This could refer to the late 1950s or to the present. I think that there is a problem in perception (certainly not limited to Marxy) here based on how Japanese film history is narrated – we hear most about the Kurosawas and the Ozus but there were 300 plus films being made each year through the 50s and this includes no end of Misora Hibari fluff and other pictures with tacked on idols. When they tell the story of the 2000s in Japanese film we will hear about Sen to Chihiro, Battle Royale, Kemusho no Naka and Chi to Hone, etc. with Odoru Daisosasen and the like left in the dustbin of history.

Sticking models and idols into films can actually be okay if there is a director with vision – I think that Shimoduma Monogatari and Kiraware Matsuko no Issho were very strong, for example. They are also just the kinds of Japanese films that export well if we want to look for some kind of “Japan Cool” criterion.

This was a factor back in the day as well – Ishihara Yujiro wasn’t exactly acting up a storm – he was more or less an idol – but when the great Ichikawa Kon had him in “Taiheiyo Hitoribochi” he looked like gold. Kayama Yuzo – one of the first really, really, really cheesy idols, was also fantastic with Kurosawa in Akahige and maybe even better with Naruse in Midareru.

It looked like this year was going to be pretty rotten for film but there have been some bright spots lately – Midnight Eye is talking about Tokyo Sonata being a masterpiece, for example. When the box office totals are in, the “Golden Age” (which goes up to 1960, most of the “vets” these days are the guys and gals who would have been 25-35 in the 1970s so they would be 60-70 or so today) looks a lot like today’s lists – big stupid pictures do well with some exceptions (Miyazaki Hayao is the Japanese boxoffice champ and a great filmmaker, Yamada Yoji and Beat Takeshi are also excellent and have had big hits lately).

In a way, we should just be thankful that the Japanese film industry lasted through the dark days. 15 years ago, Jurassic Park made as much as the TOP FIFTEEN Japanese films put together. These days, cheesy idols or not, Japanese films can often out gross the best of the West – and this gets people paid and means that there is money floating around for “good” projects too. This isn’t a rare thing either – it is the popcorn movies and US horror pics that make Japanese TV dramas look like Citizen Kane that pay for “There Will Be Blood”.

“he made me wonder what exactly my generation is actively doing to replace such a figure”

I’m not sure that today’s older generation seemed that great in their 20s either – somebody who is around 70 today would have been 20ish around the time that Oshima Nagisa and Imamura Shohei were making Japanese youth look a lot more aimless than today’s kids (okay, so maybe 30 is the new 20). Giving the young a chance to grow into more than we expect (maybe I shouldn’t be writing “we” as I’m not that old yet) is a nice side of Okuribito.