Watashi wa Beret (1964)

Don't buy our cars!

It’s Me Here, Bellett was composed of three car commercials written and directed by Oshima Nagisa. Ozu Yasujiro was a script consultant/creative consultant but these three films bore no resemblance to any of his films. Nakamura Hachidai provided the score which ranged from a typical 1960’s jazz background to dark noir trumpets. Each of the segments were unique and none of them would make you want to buy the Isuzu Bellett sedan.

Segment 1-A young guy who dotes on a red Bellett that may not be his picks up his girl for a night of lovin’ by the sea. Things do not go as planned when she takes offense at his overly fastidious obsession with the car.

Segment 2-A darker noir story featuring an actor in love with the female producer he works for, complete with the narration such films had. He uses his apartment money to buy a car he can’t afford to show her he’s a serious actor. When he has the opportunity to give her a ride, just as in the first segment, things do not go as planned.

Segment 3-A boss who is having an affair with a beautiful subordinate calls things off when he buys a car to show his commitment to his wife. His lover takes exception to this and steals his car while he and his wife are on vacation.

My rating is on the actual art of the commercials which was excellent. The cinematography and different moods evoked by lighting, acting, story, and music were excellent. But they were the most anti-ads I’ve ever seen. If I had to grade by how much they created a desire in me to purchase a Bellett my rating would be a zero. All of the owners were either jerks or oddballs which became strangely humorous by the end. The acting ranged from sufficient to proficient. The acting by the young actors in the first segment was supposed to be comic which didn’t work for me as well. In the darker second segment, Oshima’s wife, Koyama Akiko, played the producer who had an unusual ride with an actor. Segment three threw the actors straight into a melodrama.

Watashi wa Beret aka It’s Me Here, Bellett is only 27 minutes long, but a fascinating anti-car commercial made for television to sell cars by several well-known directors aside from the ones mentioned such as Yamamoto Kajiro, Chiba Yasuki, Gosho Heinosuke, Nakahira Ko, Hideo Sekigawa, Tanaka Shigeo, and Nomura Yoshitaro. Worth your time if you enjoy films from the past and windows into a different world and don’t mind the short format.

10 September 2024

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