Immersive Surrealism: Exploring Nobuhiko Obayashi’s ‘House’ at the MFA’s Annual Festival of Films from Japan

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston challenges popular perceptions of fine arts via their annual Festival of Films from Japan, hosted in collaboration with UNIQLO. The first screening of the festival occurred Feb. 23 at 7 p.m., kicking off the one and a half month long event with a cult-horror film. The film “House” — directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi — was originally released in 1977 as a horror-comedy but was widely released in North America in 2009 and 2010. The film follows the story of seven schoolgirls who spend their summer break visiting the home of one of the girls’ aunts. While they are initially ecstatic about the visit, as time goes on, they experience increasingly terrifying supernatural events as a result of their stay at the house. The events of the film are enrapturing, campy, and surrealist all at once.

The annual festival hosts a wide variety of both new and old films that celebrate and expose new viewers to Japanese film and culture. “House” features hand-painted, matte, and two-dimensional backdrops; stop-motion animation; ethereal filters; and artfully framed portrait shots. These artistic elements are integrated into the film’s outlandish and hackneyed aspects — dissolving transitions between shots, freeze frames, blown up photos in the middle of frames, vintaged special effects, and fragmented partial green screens — in a way that makes for both an uproarious and yet deeply captivating watch.

Upon first glance, one could argue that the film defies notions of what fine art looks like: There are vivid and theatrical added effects, a sickeningly lurid set and shot designs, and outdated PowerPoint transitions all integrated into a movie showing at a museum otherwise filled with worldly and fascinating sculptures, art, and artifacts. Despite this, the true artistry of the film shone almost as brightly as the green beams of light sparkling ominously from the eyes of the film’s feline antagonist, especially for viewers with an appreciation for Japanese culture or film. The film’s ghostly premise is reminiscent of Japanese folklore and mythology, and the film’s titular house itself reflects traditional Japanese architectural and design elements, including tatamis — a kind of mat often used as flooring — and fusumas — sliding rectangular panels that often act as sliding doors. The soundtrack, composed by Asei Kobayashi and Mickie Yoshino, contains both Japanese pop and rock music, and the film’s protagonists also exemplify aspects of Japanese youth culture of the 1970s. The event’s potential to subvert conventional aesthetics becomes glaringly apparent in light of the absurdist and comical elements of the film.

Despite the potential of the festival’s ability to draw in people who don’t necessarily frequent the MFA, the actual ambiance and theatricality of the screening were underwhelming. Upon entering the MFA, it was difficult to find the theater and there was little to no visible promotion of the film or event. It lacked the garishness and energy of a festival and even the opulence and regality of the opening of a new exhibit. The room was filled with people donning expressive and creative outfits and accessories. Despite the diverse crowd the show attracted, the event felt more like a late-night screening of a 1950s American classic at a local and vaguely mildewy theater than a foreign film festival. There was no atmosphere of excitement in person, resulting in a lackluster first impression of the festival. While in theory the event would evoke a fresh image of fine arts, it appeared that that definitional expansion may not have been a priority for the museum. The potential for celebration and exploration of innovative theater and Japanese culture did not seem fully realized in the MFA’s presentation of the film.

Ultimately, the MFA’s annual Japanese film festival is an excellent forum to spotlight Japanese film whilst broadening the scope of who and what constitutes fine art, but hopefully, for future showings, more emphasis is put into embodying the celebration of culture and art in the physical space that the films of the festival aim to bring.