Rebirth of the Capital (1930, Unclassified 18+)

(Teito Fukko) Dir: ODA Hamataro / ITOH Asajiro, Japan, 107mins, 35mm

In the years after the devastating Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Japanese government commissioned a series of films to cover the reconstruction of Tokyo and the renewal of the city’s social and cultural life. Undoubtedly influenced by other 'city symphony’ films of the late 1920s (such as Berlin: Symphony of a Great City), Rebirth of the Capital followed the major rebuilding projects of the late 1920s, from post-earthquake chaos, to the rising of a modernist metropolis in which the new ‘Salaryman’ middle class could work and play. Restored by the National Film Center, Tokyo, this screening is a timely follow up to Arc’s March silent film series Nippon Modern – itself overshadowed by the events of 3 March.

Live music accompaniment. Courtesy of the National Film Center, Tokyo.