Marmite (JAPAN: A STORY OF LOVE & HATE, 2008, by Sean McAllister)

All we want is to be human

Courtesy of CBC

What do you get when you mix a 56 year old anarchist-turned- postman with a woman half his age who relies on pills to get her to sleep? Well, I’ll tell you – you get one utterly compulsive hour of television, and a whole lot more. The latest in BBC Four‘s Hidden Japan series, Japan: A Story of Love and Hate is unlike anything I’ve ever watched before.

A hopeless relationship doomed to fail, but somehow still keeps going is juxtaposed with a side of Japan one rarely sees. Suicide, poverty and mental breakdowns make for a very serious subject matter, but at the same time there is a something of a soap opera about the extraordinary lives of Naoki and Yoshie (the main protagonists).

The gap between rich and poor in Japan is said to be more overt than ever before and with Yoshie working all hours to support her boyfriend, who happens to be the same age as her father (and , the documentary exposes a new class, known as the new poor or working poor.

Naoki is quite happy to have the cameras follow him everywhere, even whilst the pair argue, eager for the world to finally see what he calls the real Japan.

A key component in the documentary is its maker, the unstoppably inquisitive Sean Mcallister. Unlike many who stick to observing, he plays a vital role, even confessing on his website, I get as close as I can… I pull the trigger. Right in the thick of it, tossing aside quintessential British politeness he asks the most personal of questions, and even sees fit to turn up with Viagra pills as a gift for Yoshie’s father! Click here to watch the documentary on BBC iPlayer and find out why…

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder (IN SEARCH OF WABI SABI WITH MARCEL THEROUX, by Marcel Theroux)

Courtesy of the BBC

No, it’s got nothing to do with wasabi, Wabi Sabi is a whole different kettle of fish. We all know grey is the new black, but I bet you didn’t know that imperfection is the new perfection, in Japan at least. In a bid to understand what makes the Japanese tick, aesthetically, Marcel Theroux travelled the country, all part of BBC Four’s Hidden Japan season.

Determined to get to the bottom of what Wabi Sabi means, Marcel approaches every Tom, Dick and Harry on the streets of busy Tokyo asking, What is Wabi Sabi?, but to no avail, poor chap. Undeterred and in fact encouraged by its mystery, the next ninety minutes see Marcel scour the land for an answer to his question. There is a slight pause for indulging in the very British love of tea-making, but there isn’t a box of PG Tips in sight. Back to Wabi Sabi-hunting and Marcel engages in the task at hand with every bit as much zeal and quirkiness as his younger brother Louis. The more serious of the two, Marcel does however generate, albeit unwittingly, a great many laughs. From prompting one seriously giggly woman to announce It means, sorry, I have had an accident to Marcel comparing his hotel to a medium security mental hospital, he could definitely give Louis a run for his money in the comedy stakes.

And no, I can’t tell you what Wabi Sabi is, partly because I don’t quite know, so you will just have to find out for yourself… click here to join Marcel on his quest.