Veil (幕/Maku,
2014) is the latest animated short by Yoriko
Mizushiri (水尻自子,
1984). Her minimalist pale pastel works
like Futon (布団, 2012) and Snow Hut (かまくら, 2013), have been winning acclaim at international
festivals in recent years. Veil premiered at the Berlinale in 2015,
and I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen at Oberhausen
2015. It is now available on DVD the
DVD L’Animation Indépendante Japonaise,
Vol. 3. Available from Heeza
or amazon.fr
.
.
Although Veil is the official English title, the
Japanese title “Maku” (幕) translates more accurately as curtain. I am guessing the word “veil” has been chosen
because as a verb it sounds more poetic and mysterious than “curtain”. Yet, the film opens not with a veil but with
a rising curtain on what the synopsis describes as a Kyōgen stage. The Kyōgen stage is the same as a Noh stage,
for Kyōgen was traditionally the comic relief between the acts of a Noh
drama. The stage features a multi-coloured
curtain, or “agemaku” (揚幕), a symbol of the border between one world and another. The reference to Kyōgen, which literally
means “mad words” or “wild speech” is an ironic one for there is no speech in a
Mizushiri animated short.
Clouds, feet
sliding across the ground on banana-shaped cushions. A monkey in a suit sits with a rope around
its waist. Women’s bare legs sitting on
office chairs. Ikura (salmon roe) from
an ikura sushi float like bubbles in the air and pushed by a slender female
finger. As is typical for the style of
Mizushiri, everyday places and items become extraordinary through her use of
close-ups and unusual perspectives. The
commonplace becomes erotic and the combination of sensual imagery with a
compelling soundtrack by electronica artist Shunta Hasunuma (蓮沼執太, b.1983) results in an engaging audience
experience.
2016 Cathy Munroe Hotes
