H-Story (2002)

Synopsis: Nobuhiro Suwa's H-STORY playfully blurs the line between drama and documentary as it examines the impact of history (both world history and cinema history) on contemporary lives. Suwa plays himself... Nobuhiro Suwa's H-STORY playfully blurs the line between drama and documentary as it examines the impact of history (both world history and cinema history) on contemporary lives. Suwa plays himself as a filmmaker struggling to remake Alain Resnais' classic, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR. He's hired Beatrice Dalle (BETTY BLUE) and Hiroaki Umano to play the parts originally played by Emmanuelle Riva and Eiji Okada. But Dalle is having problems with the original script (by Marguerite Duras). The camera constantly catches her complaining to her co-star, and eventually to the director (through a translator) about how the dialogue is "too poetic," and about Suwa's insistence that she repeat the same gestures over and over. As they attempt to recreate one scene, she keeps forgetting her lines. "I'm talking so much crap that I'm lost," she complains. Frustrated, she leaves the set with a visiting writer (Kou Machida) and explores the city. The sound continually drops out of the film, there are light flashes, and the dialogue sounds completely improvised, giving the illusion that these are outtakes from an aborted film project. Suwa's work is a canny and thought-provoking journey into one filmmaker's complex and fascinating morass. [More]

Starring: Beatrice Dalle, Hiroaki Umano, Kuo Machida, Nobuhiro Suwa

Starring: Beatrice Dalle, Hiroaki Umano, Kuo Machida, Nobuhiro Suwa, Caroline Champetier, Michiko Yoshitake, Motoko Suhama

Director: Nobuhiro Suwa

Director: Nobuhiro Suwa
Screenwriter: Nobuhiro Suwa
Producer: Takenori Sento
Composer: Haruyuki Suzuki

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