works

northanger abbey is one of austen's novels that was not published during her lifetime. yesterday i read about six chapters. at the end of chapter five, she launches into a parenthetical statement about the bad rap that novels get and how no one will ever admit when they're reading one. maybe it was just me, but after that, chapter six seemed to take on an affected tone. i put the book back on the shelf. i will pick it up again soon.
last night i watched a really good film by kon ichikawa, called the burmese harp. it is about a troupe of japanese soldiers in burma at the end of WWII. through an odd series of events, the soldiers learn that the war is over and that japan has surrendered, and they surrender to the british troupes that are in the same village. soon, they hear of a japanese division that is refusing to surrender, a half-day's walk away, in a mountain; and one of the soldiers, who has a certain higher level of finesse, is asked to go persuade them to give themselves up. since japan has surrendered, their continued fighting is helping no one. so the soldier goes. and the story unfolds from there.
i really liked the composition in the film, the way the shots were set up. in an interview afterwards, kon ichikawa says he wanted to be a painter, which makes sense. there is beautiful use of light and balance on the screen. also, the story is very emotional.