The Inland Sea 1991

     Author and film scholar Donald Richie published a poetic travelogue in 1971.  This book was about his explorations of the islands of Japan’s Inland Sea.  He has recorded in his book the search for traces of a traditional way of life.  This is also a journey of self-discovery.  Twenty years later, filmmaker Carra took a parallel trip inspired by Richie’s book.  She captures the images of hushed beauty and meets people who still carry on the fading customs of this area.  The same customs that Richie observed.  There are surprising detours like a visit to a Frank Sinatra loving monk.  There is a leper colony and a temple of plywood and plaster.  All the scenes are woven together by Richie’s narration.

     This is an interesting voyage and Richie is a foreigner.  Most of the viewers of this film would also be foreigners.  This area has remnants of bunkers and machine gun sites leftover from WWII.  The scenery is very beautiful and the information is interesting. 3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

56 min, Doc directed by Lucille Carra, written by Carra and Donald Richie.

   

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, Blue-ray.com 4* out of 5* with one rating, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 8 reviews, Goodreads gives the book 3.88* out of 5* with 357 ratings.

Special Note:  The filmmakers discovered an island with 60 inhabitants and 1,000 cats two days before production began.  I remember these unusual scenes in the film and I thought there were a LOT of cats.  They seem to be of two types, Calico and Tortoiseshell, this describes their coat colors.  Calicos have a three-color combination, white, black and red-orange and they are supposed to bring good luck.  Tortoiseshells lack the white and are often mottled.  Calico cats are usually female but male calico cats do exist.  They have two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome (XXY) and they are usually sterile.  Possibly they are all relatives!!