149 HOWELL Brian Research Note Chris Marker’s Real and Unreal Japan —Sans Soleil as Intercultural Document HOWELL Brian Key words: クリス＝マーカー、ラプトン、サン＝ソレイユ、ドキュメンタリー、交流文化 Chris Marker, Lupton, Sans Soleil, documentary, intercultural Abstract This paper examines the work of the French ilmmaker Chris Marker, focusing on his ilm, Sans Soleil (1983). Chris Marker’s distinctive work is diicult to categorise, but he has had a long association with Japan. For the purposes of this paper, I concentrate on the theme of Japan and its representation in Sans Soleil, discussing how true a picture it paints of the country, its people, and its culture. In particular, I analyse one particular sequence to show that Marker’s Japan in some respects shows these elements in a way that relects reality, whilst in other respects it provides a false representation.