Hanzo the Razor - Foreground Images

I was watching Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold (1974) this weekend. It's the third film in a trilogy concerning an unconventional samurai policeman. The films in general are a great mix of feudal Japanese culture and 1970s cinema funk. The classic Japanese visuals and the 70s electric soundtrack create an intriguing juxtaposition of images that, at first, can be off-putting, but quickly pull the audience in to a time and place that at once feels very authentic and yet singularly unique. These movies just feel cool.

Anyhow, I was noticing the film’s use of foreground images, often out of focus and partially obscuring a clear view of the frame’s subject. Here are a few examples:

That last one is my favorite. I was thinking about why the filmmakers used this device of obstructing foreground images so often, and that lead me to consider why I liked them so much in the movie. I think I have an answer that satisfies both dilemmas.

I’m wondering if the effect the technique creates is a subtle suggestion that we as audience members are actually there, in the scene. In real life, when you look over at someone, there’s usually something in the way…a tree branch, a filing cabinet, another person. In other words, in real life we’re used to stuff being in our line of sight. Most films, however, don't hesitate to get the best shot possible of a subject. There's a guy walking into a room? Put the camera in the middle of the room so we can get a good look at him. In real life, though, when a guy walks into the room, we usually have to lean over to get a good look at who it is because there's probably a lamp in the way. While situating the camera for the clearest shot possible can create a very nice aesthetic, it does, when you think about it, create yet another level of unreality. (The first level of unreality, of course, is that we're watching a movie in the first place, and not real life.)

By jamming stuff in the foreground, the filmmakers are almost saying to us, “Yeah, we’d like to see this better, too. But you’d better shut up about it. You don’t want to get caught peeking, do you?” It’s not quite subjective viewpoint, but it’s a step in that direction.

The recent glut of fake documentary comedies (The Office, Best in Show, etc.), I think, try to create a similar sense of realism through hand held camera shots and ill-framed takes. [“Sorry about how sloppy this is, but this is the best we can do with the equipment we have, and plus there are no re-dos in real life! (Wink wink)."] I wonder, though, if this technique doesn’t draw so much attention to itself that it defeats its intended purpose – creating the illusion of reality.

Any thoughts?