The second one-reeler of the "Vitagraph Japonisme" program for the online edition of the 40th Pordenone Silent Film Festival, "Ito, the Beggar Boy" is a bit better than "The Love of Chrysanthemum" (1910) in that the melodramatic scenario at least seems a bit more original to me, although it's a rather generic one involving kids getting caught on a boat during bad weather. As in the other two films in the program, most of the main cast of Japanese characters are played by Caucasians while a few Asians round out the extras. Clearly, too, this was filmed in the same location as "The Love of Chrysanthemum," as the same camera position is used for an exterior that shows the same arch in the background.
Formerly considered lost until identified in 2016, the surviving print with Polish title cards is interesting for rain that may've been accomplished with visual effects on the negative (I'm not sure), and foreshadowing is accomplished by red tinting--indicating that something dangerous is about to happen. Funny how these early cinema practices are now what seem most foreign to a modern viewer and the dated Orientalism more exotic than the supposed depiction of Japanese customs.
Formerly considered lost until identified in 2016, the surviving print with Polish title cards is interesting for rain that may've been accomplished with visual effects on the negative (I'm not sure), and foreshadowing is accomplished by red tinting--indicating that something dangerous is about to happen. Funny how these early cinema practices are now what seem most foreign to a modern viewer and the dated Orientalism more exotic than the supposed depiction of Japanese customs.