Composition Class

Composition Class (1938) by Kajiro Yamamoto can be easily sighted as the film which paved way for Akira Kurosawa in Cinematic History.

The legendary film director lists this film at no. 17 of his Top 100 favourite films, simply because it was due to Yamamoto's strict technique of teaching Kurosawa every small detail of filmmaking from Editing, writing script to deciding costume and make props, by making him do every single work, most of which not to Kurosawa's pleasure ; that made him a Competent director able to make any film on his own. Therefore Kurosawa addressed Yamamoto as Yama-San with respect for the great Director.

The Film follows the life of a 13 year old girl(Young Hideko Takamine), her family's daily struggles to manage meal for five people in tough times, and her desire to write articles about everyday life ; one of which gets her both appreciation and punishment.

Her teacher notices her talent of pointing out even the slightest details in her writings and encourages her and her family not to stop her from writing about things with full honesty.

Tough the film is simple and might garner interest among viewers now, but its subject matter is still true almost after 90 years of its release for various classes and parts of the world and not only Japan, the struggle against poverty is everlasting and breaking for many.

Made in Japan over eighty years ago but still as fresh as a daisy today; the indignity experienced by 14 year-old Hideko Takamine at having to shop for food with coupons is still a harsh reality in 21st Century Britain.

Much is made of Kurosawa's presence on the set as director Kajiro Yamamoto's assistant, but the unobtrusive elegance of Yamamoto's staging and the attractive location work makes it look more like Ozu; while those who know their De Sica will note the calamity suffered by the father when his bicycle is stolen.

Hideko Takamine writes an essay. Following the instructions of her teacher, Shiro Mizutani, she improves it, and eventually one of her compositions is published in a magazine. However, in her effort to be honest, the article contains a slighting remark about the most powerful man in the neighborhood. Her father, a poor tinsmith, loses jobs, his bicycle is stolen, and the family has nothing to eat.

Kajirô Yamamoto's movie is based on the writings of a real girl, Masako Toyoda. Miss Takamine, already an eight-year veteran of the movies, is a gawky, 14-year-old girl, with a lovely smile, if not quite the polished actress she would become after the war. This one reminds me of the Academy-Award-winning I REMEMBER MAMA, even though that movie came out eight years later, and the family in this one is nowhere near as idealized.

Akira Kurosawa was the chief Assistant Director on this movie.