Or is it an alias that Chris Marker used during his travels in Japan and Africa? I would think that the "Letters from Krasna" were written by Marker himself.
And that image distortion machine, did Marker actually create that himself or was it really the Japanese game programmer's (Yamaneko's) invention, if Yamaneko is even a real person at all?
"Sandor Krasna" is certainly fictitious, a creation of Marker's. But whether Marker, while travelling, actually used the name as an alias, I somehow doubt. Why would he? If he was to use another name, he'd probably use the alias he already has - "Chris Marker" - instead of his actual name - Christian François Bouche-Villeneuve.
Anyway, this article: http://www.rhizomes.net/issue8/tryon.htm describes the film as focusing "on the journeys of a fictional filmmaker, Sandor Krasna, who travels around the globe".
As for Yamaneko, I have no idea. I always thought that this unseen character was some kind of Japanese visual artist who Marker had given some footage to, to do his thing with. But, hmm, maybe you're right and Yamaneko isn't real. Perhaps again Marker is having us, like Jimmy Stuart in Vertigo, believe that a fictional character actually exists!
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"(But then, if you are Japanese, you'd know most things mentioned in "Sunless" are entirely fictional.) "
would you mind explaining what you mean by things being fictional? are the images he took in Japan, like the cat shrine or something, not real?
>>are the images he took in Japan, like the cat shrine or something, not real?
Well, the previous poster did say "most things mentioned in 'Sunless' are entirely fictional". I don't think there was any suggestion that the filmed images themselves were false or deliberately staged.
The point is that Sans Soleil is probably far too subjective to be usefully described as a non-fiction film. It mixes its own brand of documentary images with poetry, meditations on life and filmmaking, and diary-style narration to create something which prizes "personal truth" above what is commonly thought of as verisimilitude.
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What do you mean by this is not a cat shrine? Sounds like a cat shrine to me...
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* Goutokuji Temple, 17th Century
www.manekinekoclub.comThere once was a poor monk at a poverty-stricken temple. He shared what little food he had with his pet cat. One day, Lord Ii Naotaka of the Hikone district near Kyoto was caught in the rain near the temple on his way home from hunting. Taking refuge under a nearby tree, he beheld a cat beckoning him to enter the temple compound. As soon as he ventured forth to investigate this strange cat, the tree was struck down by lighting. The lord quickly became the temple's patron, and the temple soon became prosperous. It was renamed Goutokuji Temple in 1697 - even today, the walls of this temple in Tokyo's Setagaya ward are adorned with paintings of bobtail cats. When the cat died, it was buried in Goutokuji's cat cemetery, and the Maneki Neko was made in honor of this magical cat. According to some, the Maneki Neko since that time has been considered an incarnation of the Goddess of Mercy, the deity who watches over and protects people in the earthly realm. The Goutokuji Temple today is home to dozens of statues of this legendary cat, and owners of lost or sick cats come to the temple to stick up prayer boards containing the image of the Maneki Neko.
Yup. And the story of Hachikou the devoted dog is a commonly known legend as well. Kwannon and the Ueno doll festival is another one, as are many of the very specific cultural references.
Perhaps personal truth is held more highly in this film than common truth, but not all of it was fabricated from the ether.
Would you happen to have any... flan?
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=194240
<<And that image distortion machine, did Marker actually create that himself or was it really the Japanese game programmer's (Yamaneko's) invention, if Yamaneko is even a real person at all? >>
The closing credits mention the use of a "video synthesizer", called the EMS Spectre. EMS was a British company, who are mainly remembered for designing and building the VCS-3 and Synthi AKS synthesizers used by people like Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, Hawkwind, and Tangerine Dream. If you're familiar with the Pink Floyd album, Dark Side Of The Moon, the Synthi AKS was used to create the main backing track on On The Run, and a VCS-3 was used for the synthesizer solo in the first part of Any Colour You Like.
So I think the answer to your question is "neither". It was a commercially available product that Marker had acquired and put to use in his film.
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