Few events change people's lives as powerfully as natural disasters. As we all know, a recent major disaster was the destructive earthquake in Japan on March 11. Earthquakes, however, are not new to the Japanese people, as they have lived on earthquake-prone islands for 2000 years. YAMAKOSHI: THE RECOVERY OF A TINY JAPANESE VILLAGE is a documentary about the residents of Yamakoshi and their efforts in rebuilding their hometown after an earthquake completely destroyed their village in 2004.
Yamakoshi is a mountain village in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Its geographical isolation is best illustrated by a recorded response to an emergency call during the earthquake, which said something like 'be careful but try to handle the situation yourselves.' Eventually, help did arrive and the entire village, including some very elderly people, was evacuated. What followed for every one of the survivors was a long and difficult journey of relocation and rebuilding of their homes.
This documentary has got a certain charm about it, thanks largely to the endearing people of Yamakoshi, as well as a sense of intimacy as audiences follow their lives away from their homes and experience the pain and uncertainty brought on by the disaster. These are very ordinary people who show extraordinary strength and determination, and who believe that 'never giving up in the face of difficulties, supporting each other and living modestly is how people should be'. There are many touching moments along the way, such as seeing an old lady's tears run down her face as she observes her heavily damaged house being demolished and her old home about to disappear forever, leaving just a lot of memories. It is very easy to emphasise with them, and the biggest reward from watching this film is the opportunity to share the joys along their remarkable journeys of recovery.
The film also offers many interesting lessons about the interaction between humans and nature. Humans have adapted to living in nature by making use of natural resources that become available to them. One fascinating story is about the creation of 'horizontal wells' to draw water by the early residents of Yamakoshi. It is at the same time incredibly humbling to see the power of nature, which is clearly well beyond human's ability to control. Earth trembles, mountains fall and rivers flood, and all people can do is to hide, run and look on in terror. Even a country as used to natural disasters as Japan can find the scale of damages to be beyond the capacity of its disaster management measures.
YAMAKOSHI - THE RECOVERY OF A TINY JAPANESE VILLAGE will have special event screenings at this year's Japanese Film Festival in Australia, and is well worth checking out. While it will not be the most spectacular, entertaining or dramatic of all the films in the line-up, it is likely the most meaningful and the one from which audiences can learn the most about Japanese culture.
Australia's Japanese Film Festival will kick off in Adelaide on September 6, with other states to follow. You can check their official website for more details.
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