Years ago, I got to watch a Japanese movie narrator (benshi) in action. They're a dying breed who narrate silent movies in real time, on stage, next to the big

Years ago, I got to watch a Japanese movie narrator (benshi) in action. They're a dying breed who narrate silent movies in real time, on stage, next to the big screen. It's a mixture of narrating, voice acting and improvisation. The same movie could be entirely different with another benshi. This performance was accompanied by live piano music, played by a pianist who hadn't seen the movie, who didn't speak Japanese, and who didn't have a score. It was over an hour of improvisation, based on what he could see of the movie and his interpretation of narrator's intonation. It was incredible. It was fun, and it was unique. Out of all the movies I've seen, this performance stands out. It would be a shame to lose out on this.