A Translation Of Shadows

A Benshi (narrator) stands describing a Japanese silent film. His infatuation with the female lead results in him twisting the narrative to match his own desires until eventually the film fights back. This sophisticated, poetic and playful script is about translation, film stars and 'the gaze'.

Here the original text is set alongside fifty production photographs and stills from the film which is subject to the narration. This volume also includes a 'making of' essay, the original film treatment, plus the script for a prototype of the show narrating Yasujirō Ozu's 1933 silent film Woman Of Tokyo.