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Originally Posted by Hammer Michael
As I said I was a bit distracted...but what I meant to say was that while his films are definatley products of his own culture, his style is very accessible to a Western audience. Chungking Express and ITMFL for example, are brilliantly both visually and narratively and can appeal to any audience I feel...as long as the mindset is right. The themes are global, but I agree that both films might have been approached differently by western directors.
I'm thinking also of the Pang brothers with this in mind as well...
Maybe there isn't such a wide divergence of global cultural film styles in this 'postmodern' age? Just a thought....
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I'm not exactly sure his films are that accessible to the wider audience. The majority like popcorn flicks. I bet if you gave most people ITMFL, they'd find it boring. Sofia Coppola's a big fan of WKW. . .and Lost in Translation is her version of a WKW film. It's even set in the Far East, but it centres around two American actors. . .as it's primarily aimed at the American audience. Now that film did polarise opinions in the West. . .most think it's pointless and boring. However, that style of film making is very popular in the Far East. In fact most Far Eastern films are slow paced. Kitano's work's even more slower paced. Dolls was amazing. . .and probably the most beautiful film I have ever seen. Again, not for everyone.
That said, Kurosawa's one of the greatest directors, ever. . .and his work has been loved by a huge audience for decades. And he's arguably the most influential director in the history of film-making.
PS. Watch Last 'Life in the Universe'. Very similar to LiT. Takeshi Miike plays a Yakuza!