SYNOPSIS
A storyteller of peace serves as a guide in the “Gama”—natural caves where many local people lost their lives during the Battle of Okinawa. The woman in blue standing by his side represents the intersection of the present and the past.
REVIEW
Oda Kaori's cinematic journey, which has traversed the mines of Sarajevo, the depths of a Mexican lake, and the quarries of Bosnia and Herzegovina in search of humanity's traces submerged in the depths of civilization, now leads her to the caves of Okinawa. Her latest film, Gama, delves into the limestone caves (gama) where, at the end of World War II, terrified residents sought refuge from the advancing American forces, only to meet their tragic end. The film's narrative is guided by Matsunaga Mitsuo, a man born after the war who has dedicated over 30 years to recovering the remains of those who perished in these caves. Oda captures Matsunaga's recounting of wartime stories on evocative 16mm film, lending a textural depth to these historical accounts. In a unique artistic choice, Oda collaborates with a choreographer to introduce a silent woman in a blue dress who moves around Matsunaga as he narrates the tales hidden in the cave's darkness. This figure, occupying a corner of the screen, shifts between appearing as a curious tourist and a spectral presence haunting the caves, adding a layer of visual poetry to the narrative. The film's powerful final scene places the woman on a coral-strewn beach. Here, the sudden roar of a military aircraft juxtaposed with the delicate sound of dead corals clashing serves as her voice, creating a poignant auditory representation of Okinawa's complex past and present.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
Gama serves as the Okinawa segment of a film Night Train (2021) that has taken us to underground sites across Japan. Knowing nothing about the limestone caves myself, Matsunaga Mitsuo, who appears in gama, spoke to us about the memories of these caves that had been handed down to him. We are allowed to observe one part of these inherited memories as they are left behind in the form of this film. I think that this process itself is what Gama is about.
