![]() ![]() The script and the direction (Oliver Hermanus) beautifully capture the austerity and self-restraint of postwar Britain. Bill Nighy is perfectly cast as Williams, a man of his time painfully incapable of expressing his emotions. He also befriends a girl working in a Lyons Corner House (Aimee Lou Wood) - an awkward platonic relationship that has echoes of Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in THE REMAINS OF THE DAY. A strip-club in Brighton turns out not to be his cup of tea, and he goes back to London and finds a small project to invest his time and energy in. Williams is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and decides to try and "live a bit" in the time he has left. A widower living with his buttoned-up son and bitchy daughter-in-law, Mr. Williams (in those days men called each other "Mister" on the commuter train and in the office) manages a section of the planning offices at London's County Hall where shuffling papers seems to be the order of the day. Our struggles added to our power, so I think that made the works interesting and well worth a listen.This little gem of a movie is scripted (adapting a Japanese story) by Kashuo Ishiguro who gave us THE REMAINS OF THE DAY thirty years ago. That led to the emergence of an array of really simple, bold, powerful compositions, which were captured in these recordings.Īkatsuki and Honoka are both works that might feel rather rough, raw, and more rugged that Kodo’s previous works… I think that’s due to an overflow of all the energy we poured in. So it was also a period which made us question our reason for doing what we do.Īt that complex time, I think each Kodo member was hanging in there, struggling to make it through by focusing on the fundamentals: taiko, their own playing, and the people waiting for Kodo’s tours and concerts. ![]() And in early 2011, the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami struck. The entire Kodo ensemble seemed to feel bound by the invisible shackles of its 30 years of history, which had an indescribable oppressiveness on us. I remember that time as a really tough one. I recommend Kodo’s Akatsuki album and Honoka DVD!īoth of these were recorded in 2010–2011 as special works to commemorate Kodo’s 30th anniversary. Each Kodo member will introduce their personal pick (or picks) in this blog series over the weeks ahead. In the lead up to Kodo’s 40th anniversary in 2021, we looked back over the many works our group has released to date. This production deeply impressed me and showed me that Kodo has some of the best odaiko performers. ![]() Two years later, “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” came to the U.S., and I bought this Legend DVD at the venue without hesitation. ![]() I could not make out who was performing since I watched from the third floor, but I remember thinking, “just how many performers are back stage on standby in their fundoshi (loincloth), waiting for their turn…?”Īt that time, I was just working on my odaiko solo, so I practiced and composed it by recalling impressions and memories of the performance. The three back-to-back O-daiko (big drum) performances were highly memorable. On 2013, “Kodo One Earth Tour: Legend” came to the university I was attending. ![]()
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