Fue no Shiratama (Eternal Heart). 1929. Japan. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. Screenplay by Tokusaburo Murakami. With Emiko Yagumo, Michiko Oikawa, Minoru Takada. 35mm. Silent. In Japanese; English subtitles. 101 min.
In this tale of unrequited love—the oldest surviving film in Hiroshi Shimizu’s prolific and influential career—Toshie is a shy typist who falls for an office colleague, only to find he’s already smitten with her more outgoing younger sister. Shimizu’s precise compositions and bold camerawork makes this color-tinted black-and-white film ripe for rediscovery, a film bursting with imaginative, almost avant-garde sequences. 35mm print from the National Film Archive of Japan; courtesy Shochiku