4-23-07

Sharon Lockhart’s “Goshogaoka” was one of the first films that I have seen in which there is no camera movement through out the entire film, and with such a great length of time. The concept of a foreign country practicing an American sport and looking much more dedicated then the founders of the sport look gives great meaning to the practice itself. I know the practice was coronagraph, which gave less of a sincere feel to it, but was a great pleasure to watch. One of the first things I noticed was the fact that there was no hoop in the frame at all; no one made any shots through out the film. I felt indifferent in many ways about this practice and the way it was shot and staged. I felt cheated in the sense of that is not how you should play this sport, or that’s not how we do it in the U.S. But then again that might be how they practice in different parts of the world, so overall I enjoyed seeing basketball in a very different prospective.