Masahiro Shinoda

This past week was busy; In a good and productive way. I'm sure the fact that my birthday is right around the corner is influencing my need for sense of accomplishment. Between leading a book discussion at MDS and presenting to a group of VPs this past week -- it was exciting. Today I worked on the house and planted some hydrangeas and ferns in our small garden. I also found time to watch Masahiro Shinoda's classic 1965 film Samurai Spy. The film is set in 17th century feudal Japan and chronicles spies (samurai) disrupting the dynamics of power in the age of the  shogun. The storyline and characters are fictional, however the history was very much accurate. The soundtrack/audio and cinematography is top notch; You can hear subtle things like the rustling of grass.
I watched an interview with the Shinoda and there was definitely something he was trying to relate that might have been lost in translation. I have to watch the interview again -- I think he was saying that he tried to express moments of "self actualization" or realization for charactors in his films and that moment represented an appreciation of the "absurdity of reality".  I have to think about that some more.