。

日本实验电影第一人

▲《银轮》1955

其实在新浪潮之前的1955年，松本俊夫便确立了自己为日本影像艺术的开拓者身份。

其当年创作的实验短片处女作《银轮》被称为日本最早的彩色实验电影。神奇的是，这只是给日本自行车协会拍的广告片。

▲新浪潮时的阿伦·雷乃、阿涅斯·瓦尔达、雅克·德米（左起）

早期其作品没有拼贴式镜头，但在看到阿伦·雷乃的《格尔尼卡》之后，松本俊夫深受启发，于是拍摄出了《西阵》（1962）以及《石之诗》（1963）等记录影像，开始运用拼贴式镜头拍摄了诗意下的纺织，石材厂。

▲《西阵》1962，《石之诗》1963

70年代后，他先后制作了《新陈代谢》（1972）、《Atman》（1975）、《气=Breathing》（1980）、《伪装LES》（1992）等崭新的实验短片，后被人称之为日本实验电影作家第一人。

▲《Atman》1975

1970年的大阪世界博览会（Expo’70 Osaka）是日本录像艺术创作的重要拐点。因为这次世博会关注艺术与技术的融合，艺术家们被鼓励采用新的媒介去进行艺术实践。

▲“视频广场”成员在索尼大厦，东京，1972

因此艺术家们开始行动，于1972年一个叫“视频广场（Video Hiroba）”的组织成立，这是日本录像艺术史上的一个里程碑。

“视频广场”存在的目的，是以低廉价格出租摄像机等设备，共一些热爱电影，8mm胶片的普通人去创作艺术作品。松本俊夫则作为元老级人物游走于包括“视频广场”的各个组织。

▲《新陈代谢》1972

同年6月，松本俊夫在另一个录像艺术组织“视频地球”制作了三部彩色录像作品——《新陈代谢》（Metastasis），《自治》（Autonomy）和《扩张》（Expansion）。这些作品探究了录像艺术称之为“数据色彩系统”的表现潜力。

▲《色即是空》1975

2017年4月12日，松本俊夫病逝，享年85岁。

今天，包括伊藤高志在内的许多日本影像艺术家都视他为精神支柱，延续着其浓烈前卫的创作风格，

▲《幻影》1975

松本俊夫曾说过：“电影变得像电影一样就是它的局限性。它正在自己步向死亡。”

前人早悟透的问题，延续至今依旧明显，人们需要自省，需要改变，我们这代人是幸运的一代，也是尴尬的一代，但不至于为垮掉的一代。

大家可都是追逐潮流的新新人类，极富创造力的一帮年轻人。

相信不久的将来，鬼畜视频也可以作为艺术品展出，人人都可以用马桶玩出万花筒，属于我们的新浪潮运动不是正在进行吗？

▲《色即是空》1975

—End—

/素材图片来自网络/

/如有侵权联系删除/

往期回顾：

打破艺术家与工匠壁垒的领航员 | 奥斯卡·施莱默

大魔王布兰切特背后的男人|朱利安·罗斯菲德

嫉妒别人，不如让别人嫉妒自己 | 蜷川实花

立志成为漫画家，却“沦落”为鬼畜之父 | 伊藤高志

A masterpiece. Among all Japanese films that I have watched, ATG films always deeply intrigue me. Mastumoto certainly attempts to create a conflict between two poles, such as the avant-garde and the documentary as the reading suggests. Before entering the discussion of his combination of different genres (or even beyond the traditional-defined film medium itself), I want to briefly discuss this dichotomy embedded in this film. The film starts with a poem claiming one person as both wound and knife, both victim and executer. This dichotomy is settled at the very beginning of the film. Later around 4:22, Gonda and Eddie are placed on two opposing side of the screen, showing this dichotomy again. This also indicates the paternity conflict. The imagery of rose is also two-sides. On one side, it is extremely attractive and beautiful. On the other hand, it hurts people who hold it. This reminds me the Marxism theory of synthesis. The conflict between thesis and anti-thesis will create a new synthesis which is higher than the original thesis-antithesis level. This motivates the social progress. The new synthesis will become the new thesis, seeking a conflict with its anti-thesis. As Matsumoto is very aware of the past major film theories, (I really love the quote from Mekas) it is also possible that he learned the writings from Sergei Eisenstein or Dziga Vertov, who highly borrows from Marxism. Therefore, the concept of surrealism and seeking higher truth may also be connected to the concept of “eye” attributed to camera. Vertov’s work “Man with a Movie Camera” definitely demonstrates this idea. Therefore, the foundation of the documentary-side in “Funeral Parade of Roses” may originate from it. However, as the prompt suggests, this film also aggregate so many other genres or even elements beyond cinema to construct a deeper truth. From my perspective, this practice may compensate the innate disadvantage in documentary genre itself.

It is easy to firstly identify the documentary-side elements in this film. This film uses a lot of non-professional actors and actresses, mitigating the illusion of real from the sense of acting. The audiences will be more persuaded by its narration. Also, when the assistant yells out “Cuts,” audiences are aware of the fakeness of this narration, cancelling the illusion as well. The following interviews on either the cast or some random passers-by are also elements of documentaries. They are revealing their personal feelings of the plots, their identities, their dreams and their living conditions. These are not mingled with the narration part (or melodrama part, which will be discussed below) because such information is given purely orally by these people. There are no direct reproductions through images. Furthermore, the response or adaptation from the current events, such as the students’ riots, the wars and even the film posts on display, actively enhance the sense of the newsreels, which could be considered as the early form of the documentary.

However, a significant problem in the documentary-end is the unreachable truthfulness. The editing and the montage inevitably create new meanings instead of faithfully demonstrating the happenings that “once have been there.” Many documentaries, even in early periods, are proved to contain false information or overabundance of propagandistic messages. Robert Flaherty's “Nanook of the North” exaggerates the wilderness of the residences and invents many scenes. The camera perspectives and montages from Leni Riefenstahl’s “Triumph of the Will” certainly glorifies the image of Hitler. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve this superficial level of truthfulness because of the innate cinematic languages. Then, Mastumoto attempts to achieve a deeper sense of truthfulness in the unconscious level. Memories, or sense of memories, may facilitate this practice. The pieced images could become analogies for audiences to recall or recollect, from their daily viewing of different films or even other medias. There are two threads of this adding-up: referring to previous dominating genres that people are familiar with, then exploring the future possibilities of the cinema itself through style of “avant-garde” (manipulating time and borrowing from installation art and television).

For the first thread, Matsumoto clearly refers to melodrama, slapsticks, and some aspects of Jidai-Geki through many devices. The core of the plots still shows the sense of melodrama, even its editing skills are avant-garde. The essence of the scripts for the narrative part demonstrates a clear pattern of Eddie’s whole life, while the audiences need to paste all the parts scattered around together. Several photographs show him as a baby. After his father left, his personalities start to change. He uses make-up. When he uses lipstick, his mother beats him. He witnessed his mother meeting another man. He kills both of them. He then works in a bar, causing a typical triangle between him and Gonda and Leda. Finally, all three are dead. This kind of love affairs and struggle is typical for most melodramas, only the characters are more complicated than the normal examples. This familiar structure from a familiar genre will mitigate the sense of pioneer which may frighten the audiences, making this film more acceptable. The abundance of sex depictions also reminds the audiences the pink films as well, which becomes a powerful advertising device to appeal to the audiences, enlarging the span of its potential targeted viewers. The camera shows all different angles of the naked bodies, with many close-ups. This may clearly recall the pornographical aspects of the pink films. In addition, the reference to slapsticks also create this sense of amusement and entertainment, relaxing the audiences from the more serious and uncanny avant-garde parts of the film. In many fighting scenes, Mastumoto accelerates these shots and uses very simple and delighting background music with quick tempos. This quickly connects to the Hollywood slapsticks such as Keaton’s or Chaplin’s work. This play of time is harmonious with the more avant-garde style of manipulating time. However, it is more familiar to the audiences, replacing this work together to the stream of all the past masterpieces. In one shot, Eddie and Guevara lean on the walls that is full of Pasolini’s film “Edipo re”. They both have the theme of killing fathers. This is also a device of linking this film to previous works in more clearly genres. Finally, from 37:49, the background music for the quarrel between Gonda and Leda are traditional Japanese theatrical music. In this scene, Gonda is dominating the fighting against Leda and kicking him, showing the sense of male chauvinism. Utilizing the traditional instruments for the music here links to the genre of Jidai-geki, which are mostly adaptations from histories or traditional theatres. This genre here seems to ironically criticize the traditional Japanese patricentric culture.

Furthermore, this film also has lots of avant-garde elements. Among those numerous examples, two significant parts are the manipulation of time and the mediums beyond-cinema. Isami’s response has already clearly analyses the relationship between this film and Godard’s jump cuts. Therefore, I will not repeat this argument. There are many repetitively used shots placed in different places of the film. Sometimes they seem to show a continuity in narration, while some of them appear as the hallucinations or dream of Eddie. His memories and dreams contribute this manipulation of time. There are also many moments that the audiences could feel the sense of omens from the objects. After the scene showing dead Leda, there are two dolls on the ground. One of the dolls has a needle pinned on the neck. Another doll’s two eyes are both pinned by the needles. At the end of film, the deaths of Eddie and Gonda clearly revive this pattern. Gonda kills himself by cutting his neck, and Eddie tears his two eyes. This seems to be a De Ja Vu. This manipulation of time is significant for the seek of the deeper truth. One specific aspect of dream is that people do not know the beginning and the ending. The jumps cuts and repetition clearly imitate the similar sense of dreams and deeper memories. Therefore, the memories of Eddie are scattered around the film and freely connected. Finally, as the Mekas’s saying that “all definitions of cinema have been erased, all doors are open now,” this film also aggregates many other art forms. The scenes in the galleries showing the paintings of masks are linked to the gallery-environment. The scene depicting seven naked males’ backs with one rose thrusted in one’s butt clearly creates the sense of action arts or happenings, which is a widely used art form during this period in response to the wars and nuclear horrors, such as Yoko Ono’s “Grapefruit” and “Cut-pieces.” The reference to this new wave of art reforms could intensify this film’s connection with its contemporary political issues. Finally, television dominates many scenes in the film as well. The Eddie’s group gathers around to watch the television. The news of detecting drugs is also delivered through the form of television program. Therefore, this film seems to break the boundaries of instantaneity of cinema, which the audiences merely stay in theatre with darkness for two hours. The television, a familiar medium that represent the audiences’ daily routines, seems to arouse more perpetuating senses for the audiences. This generalization also represent the accumulation of the audiences’ or the characters’ unconsciousness or memories, because people will receive the news and understand the worlds through watching cinemas.