The Horses of
Fukushima (Matsuri No Uma): Written, directed, filmed, and edited by Yoju
Matsubayashi. Running Time: 74 minutes.
Rating: 2.5/4
After the Fukushima disaster, locals
were soon ordered by the government to evacuate the region entirely, up to a
radius of 20 kilometers. Any and all
pets and livestock were to be killed, to prevent them from escaping the zone
and spreading contamination. This was
especially important for livestock, to make sure that no “tainted meat” would
appear on the market. In only one
instance was there an exception- a herd of specially-trained horses, intended
for a special annual cultural ceremony, were allowed to be taken out of the
evacuation zone several weeks after the incident and, despite the danger, were
taken to a government-run shelter to recover.
These horses and the struggles faced by their owner are the focus of The Horses of Fukushima.
The director of this movie, Yoju
Matsubayashi, said that he initially heard of the horses while filming his
first documentary about the Fukushima disaster, Memories of a Lost Landscape (he is planning to premiere a third at
Nippon next year). One of the people he worked
with knew the owner and took him for a visit to the ripped-up shed, where the
surviving horses had somehow managed to survive the flooding. Later, when they were granted permission to
retrieve the horses, he decided to work alongside them as a helper, filming as
they went. After the initials setbacks
in getting government approval, they were finally able to bring the horses to a
shelter where they are slowly fed and given medical treatment. We see the seasons slowly change as they gain
wait and, in nearly all cases, are able to survive for the next festival.
As far as documentaries go, it is
very sparse in its speech and information- nearly all of the film is just
footage of the horses, showing them slowly regaining their strength. There are a few moments of the owner talking
about his first experiences with horses, but even he is rarely on-screen. This festival that they are a part of is also
never explained in detail, other than to say that it was originally a way for
samurai-in-training to condition their horses.
But as far as what sort of activities or events the festival is actually
composed of, I could not say.
In the Q&A session after the
showing, Yoju explained that this was an intentional decision on his part-
after watching his original cut, he decided that the story of the horses
themselves was powerful enough to not really need much dialogue, interview
clips, or explanation. As a result, he
cut out a significant amount of interview and exposition materials.
While I can certainly understand the
sentiment- cinema, after all, should be show and don’t tell before all else- I
don’t know if it was a particularly effective decision as far as this subject
matter is concerned. Much of the footage
of the horses is beautiful and moving, especially after they are finally able
to run free outdoors again, but I would have at least preferred to have learned
more about the festival they are a part of, with perhaps comments from some
locals on what the festival means to them.
Or perhaps a bit more from the owner, who seems like the sort of quiet,
dedicated person who deserves to have a whole documentary devoted to their life
and work.
Those are, of course, to a certain
extent, just things that I personally would have done, and need not reflect
negatively on the director or his film.
There is a clear affection here that shines through the screen, and a
reverence for the physical majesty of the horse. That makes it, at the very least, a highly
unique and personal work of documentary filmmaking.
Next film: Unforgiven
-Noah
Franc
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