After producing several experimental video art pieces, Tsuchiya first came to prominence with A New God, a personal documentary shot on video about his relationship with a right-wing, neo-nationalist punk rock band. Even though Tsuchiya is on the left, he ended up marrying the singer for that band, Karin Amamiya, who has since emerged as a spokesperson for disaffected Japanese youth in the media. The New God won an award at the 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival.
Japan
Japan
Really fascinating portrait of the personal circumstances that draw people to ideology, and the way nationalism takes form in the context of late 20th century Japan. The basic concept of a documentary where a left-wing filmmaker does a psychological profile on a right-wing punk band could easily come across as wishy-washy or irresponsible, but I don't think that's the case here. Maybe there are some who oppose Tsuchiya making this kind of film as empathetic to the individual as it is (though he does challenge their views, to try and see how they justify them to themselves), but he is more interested in placing that individual in the context of their broader society. It's worth thinking about and examining why…
"I can't live my life without a camera."
Interesting look into late 90s disenfranchised youth clinging to punk music and 60s radicalism as a way to be part of something larger than themselves in a cold society of disaffectionate crowds. Labels like "left" "right" lose any actual meaning to these bored kids, they just want to pierce the veil of false peace and connect.
sometimes the most you feel you're able to do is give yourself to something completely.
Labels such as left or right serve to only hide the fact that we are all just broken, lonely people searching for purpose and happiness.
Hate the system, hate the power, but don't hate the people.
Right-wing nationalism as a lifeline for youth that's been cast aside, disregarded, unheard and unseen. The New God is a documentary about two young musicians who cling to patriotism to survive, and the director is one of the first people outside their circle to listen to them and see them as people with value. With their interactions, they broaden their vision and grow as individuals.
An intimate and as real as it gets documentary about the need for purpose, connexion, but also security and belonging, and how we don't always have the privilege of choosing where and how we can pursue these things.
A documentary that documents. Nowadays, it feels like most docs are made with a clear goal and message in mind. A director has done all the exploring beforehand and looks for footage to support his idea, whereas Yutaka Tsuchiya's The New God is a more genuine exploration of his subject ... and ultimately himself.
The idea of a leftist director documenting a right-leaning punk band seems impossible these days, but that's exactly what makes this documentary interesting. Tsuchiya isn't out to ridicule or undermine his subjects either, instead, he looks genuinely interested in their story, and sees his own ideals challenged during production.
It's fun to make the journey together with the director and his subjects, though I do feel…
cute shit love story with a guest appearance by the bassist from les rallizes who stole a airplane. theres just something about zero budget super candid japanese documentaries about weirdos thats super dope
highly personal and raw. expertly shows what leads certain people to become nationalists.
there couldn't be a better choice of subjects for a documentary on this topic. amemiya is such a chronically dependent person ("myself would be the last person i'd believe in") and i think it's interesting how her personal struggle clearly reflects in the character of moe that she and tsuchiya would later write for their movie 'peep "tv" show'.
some people desperately need to rely on an "admirer" (as amemiya calls it), a figure they view as a higher authority who also sees value in them. initially for amemiya, this admirer is the emperor but by the end of the documentary, through the reflection given by recording a video diary, she realises that her new admirer is tsuchiya, the director himself.
i definitely didn't expect this film to end with a love confession but it was a lovely and beautiful surprise.
A deeply fascinating portrait of the ugly emotions underpinning the turn of the century disaffection in Japan that produced so many cultural touchstones of our era. At the heart of the post-70s apocalypse of meaning in Japan were people like Amamiya and her shitty, shitty band. So much of this documentary felt amateurish and raw and I liked that about it. My brain is stuck on Amamiya citing Terayama as an early inspiration, despite what she became. I think that really speaks to the way Left and Right mean nothing anymore; all we have left are the symbols we regurgitate at each other to fill the holes left inside us.
it's easier to be something than someone
Absolutely nothing worse than when you're watching a band and one of the guys pulls out a prepared speech and goes "Y'know... I got a little something to say"
Documentary by video activist Tsuchiya Yutaka detailing the reasons behind nationalist punk band singer Amemiya Karin's involvement in far-right movements in Japan in the late-nineties. Backdrop of Japanese political landscape soon fades though, as the film becomes a near-obsessive biographical piece.
I can get on board with the anti-capitalist sentiments: "I refuse to live like a fat pig fed by America inside the cage of American Imperialsim"
"Creating feels good, I like it"
"Make a cake, then."
