31 mins., b&w, silent
Source : NAFC, catalogue no: AS-89.2.9
This film forms part of the Ananda Coomaraswamy Film Collection held at the NAFC. The maker of the film is not indicated in the film credits, but certain stylistic features – notably the introduction of a series of characters at the beginning of the film and the typewriter-based credits – are similar to those of a number of other films that Ananda Coomaraswamy himself made. This suggests that this may have been one of the films that he shot on his second trip to Asia accompanied by his wife, Stella, a professional dancer with a particular interest in Asian dance.
The film is very simple from a stylistic point of view. It begins with an introductory title explaining the origins of the Noh drama form in the fourteenth century as well as the origins of the Hagoromo legend. (Long preliminary explanatory titles are another typical feature of Coomaraswamy’s films). Thereafter the film merely records the play itself, shot from a distant position in front of the stage. The camerawork is no more than serviceable.
The theatrical performance is accompanied by music played by musicians who are also seen on the stage. The story of the play concerns a fisherman who finds an angel’s wings. After some initial reluctance, he restores them to her so that she may return to heaven. Before she departs, the angel – who appears to be a male dancer with whitened face – dances a very slow dance for the fisherman.