ButoHouse
Somewhere in the massive human anthill that is Tokyo, a man is resisting the infernal machinery of the huge city. Alone for the past 15 years, this resistance he is building takes the form of a house. Shell? Cathedral? Madness? Keisuke Oka’s work escapes all simple definitions. It is more appropriate to speak of a world, a small-scale universe built and conceived of with rare freedom. Trained as a butō dancer, an avant-garde choreographic movement that emerged in Japan in the 1960s, Oka turns architecture into a performance. Created day in and day out in an improvised manner, the space that has slowly emerged is a form of meditation in movement. A total work of art, the Arimaston Building is a concrete trace of the life of a man.
The film ButoHouse recounts this adventure at a highly particular moment in its history. In the wake of new urban regulations, the Arimaston Building was recently threatened with demolition by the city of Tokyo for being too close to the street and neighboring buildings. The only solution would be to shift it 10 meters back. The building project is unable to continue until a conclusion is reached in the legal proceedings currently underway. Just like the building, this film results from an improvisation. Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine met Keisuke Oka on the day when, prior to the project coming to a complete halt, he had decided to build the final three steps of the staircase that will lead to the last floor of his house.
ButoHouse is a film that speaks of concrete, of illuminations, perseverance, and hope.
Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine
