Tsurisaki Kiyotaka is a photographer who also makes films. Junk Films is one of his three non-fiction works (3 documentaries).
Junk Films is a unique assortment of very heterogeneous short films with the common theme of death, and the cultural relationship between humans and it. The short films were filmed in different locations around the world. We see in particular scenes of intervention with people who died following road accidents (the shocking side of the photo/video of death which "leaves no room for the imagination"), images of suicide, funeral and local/traditional celebration... It is a journey with death, with it. There is nothing sensationalist, everything is as is, without artifice. We can almost touch death with these films, it is closer to us than ever, in our daily lives. In this sense, Junk Films follows the idea of putting the viewer face to face with their fears, facing the unknown, but also - and this is essential - to enrich themselves through other cultures.
It's graphic, almost surreal, and yet it's real. I think it's an artistic work too, through the editing, the choice of images. There are almost dreamlike passages (I think of the almost mummified room, covered in dust). The climax is the traditional Japanese funeral ceremony, very cold according to some, I tend to agree (I don't judge people, just what I see, and the way I see it). A Japanese spectator mentioned the death of "David", mentioned elsewhere by IMDB. I don't remember if his name is in the film (I wonder if it's the man hanged in his home, or the deceased from the Japanese funeral ceremony). It seems that he was a friend of the director, I'm not sure, but it remains interesting information to consider the work.
Difficult to give my feelings, it is a complex work which will resonate in varied ways with each spectator. I can't say that I liked it, that would be simplistic and ridiculous. I will say that it interested me, that I was touched and that Tsurisaki Kiyotaka did remarkable work, never seen before. I still remember well the injuries/wounds on the bodies. The sadness that violence causes.
I wanted to offer a brief opinion, but I think some people will be happy to have a little contextualization. And then, it's a film that doesn't leave you indifferent, there's a lot to say. The absence of commentary has a lot to do with it, the images speak and the dead are silent. It may be a celebration of life (thanks to death, to our deaths), I don't konw.
One thing is certain, with Junk Films I was able to approach death, watch it, respect it, respect the victims, and that's already a lot.
