Visually overwhelming "silent stranger arrives in town" film, post apocalyptic, Woody Harrelson and Ron Perlman (whom I always think of as Tom Waits).
Amazing and hilarious at times.
Wikipedia:
Bunraku (文楽?), also known as Ningyō jōruri (人形浄瑠璃), is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, [...] The singer and the "shamisen" player provide the essential background music of "bunraku". In most performances only a musician and a chanter perform the music for an act. Harmony between these two musicians is an essential criteria that determines the quality of their contribution to the performance. [...]
The main puppeteer, the omozukai, uses his or her right hand to control the right hand of the puppet. The left puppeteer, known as thehidarizukai or sashizukai, depending of the tradition of the troupe, manipulates the left hand of the puppet with his or her own right hand by means of a control rod that extends back from the elbow of the puppet. A third puppeteer, the ashizukai, operates the feet and legs. Puppeteers begin their training by operating the feet, then move onto the left hand, before being able to train as the main puppeteer. This process can take 30 years to progress.
All but the most minor characters require three puppeteers, who perform in full view of the audience, generally wearing black robes. In some traditions, all puppeteers also wear black hoods over their heads, while others, including the National Bunraku Theater, leave the main puppeteer unhooded, a style of performance known as dezukai. The shape of the puppeteers hoods also varies, depending on the school to which the puppeteer belongs.
Usually a single chanter recites all the characters' parts, altering his pitch in order to switch between various characters. However, sometimes multiple chanters are used. The chanters sit next to the shamisen player on a revolving platform, and from time to time, the platform turns, bringing replacement musicians for the next scene.
The shamisen used in bunraku has a sound which is different from other shamisen. It is lower in pitch, and has a fuller tone.
Bunraku shares many themes with kabuki. In fact, many plays were adapted for performance both by actors in kabuki and by puppet troupes in bunraku. Bunraku is particularly noted for lovers' suicide plays. The story of the forty-seven ronin is also famous in both bunraku and kabuki.
The character Osono, from the play Hade Sugata Onna Maiginu (艶容女舞衣), in a performance by the Tonda Puppet Troupe of Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture.
Bunraku is an author's theater, as opposed to kabuki, which is a performer's theater. In bunraku, prior to the performance, the chanter holds up the text and bows before it, promising to follow it faithfully. In kabuki, actors insert puns on their names, ad-libs, references to contemporary happenings and other things which deviate from the script.
The most famous bunraku playwright wasChikamatsu Monzaemon. With more than 100 plays to his credit, he is sometimes called theShakespeare of Japan.
Bunraku companies, performers, and puppet makers have been designated "Living National Treasures" under Japan's program for preserving its culture.
