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Dare to be different and people will bash you. That happens in all societies. Conformism is universal. All you can do is stand up and fight against the odds. Or else you can flee from your predicament in search of something better.
The lead character of this extraordinary Japanese drama, Yuko, is a very strong determined stubborn young misfit, whose only blame is her being too good and generous to other people. To a cold and ruthless society that means ostracism and death.
“Bashing” is a powerful, brilliant, stunning piece of cinematography: an overwhelming modern Japanese tragedy.

Watching “Bashing”, I was under the impression it was an Antonioni film. Kobayashi’s style definitely echoes some of Antonioni’s work. How the characters interact with their vast industrial like landscapes that alienate them from one another, and the promise of a renewal of ties by the sound and sight of the ocean that lies before Yuko. Although one could argue that Antonioni’s work is less emotional, I disagree; look at Monica Vitti in L’Avventura" or Jeanne Moreau’s performance in “La Notte”; both characters go through a strong emotional journey that is also very moving and sad, but despite that sadness, there is still a possibility of redemption, and I think Kobayashi’s film has that same quality. This is just a quick blurb on first viewing but I highly recommend it.

Being Japanese Canadian, I have to say that the film and Schilling’s essay hit the nail on the head with regards to Japanese attitudes towards individualism. Japan has long been an insular society with a fierce sense of uniformity. The prejudices amongst themselves are expressed with blatant hostility. I’ve been snubbed and ostracized by “pure” natives who do not accept me for being “Westernized”. The irony of the film’s success is that it stands out for being so different from mainstream Japanese cinema. Fusako Urabe’s performance is amazing.

An aptly titled film, that is for sure.

I humor myself, for what is a heavy, grim film, that leaves your stomach in knots. Almost never has the sound of the phone ringing been so agonizing or the whisper of the cold, ocean air so foreboding.

Masahiro Kobayasji’s film based on actual events deals with Yuko (Fusako Urabe) a foreign aid worker held hostage in Irag, and upon returning home to Japan the ostracized position she falls into, as her community, her country views her actions as an aid worker, and as a hostage, shameful and dishonorable. She is put into a media spot light (which is not focused on in the film) harassed daily, loses her job, and then the ripple effects extend out to her family.

If one isn’t familiar with Japanese culture this can seem so bizarre and frustrating. And when one thinks about that and views the reception it received overseas away from Japan, well… one is not surprised and I would assume Kobayashi made this for his nation, wanting them to see their prejudice, but knowing full well they would reject it.
It is the power of cinema, the gift of cinema to both criticize and love the country that the film and filmmaker originate from.

Bashing is also a rare film which pretty much encapsulates the Japanese psyche in a fairly accessible palette to Western culture. The reservations, customs, emotional and psychological compartmentalizing of the Japanese based around their rich history (from centuries of self enforced isolation to postwar) is all here in some way, but make no mistake this is a human story, and the film never uses the characters for some grander social or political statement. This is thanks in large part to Urabe’s performance which is so earnest, seemingly one note – dejected, depressed… cold. But she is not. Her fear as she states to her stepmother is becoming cold, shut off, like everyone around her. An infinitely universal feeling and one that Kobayashi, as writer and director, quietly sympathizes with and champions.