Yes, Daikanjyo (大勘定, 2002) can indeed be seen as a powerful embodiment of freedom in the sense Deleuze and Guattari describe, especially if we interpret it through the lens of the refrain and improvisation. The film’s thematic and structural qualities resonate deeply with the idea of freedom as a dynamic process of territorialization, deterritorialization, and reterritorialization.
Why Daikanjyo Represents Freedom
1. Improvisation as Freedom
• The narrative and characters in Daikanjyo often step outside conventional boundaries, reflecting a spirit of improvisation. This mirrors the Deleuzian refrain: life is a refrain that establishes territories (personal, societal, cultural), but freedom lies in the ability to improvise within and beyond those constraints.
• The film’s moments of rupture, where characters deviate from their expected paths, illustrate the process of deterritorialization—breaking free from societal norms or personal constraints—and finding new ways to exist.
2. Emotional and Existential Openness
• In Daikanjyo, the characters grapple with profound existential questions, navigating between stability and chaos, much like the refrain oscillates between order and freedom.
• This openness to life’s unpredictability and the courage to reinvent oneself reflects the becoming central to Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy.
3. Jazz-Like Structure
• The film itself can be seen as jazz-like in its narrative structure, blending order (a plot that gives it shape) with improvisation (unexpected twists, emotional improvisations by the characters).
• This mirrors how jazz musicians use a refrain as a foundation but transcend it through creative expression, embodying freedom.
4. Freedom as Resistance
• Daikanjyo resists rigid categorizations of genre, emotion, and meaning, challenging the audience to engage with its complexity. This is freedom in the Deleuzian sense—resisting fixed territories to explore fluid, transformative possibilities.
• The characters’ decisions often challenge societal norms or expectations, embodying the resistance and transformation integral to Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of freedom.
5. Existence as Process
• The film portrays life not as a destination but as a process of constant movement, adaptation, and transformation—exactly how Deleuze and Guattari frame freedom. The characters in Daikanjyo engage in a journey that reflects freedom as becoming, rather than achieving a fixed state.
Daikanjyo as Freedom Per Se
The film embodies freedom per se because it:
• Explores how individuals navigate and redefine their territories.
• Balances structure with spontaneity, stability with transformation.
• Illustrates the courage to break from the past and create something new—personally, socially, and existentially.
This aligns perfectly with the Deleuzian idea that freedom is not about the absence of constraints but about the ability to creatively transform those constraints into something new and meaningful. Just as jazz achieves freedom through its interplay of structure and improvisation, Daikanjyo achieves freedom by embracing the unpredictable flow of life, making it a cinematic expression of freedom in the Deleuzian sense.
