Fumiko's Legs

In a slightly gratuitous bid to speed up the number of posts I thought it time to take a brief glance at some recent film adaptions of literary storys, maybe over the next week or so. First up is a film directed by Ueda Atsushi, Fumiko's Legs, from 2018 is an adaptation of Tanizaki's short story Fumiko no ashi which first appeared one hundred years ago in 1919. Although a quick glance on the Internet and shelves indicate that the story perhaps hasn't appeared in English translation, I'll be pleased to be proved wrong, the novella though has been translated into French and also Spanish, although a quick search over at Folio gives the impression that it too has slipped out of print in the French edition.

Through the trailer the story appears to display themes Tanizaki explored through his fictions, that of obsessive infatuation pursued to the extremities, centering around the painting of a portrait of Fumiko. I'm guessing it's doubtful that the film will ever see broader distribution in any way outside of the country, in spite of it looking an intriguing adaption.