The Inland Sea
In 1971, author and film scholar Donald Richie released a poetic travelogue concerning his explorations of the islands of Japan's Inland Sea, tape-recording his search for traces of a conventional way of living as well as his own journey of self-discovery. Twenty years later, filmmaker Lucille Carra carried out a parallel journey influenced by Richie's by-then-classic publication, recording images of hushed beauty and meeting people who still carried on the fading customizeds that Richie had observed. Intermixed with shocking detours-- a browse through to a Frank Sinatra-- caring monk, a leper colony, an ersatz temple of plywood and plaster-- and woven with each other by Richie's narrative in addition to a rating by renowned author Toru Takemitsu, The Inland Sea is an eye-opening trip and an extensive reflection on what it indicates to be a foreigner.