Arakimentari (2004) [w/Commentary]

Director: Travis Klose
Stars: Araki, Nobuyoshi Araki, Björk

Japanese photographer Araki is depending on whom you ask somewhere between a genius and a dirty old man. Fascinated with the female body, he has for over 40 years made a name of himself shooting sexually explicit material, especially his pink shots and his bondage shots, but at the same time, he will shoot random objects, like a fork on a table, capturing a moment in time and challenging the nature of photography and expanding it as an art form.

By some called the Robert Mapplethorpe of Japanese photography, Araki has over the years published his photographs in over 350 books and has gained a significant group of admirers, both amongst other photographers, but also amongst celebrities, like Kitano Takeshi and Björk. As a photographer, what really drives Araki is a love for the human face and a desire to display intimacy, where not even his own privacy is sacred.

Then again, Araki is nothing more than a fun-loving old dirty man with a camera.

“Arakimentari” is a close-up portrait of Araki. First time director Travis Klose spend two months with Araki in Tokyo, following him everywhere, recording his every activity, supported by interviews with critics, fans and models. The result is an at times chaotic account of a man who sees beauty everywhere and wants to photograph everything, even a garden hose on the ground, and someone who does what he loves to do and has so much fun doing it.



Audio Commentary with Director Travis Klose and Producer Jason Fried

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