A risky venture

The 1950s saw the rise of Japanese cinema as a foreign export at the same time as international co-productions across Europe were rapidly increasing. These tendencies intersected in 1955 with the creation of what has been called the first Franco-Japanese feature-length co-production. This film, released in Japan as Wasure enu bojō (Unforgettable Affection) (1956) and in France as Typhon sur Nagasaki/Typhoon Over Nagasaki (1957), was initiated in part to establish a new commercial alliance between France and Japan. With a record high budget and cast featuring top stars, the film would showcase the latest cinematographic technologies and have broad international appeal. It also set the stage for the next major co-production, Hiroshima mon amour (1959). The high budget of Typhoon Over Nagasaki and the cross-cultural collaboration it involved presented significant risks as well. Despite extensive publicity in Japan and initial success at the box office, the film was met with tepid critical reception and has receded into the shadow of the more successful Hiroshima mon amour. This study of Typhoon Over Nagasaki, from production to reception, illuminates ambitions and concerns of Japanese and French film industries regarding international co-productions and explores historical challenges of cross-cultural collaboration in cinema

Movie theater · Narrative · Cinema and Media Studies · Japanese History and Culture · Kierkegaardian Philosophy and Influence