On a certain summer day, I watched the film Brooklyn on the subscription channel and found myself deeply impressed by it. As television screens have grown larger, opportunities to view films at home have increased, and internet‑based streaming services have likewise become more convenient. These developments are undoubtedly welcome for film enthusiasts. Yet, just as some readers prefer physical books to digital formats, there remain viewers who value the experience of watching films in a cinema. In the region where I live, the local movie theater that once operated has since closed, and the casual pleasure of stepping out in Geta to see a film has disappeared—an absence I find particularly regrettable. "Stepping out in Geta" means walking distance or around the corner in Japanese.
Brooklyn was
produced in 2015 as an Irish–British–Canadian co‑production and released in
Japanese theaters in 2016. Set in the 1950s, it depicts the youth and emotional
turmoil of a young woman who emigrates from Ireland to the United States in
search of work. Although it did not win, the film was nominated for Best
Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 88th Academy Awards.
The protagonist, Eilis, is modest and unassuming. At the urging of her older
sister—who worries about their younger sister’s limited employment prospects
and unsuccessful attempts at marriage—Eilis leaves her small Irish town for New
York. She initially suffers from homesickness as she adjusts to life in an
unfamiliar environment, but gradually assimilates into the sophisticated
culture of New York. What awaits her when she returns to Ireland after
receiving sudden tragic news about her sister is left for the viewer to
discover. The present discussion instead focuses on immigration to the United
States and the transatlantic shipping routes.
Immigration restrictions
during President Trump’s first term became a major political issue, with
executive orders repeatedly overturned by district courts. Trump himself is a
descendant of German immigrants, and in a society often described as a “melting
pot,” the contributions of immigrants have been indispensable. Brooklyn
likewise portrays immigrants from various countries; notably, the man who
captures the heroine’s heart is of Italian descent. The scene in which
immigrants aboard a steamship cheer upon seeing the Statue of Liberty as they
arrive in New York is also well known from the 1972 film The Godfather.
The narrative of an Italian immigrant boy who eventually becomes a mafia don
broke box‑office records and won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best
Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Despite criticism for its violent content,
the film and its sequels continued to receive numerous accolades. In the film,
the young boy is suspected of having tuberculosis and is quarantined; the image
of him gazing at the Statue of Liberty through a barred window foreshadows his
future. Brooklyn includes a similarly striking scene at the immigration
office, where the opening of a door symbolically reveals “America.”
The vessels that carried
immigrants from Europe to the United States traveled the transatlantic route.
Scheduled sailings by sailing ships began in 1818, requiring as long as forty
days. The era of wooden steamships commenced in 1838. By the 1910s, massive
passenger liners—reaching the 50,000‑ton class—had appeared, reducing the
crossing to under five days. One such vessel, then the largest in the world,
embarked on its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, only to collide with an
iceberg in the North Atlantic late that night and sink in the early hours of
the following morning. This tragedy later became the basis for the 1997
blockbuster Titanic. The disaster had been adapted for film numerous
times before; I recall a black‑and‑white version depicting the musicians who
continued playing on the tilting deck until the end. The 1997 film, employing
extensive CGI, vividly portrayed the suffering of the many immigrants confined
to the third‑class quarters deep within the ship, in stark contrast to the
luxurious decks above. However, the film contains significant fictionalization,
and the hometown of a crew member depicted as firing at passengers was inaccurately
represented, prompting strong protests and an eventual apology from the studio.
Transatlantic liners
carried not only immigrants but also a wide variety of other passengers. The
1957 film An Affair to Remember depicts a man and woman who meet aboard
a ship and promise to reunite at the Empire State Building. Many viewers likely
recall Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr accompanied by the film’s memorable score.
The film was a remake of the 1939 Love Affair, directed by the same
director. Having never seen the earlier version, I watched it online and found
that the plot and dialogue were nearly identical, starring Irene Dunne and
Charles Boyer. This earlier film later inspired the 1993 production Sleepless
in Seattle, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. In one scene, Meg Ryan watches
An Affair to Remember on television with a friend. Near the end of the
film, she arrives at the Empire State Building after the observation deck has
closed and explains her situation to the attendant, who responds, “Ah, Cary
Grant. My wife loves that movie,” and allows her to enter. In 1994, the story
was remade once again as Love Affair, starring Warren Beatty and Annette
Bening, notable as Katharine Hepburn’s final film appearance.
In 1954, Sabrina
was released, starring Audrey Hepburn, who had risen to stardom with the
success of Roman Holiday. Sabrina, the daughter of a wealthy American
family’s chauffeur, recovers from heartbreak by studying in Paris. In contrast
to Brooklyn, in which a modest Irish girl becomes a stylish New Yorker, Sabrina
portrays an ordinary American girl who acquires French sophistication and
returns home transformed. The contrast between the two narratives is
noteworthy. The bestseller Lessons from Madame Chic, written by a young
woman who experienced cultural shock while staying with a French family after
growing up in the land of jeans and T‑shirts, similarly evokes Sabrina.
The final scene of Sabrina depicts her on the deck of the ship she was
meant to board alone for France, receiving a message from Humphrey Bogart
asking her to “straighten the brim of his hat.” In this way, Europe and America
exerted profound mutual influence through the passengers who traveled across
the Atlantic.
The 1998 film The
Legend of 1900, released in Japan the following year, tells the story of a
child born aboard a transatlantic liner in 1900, named “1900,” who spends his
entire life on the ship as a pianist. The film skillfully reconstructs the
enormous engine rooms of steamships of the era. With the development of air
travel, regular transatlantic passenger services gradually disappeared, but in
recent years, transatlantic cruise voyages have gained popularity among
travelers seeking a leisurely journey. Depending on the route, such cruises may
stop at the Canary Islands, Morocco, or even Iceland.
Not all transatlantic
liners were operated by British or American companies. The Île de France
was an exceptionally luxurious French liner known for its numerous rescue
operations, earning it the nickname “the Saint Bernard of the Atlantic.” After
thirty years of service, it was sold to Japan. The film The Last Voyage
was produced using this ship. Released in 1960, it was filmed not on a set but
on the actual vessel shortly before it was scrapped, with shooting conducted in
Osaka Bay. The film starred Robert Stack, known for his portrayal of Eliot Ness
in the television series The Untouchables. The film includes scenes of
fire and explosions, and because the ship was scheduled for scrapping, it was
destroyed quite dramatically. There is also a scene in which a crew member
shouts, “It’s another Titanic!”
To conclude, I would like
to return once more to Brooklyn. I recommend watching the subtitled
version to appreciate how the protagonist’s Irish‑accented English gradually
shifts toward American speech. Her changing hairstyles and clothing are also
noteworthy. The color palette of her outfits in America resembles that of West
Side Story, which depicted conflicts between Polish American and Puerto
Rican immigrant youth. These two films illustrate that, during a particular
period in the 1950s, two distinct forms of youth culture existed in
neighborhoods separated by the East River in New York. When the homesick
protagonist is encouraged by a priest to volunteer at a shelter for the poor,
she encounters many Irish immigrant men who had worked on the construction of
America’s buildings and bridges. Their inability to return home and their resulting
poverty symbolize the darker side of American society. Witnessing this helps
her overcome her homesickness. There is even a moment that will bring a smile
to film enthusiasts—something involving Gene Kelly—but that, too, is best
discovered by watching the film.
(This article was originally written in Japanese and translated into English using Co-Pilot. So, please, note that certain nuances may differ from the original source.)
IMDB Brooklyn The Godfather Titanic An Affair to Remember Love Affair
Sleepless in Seattle Love Affair Sabrina Roman Holiday
The Legend of 1900 The Last Voyage West Side Story
