Happy Weekend, People!

I’m at the end of day six of a twelve day work week and I’m feeling okay but there is a lot of content I need to publish as well as working on things for my regular job. This week saw me post about introducing some films at a festival, the rather excellent line-up of films at the Udine Far East Film Festival, and the rather superb Japanese twosome in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. I’m going to keep the pace up with a post tomorrow and break with my regular schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, to keep posting content I have waiting to be released. That’s not including a festival I’m helping put together later this year. Heck, I updated the trailers for last year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival earlier today… I like being busy.

What is released this weekend in Japan?

The Night I Swam / La nuit ou j’ai nage    

泳ぎすぎた夜 「Oyogi Sugita Yoru」

Running Time: 79 mins.

Release Date: 2018

Director:  Kohei Igarashi, Damien Manivel,

Writer: Ichiro Kusuno (Screenplay), Sui Ishida (Original Manga)

Starring: Takara Kogawa, Keiki Kogawa, Chisato Kogawa, Takashi Kogawa, Yuji Kudo,

Unifrance IMDB   Website

Kohei Igarashi, (Hold Your Breath Like a Lover) and Damien Manivel (A Young Poet, The Park) met at Locarno earlier this year and decided to collaborate. The resulting film was unveiled at the 74th Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti category back in August. I missed it at the time but it turned up at Tokyo FILMeX which is where I caught up with it and it looks special since it charts a magical day in the life of a little boy who takes a detour from school and explores his local area. No dialogue, just the sounds of the world coupled with images that show the young character demonstrating the innocence and curiosity of a child his age. =

Synopsis from the Venice Film Festival: Snow covered mountains in Japan. Every night, a fisherman makes his way to the market in town. His 6 year old son is awoken by his departure and finds it impossible to fall back to sleep. In the sleeping household, the young boy draws a picture he then slips into his satchel. On his way to school, still drowsy, he strays off the path and wanders into the snow…

Seinaru Mono   

聖なるもの 「Seinaru Mono」

Running Time: 90 mins.

Release Date: May 14th, 2018

Director: Isora Iwakiri

Writer: Isora Iwakiri (Screenplay),

Starring: Mio Minami, Sara Ogawa, Shun Yamamoto, Gouki Agata, Aya Kitai, Miki Handa, Marika Matsumoto, Akari Saho, Hikaru Aoyama,

Website

Synopsis: A movie study group at a university has a legend about a woman who appears once every four years to take part in a film that will become a masterpiece. One day, a beautiful girl named Minami (Mio Minami) then appears…

A Seaside Weekly Tabloid  

海辺の週刊大衆 「Umibe no Shukan Taishu」

Running Time: 82 mins.

Release Date: May 14th, 2018

Director: Yu Ota

Writer: Makoto Ueda (Screenplay),

Starring: Naoki Matayoshi, Nagisa Shibuya, Sayaka Isoyama, Jun Murakami, Aiamu Noda, Mitsuhiro Fujiwara, Fuku Suzuki, Tano Suzuki,

Website

Synopsis: A man finds himself washed up on a seashore with nothing but a weekly magazine, the “Shukan Taishu”. While waiting for help, he reads the mag and he daydreams. These daydreams turn into delusions and, because hep isn’t arriving any time soon, the delusions turn into his only company…

Stray Dogz 8   

闇金ドッグス8 「Yamikin Dogguzu8」

Running Time: N/A

Release Date: May 14th, 2018

Director: Takashi Motoki

Writer: Masao Ikegaya (Screenplay),

Starring: Yuki Yamada, Tsunenori Aoki, Takashi Nishina, Soran Tamoto, Sanae Yuki, Hinata Satou, Hisahiro Ogura,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: Ando (Yuki Yamada) gets involved in the case of a habitual debtor named Kenichi Yuzawa whose son who works for a talent agency, fall into a coma. Kenichi tries to pay off his debts with his son’s health insurance.

Tenshi Ja nai!   

天使じゃないッ！ 「Tenshi Ja nai!」

Running Time: 82 mins.

Release Date: May 14th, 2018

Director: Shintaro Sakurai

Writer: Koichi Tomoki (Screenplay), Kazuto Okada (Original Work)

Starring: Aya Yoshizaki, Iroha Yanagi, Yuuji Takao, Kumiko Tsushimi, Manaka Nishihara, Mika Nonomiya, Aya Kawasaki, Kaori Hisamatsu,

Website

Synopsis: High-schooler Kazu Okada (Yuuji Takao) is in love with classmate Manami (Aya Yoshizaki) but is constantly bullied which leads him to dabble with the devil and summon a demon to curse his bullies, a trio of busty girls. It turns out that the one he summons is a beautiful trainee demon named Cele (Iroha Yanagi) and the sexy chaos begins.

Ninagawa Yukio Theatre 2 “midokumaru fainaru”   

蜷川幸雄シアター2「身毒丸　ファイナル」 「Ninagawa Yukio Shiata- 2 “midokumaru fainaru”」

Running Time: 90 mins.

Release Date: April 14th, 2018

Director: Yukio Ninagawa

Writer: Risa Kishida, Shuji Terayama (Original Work)

Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kayoko Shiroishi, Yoko Ran, Kenichi Ishii, Kasahara Orito,

Website

Synopsis: Three of Ninagawa’s plays are going to be screened in cinemas in order to remember the great theatre/film director who died in 2016. This features Tatsuya Fujiwara playing a young man in a forbidden love-affair with an older woman.

Sore sore ga yattekitara…   

それ　それがやって来たら… 「Sore sore ga yattekitara…」

Running Time: 64 mins.

Release Date: May 14th, 2018

Director: Hikaru Okita

Writer: Hikaru Okita, Shino Kondo (Screenplay),

Starring: Kanako Hiramatsu, Hikari Shiina, Naoki Kato, Junya Maki, Nanae, Yuka Inaba, Yuuya Kanemaru, Aona Watase,

Synopsis: A bunch of kids in the forest get attacked by a clown with a knife. Gang up on the guy and bludgeon him to death with rocks! He can only take down one of you at a time!

Walking with My Grandma / Grandma Road      

ばぁちゃんロード 「Baachan Ro-do」

Running Time: 89 mins.

Release Date: May 14th, 2018

Director: Tetsuo Shinohara

Writer: Naho Kamimura (Screenplay),

Starring: Ayane Nagabuchi, Mitsuko Kusabue, Takahiro Miura, Dori Sakurada, Shingo Tsurumi, Akiyoshi Tsujimoto,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: Natsumi (Ayane Nagabuchi) has been proposed to by her boyfriend (Takahiro Miura) and her grandmother Kiyo (Mitsuko Kusabue) wants to walk with her. However, the old lady will have to recover from a hurt leg but she has the help of Natsumi and the rest of her family.

Seven Colours★Rocket    

虹色★ロケット 「Nijiro ★Rokketo」

Running Time: 74 mins.

Release Date: May 14th, 2018

Director: Shunta Ito

Writer: Shunta Ito, Minami Hirayama (Screenplay),

Starring: Yuka Matsunaga, Minami Hirayama, Shunta Ito, Hiroe Koizumi,

Website JFDB

Synopsis: This indie film was put together by high school students and shown at the Tollywood cinema in Shimokitazawa ten years ago. It’s about a mysterious transfer student named Yuka (Yuka Matsunaga) who has a disease and how she comes into contact with a student named Minami (Minami Hirayama) who is trying to overcome a past suicide attempt.

Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Bakumori! Kung-Fu Boys ~Ramen Tairan~   

クレヨンしんちゃん 爆盛!カンフーボーイズ～拉麺大乱～ 「Eiga Kureyon Shin-chan Bakumori! KunFu- Boizu- ~Ramen Tairan~ 」

Running Time: 104 mins.

Release Date: April 13th, 2018

Director: Wataru Takahashi

Writer: Kimiko Ueno (Screenplay), Yoshito Usui (Original Creator)

Starring: Akiko Yajima (Shinnosuke Nohara), Miki Narahashi (Misae Nohara), Satomi Koorogi (Himawari Nohara), Toshiyuki Morikawa (Hiroshi Nohara),

Animation Production: Shin-Ei Animation

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: Shinnosuke and his friends head to a Chinatown named Aiyātown in Kusakabe, Saitama, to learn the legendary “Puni Puni Fist” martial art around the same time a bad batch of ramen makes the neighbourhood violent.

Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer   

名探偵コナン　ゼロの執行人 「Meitantei Conan Zero no Shikkōnin」

Running Time: 110 mins.

Release Date: April 13th, 2018

Director:  Yuzuru Tachikawa

Writer: Takeharu Sakurai (Screenplay), Gosho Aoyama (Original Creator)

Starring: Minami Takayama (Conan Edogawa), Megumi Hayashibara (Ai Haibara), Ikue Otani (Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya), Yukiko Iwai (Ayumi Yoshida),

Animation Production: TMS Entertainment, V! Studio

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis from Anime News Network: There is a sudden explosion at Tokyo Summit’s giant Edge of Ocean facility. The shadow of Tōru Amuro, who works for the National Police Agency Security Bureau as Zero, appears at the site. In addition, the “triple-face” character is known as Rei Furuya as a detective and Kogorō Mōri’s apprentice, and he is also known as Bourbon as a Black Organization member. Kogorō is arrested as a suspect in the case of the explosion. Conan conducts an investigation to prove Kogorō’s innocence, but Amuro gets in his way.

Regular readers of this blog will know that Sion Sono is a favourite director of mine so it is with some joy that I can report that Third Window Films are helping film fans get closer to one of the best directors in Japanese cinema with a release of his sci-fi arthouse film The Whispering Star which will be paired with the feature-length documentary The Sion Sono. The two will be released as a DUAL FORMAT blu-ray/dvd on April 16th.

Check out the webpage over at the Third Window Film site for more details. Scroll down for trailers and details!

The Whispering Star    

ひそひそ星「Hiso Hiso Boshi」

Running Time: 101 mins.

Release Date: May 24th, 2016

Director: Sion Sono

Writer: Sion Sono (Screenplay)

Starring: Megumi Kagurazaka, Kenji Endo, Yuto Ikeda, Mori Kouko,

Website    IMDB

The Whispering Star was originally created and screened as part of an art exhibition which had the theme of dystopia running through it. The film was shot in different locations in the Fukushima prefecture, turning depopulated and irradiated areas into a futuristic landscape that speaks of hopelessness, pollution, and abandonment. It stars people who live in the areas and Sion Sono’s wife. It was Sono’s first feature with his newly established independent production company and the realisation of a script he wrote two decades ago but reworked to reflect the present.

Synopsis: A spaceship shaped like a Japanese bungalow careens through the galaxy. It carries a humanoid robot named Yoko (Megumi Kagurazaka), a sort of interstellar UPS delivery person. Her job is simple: to distribute packages to human beings scattered across sundry planets. Whispering to Yoko is the child-like voice of her spaceship’s operating machine. Neither understands why humans have the need to send each other seemingly insignificant objects that take years to be delivered but with so much spare time between deliveries, Yoko begins to wonder what’s in those packages.

Jonetsu tairiku Presents Sono Shion to iu ikimono    

園子温という生きもの 「Sono Shion to iu ikmono」　

Running Time: 97 mins.

Release Date: May 14^th, 2016

Director: Arata Oshima

Writer: N/A

Starring: Sion Sono, Shota Sometani, Fumi Nikaido, Megumi Kagurazaka, Eri, Naoto Tanobe, Takuji Yasuoka,

Website    IMDB

Synopsis from TWF: The ever-evolving Sion Sono, who burst onto the Japanese film scene with I Am Sion Sono!! in 1984, has made a name for himself in world cinema as a numerous award-winner, festival favourite and provocateur. Directed by Arata Oshima, son of rebel filmmaker Nagisa Oshima, who had praised Sono’s early work before his passing, this documentary gives insight into the man, the poet, the painter, the scriptwriter, the husband and the boy who will eventually grow up to be the Sion Sono. Lineage, history and the past meeting the present are themes in this film in which Oshima connects the dots in Sono’s creative life by taking the camera to the site of his upbringing and following the production of his most recent film The Whispering Star

Spring is all about new beginnings and the Japan Foundation has programmed four films for its Spring Explorers screenings. They stretch from 1954 to 2013 and feature characters forced to enter new stages in their lives and even new worlds. Protags range from a little girl who walks on ceilings to a middle-aged man who hasn’t left his family home in years.

Here are the details:

Friday 20 April 2018: Courthouse Cinema, 19-21 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1F 7HL

Patema Inverted                            

サカサマ　の　パテマ 「Sakasama no Patema」

Running Time: 99 mins.

Release Date: November 09^th, 2013

Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura

Writer: Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Screenplay/Original Creator)

Starring: Yukiyo Fujii (Patema), Nobuhiko Okamoto (Age), Shintarou Oohata (Porta), Shinya Fukumatsu (G), Masayuki Katou (Lagos),

Website   ANN MAL

Yasuhiro Yoshiura is the director/creator of the wonderful Time of Eve, a futuristic drama about androids in a café and the humans that visit them. It was a whimsical show full of great details and gorgeous animation and do you know what was best of all? The characters were relatable and funny. This is his latest film and it is just as good as my review points out.

Synopsis: The story takes place in an underground world where the inhabitants exist in tunnels and confined spaces and must wear protective clothing. Despite this, these underground people still enjoy life, especially Patema, the princess of her underground village who loves to explore. Her fascination with exploration leads her to a forbidden area where she meets a boy named Age who operates under different gravitational circumstances. The two may come from very different societies but will face strange situations together! 

Saturday 21 April 2018: Screening Room 1, The Soho hotel, 4 Richmond Mews London, W1D 3DH

Thermae Romae

テルマエ・ロマエ　「Terumai Romai」

Release Date:  April 28th, 2012 (Japan)

Running Time: 108 mins.

Director: Hideki Takeuchi

Writer: Mari Yamazaki (manga), Shogo Muto

Starring: Hiroshi Abe, Aya Ueto, Masachika Ichimura, Kai Shishido, Kazuki Kitamura

IMDB

The live-action adaptation of Mari Yamazaki’s fun manga of the same name has time travel, culture clash comedy and a great set of actors. It was partly filmed in Cinecitta in Rome but features Japanese actors who don’t look too Japanese playing Roman characters. This looks like a lot of fun and the anime adaptation wasn’t too bad.

Synopsis: Roman bath house architect Lucius (Hiroshi Abe) is a perfectionist and traditionalist who gets fired from his architectural practice. In order to cheer him up, a friend takes him to a bathhouse but Lucius slips through a time portal and ends up in modern day Japan. Although initially bewildered Lucius takes inspiration from modern day Japanese baths and implements the designs in his Roman bathhouses. This sees him become favoured by Emperor Hadrian (Ichimura) but clash with emperor-in-waiting Antoninus (Kazuki Kitamura). Lucius soon finds himself caught up in political intrigue in between his time travel adventures but it is not all bad as he has met a beautiful aspiring manga artist named Mami (Ueto) who loves to sketch him.

Yuji Mameshiba    

幼獣マメシバ 「Yuji mameshiba」

Running Time: 106 mins.

Release Date: June 13th, 2009

Director: Toru Kamei

Writer: Yuji Nagamori (Screenplay/Story),

Starring: Jiro Sato, Yumi Adachi, Yumiko Fujita, Kanji Furutachi, Koji Nishida, Masato Noda, Hitomi Sato, Shun Sugata, Ayano Tachibana,

IMDB

Synopsis: Jiro (Jiro Sato) is a 32-year-old hikikomori who lives at his parents’ house but all that changes after the death of his father because Jiro’s mother runs away and leaves behind a 6 month dog named Ichiro and some clues for Jiro to track her down. Can he find her? He will have to venture out into the world.

Sunday 22 April 2018: Courthouse Cinema, 19-21 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1F 7HL

Twenty-Four Eyes   

二十四の瞳 「Nijuu-shi no Hitomi」

Running Time: 156 mins.

Release Date: September 15th, 1954

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita

Writer: Keisuke Kinoshita (Screenplay), Sakae Tsuboi (Original Novel)

Starring: Hideko Takamine, Hideyo Amamoto, Toyo Takahashi, Chieko Naniwa, Chishu Ryu, Kuniko Igawa, Takahiro Tamura, Sadako Kusano, Setsuko Kusano,

IMDB

Synopsis: The story follows the relationship between bright young teacher Hisaki Oishi (Takamine) and her first class of twelve children, charmingly played by local children and young adults, at different stages in their lives. Although recognised by the school master for her talent, city girl Hisaki is mistrusted by this remote island community. However, soon both adults and children alike fall for her charms only to see the impending war irreversibly change their lives.

Here are the all-important booking details:

These films screenings are free to attend but seats must be booked in advance. You are able to book a maximum of two tickets for only one screening. If you would like to book for more than one film, please e-mail info@jpf.org.uk detailing which films you would like to attend.

To book your place via Google Forms, please click here

The Whispering Star    

ひそひそ星「Hiso Hiso Boshi」

Running Time: 101 mins.

Release Date: May 24th, 2016

Director: Sion Sono

Writer: Sion Sono (Screenplay)

Starring: Megumi Kagurazaka, Kenji Endo, Yuto Ikeda, Mori Kouko,

Website    IMDB

The Whispering Star was originally created and screened as part of an art exhibition which had the theme of dystopia running through it. That theme is more than adequately captured in this black fable about a robot travelling amidst the remnants of humanity. It was shot in different locations in Fukushima prefecture, turning depopulated and irradiated areas into a futuristic landscape that speaks of hopelessness, pollution, and abandonment delivered in slow sketches until the film ends on a touching note of human contact. It shows good control of material from Sion Sono but that’s to be expected from a man who has been in the industry since the 80s.

At the start of the film we learn that multiple nuclear disasters and other mistakes have forced people to migrate to the stars. Humans are scattered across a myriad of planets and are on the verge of extinction as their will to live and explore flickers out in the face of technology and ennui. What keeps people hanging on are robots with AI who operate an interplanetary delivery system, facilitating a new sort of human contact.

Our main character is Yoko Suzuki (Megumi Kagurazaka), a delivery person taking packages across the galaxy. She gently glides between planets for years at a time in a spaceship shaped like a Japanese bungalow with rocket boosters attached to it. These journeys are mostly uneventful and quiet. Inter-titles show the days falling away, her only distraction being to make tea in the kitchen, lie on the tatami listening to a leaky tap, perform maintenance on herself – replacing batteries and fluids – and cleaning up the ship. She isn’t alone. Whispering every so often to Yoko is the child-like voice of her spaceship’s operating machine. Neither understands why humans have the need to send each other seemingly insignificant objects like fishing tackle and a single crumpled cigarette that take years to be delivered but with so much spare time between deliveries and with each encounter with a person on each desolate planet she visits, Yoko edges closer to conceiving the importance of human connection.

Coming to you from the director of joyfully deranged and chaotic experiences like Love Exposure (2009) and Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013) is a complete left turn of a title, a contemplative film, presenting the cosmic joke of humanity’s extinction whilst sneaking in the idea of the power of memories and nostalgia to sustain us. This is a unique experience in cinema. Sort of like Koji Fukada’s 2016 “End of Japan thanks to nuclear energy” film Sayonara but actually enjoyable as well as tragic.

Whispering Star was Sono’s first feature with his newly established independent production company and the realisation of a script he wrote over two decades ago. The material was reworked to reflect the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima, something he directly addressed in the past with The Land of Hope (2012) and Himizu (2012). Made in 2015, the same year that he released four commercial feature films including Tag and Shinjuku Swan, this is a deeply personal film that shows his commitment to an area, a people, that is admirable and necessary at a time when the issue of Fukushima risks slipping from collective memory. That the film deals with memory is clearly no accident.

Sono uses the coastal city of Namie, Fukushima, and the surrounding areas to play the parts of distant planets. The power of cinema – dolly shots and long shots etc. – delivers these wrecked and wasted locations as we see boats pitched up in fields as Yoko cycles along road between them, desolate waterfronts with lonely old men wandering around with nothing but the sound of a tin can crunching underfoot to distract from the sound of the sea, fields with barren trees and clumps of overgrown pampas grass swaying in the breeze. Local residents play the inhabitants of these wrecked worlds, and they are all placed in strange situations, either roaming rubble-strewn locations waiting for Yoko and her delivery, manning stalls on desolate beaches, or dressed up in fancy clothes but with nowhere to go, just waiting for some end with the melancholy strains of an opera and the sound of wind to provide company. They are ghosts of some unknown past and a cold future in shattered landscapes ruined by humanity. The decision to shoot in black and white proves to be a wise one as a sense of coldness seeps from the screen. The use of these elements create a specific atmosphere that speaks of desolation, ennui and enervation.

For a filmmaker used to creating operatic levels of drama, action, and suspense, this is remarkably silent and still film which makes sense considering we are following a robot floating through space and visiting the last vestiges of mankind over the span of years. Sono uses cinematic form to emphasise movement and noise amidst the stillness and silence. Noise comes from the seemingly inconsequential conversations between Yoko and her ship’s AI, the few isolated humans she encounters in lonely locales, and the chores she performs to pass the time. This is an anti-sci-fi film in the sense that the awe and wonder of space travel are undercut by the tedium and normalcy of everyday life and the emphasis is less on tech and more on the power of emotion which is on display with no distractions from alien antics.

Far from being boring or desperately sad, the quick interchange between interesting camera angles keeps the pace lively and there’s some oddball comedy thanks to the ship’s AI which is sometimes childish and needles Yoko. There is mordant humour in some of the contacts Yoko has with the human characters and their twists and turns deliver the idea that deliveries are more personal even if the items are seemingly pointless. The more Yoko sees, the more personal they become and the small hope they offer people with nothing to do but wait and contemplate memories grows in importance.

Death hovers at the edge of the frame from the get-go and begins to enter the centre. Holding it at bay is a fantastic performance from Megumi Kagurazaka, Sono’s real-life wife. Often times in the centre of the screen, she shows great emotional control and provides an even-tempered energy to proceedings whilst also hinting at mysterious emotional processes that may be working away inside her robotic form. The film culminates in a visually memorable scene involving her walking through a corridor surrounded by shoji screen with the silhouettes of people doing wholesome family things together, eating, playing a piano, playing catch moving on the washi. There’s so much movement and meaning in each shadow and a pure expression of emotion is to be found. It’s a last, fragile bastion of human emotion and the scene suggests that even if people are on the way out, they still have something to give to the stars. Seeing Yoko touched by human emotion at the end offers some hope.

The change in styles won’t be a surprise to long-term fans who are used to Sono mixing gory horrors film like Suicide Club (2001) with a dense existential dramas like Noriko’s Dinner Table (2005) and a truly touching tales of a family bitterly reunited due to the tragedy of cancer in Be Sure to Share (2009). What Whispering Star should do is confirm that he is one of the liveliest and bravest filmmakers in Japan. Or anywhere, for that matter. He’s a real maverick with something to say.

This film has been released in the UK thanks to Third Window Films.

Happy weekend, people!

This week I posted a review for the release of The Whispering Star (2016) as well as info on its UK release thanks to Third Window Films, updated my post about Japanese films at the Cannes Film Festival with info on the Mamoru Hosoda anima, Mirai no Mirai which is the first anime to open in the Directors’ Fortnight section, and also about the Spring Explorers free film screenings.

Inuyashiki   

いぬやしき 「Inuyashiki」

Running Time: 127 mins.

Release Date: April 20th, 2018

Director: Shinsuke Sato

Writer: Hiroshi Hashimoto (Screenplay), Hiroya Oku (Original Manga)

Starring: Noritake Kinashi, Takeru Satoh, Kanata Hongo, Fumi Nikaido, Yuki Saito, Yusuke Iseya, Mari Hamada, Ayaka Miyoshi, Nayuta Fukuzaki,

Website IMDB

This is based on a manga series by Hiroya Oku, the guy who created the super-disturbing horror sci-fi Gantz. Inuyashiki was turned into an anime that turned out to be pretty good. The live-action version looks like it should be fun. Takeru Satoh (Rurouni Kenshin and Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno) stars as the bad guy.

Synopsis: Ichiro Inuyashiki (Noritake Kinashi) is a salary-man on his way out. Unappreciated at work and at home and freshly diagnosed with cancer, his life looks miserable but things take a drastic turn when he is involved in an explosion. When he regains consciousness, he discovers that he has been transformed into a cyborg. Far from freaking out, he has a new lease of life and decides to use his powers to help those in need. Meanwhile, Hiro Shishigami (Takeru Satoh), a high school student, was also involved in the very same explosion and has gained the very same the powers. He just wants to see the world burn. Two super-powered people do battle in Japan!

Until the Day You Gain Freedom   

自由を手にするその日まで 「Jiyuu o te ni suru sono hi made」

Running Time: 112 mins.

Director:  Yuji Amano

Writer: Yuji Amano (Screenplay),

Starring: Miyabi, Kyoko Miyauchi, Yuji Amano, Shinichi Hirose, Tomojirou Amino, Atsuko Mizu,

This one was at the Kanazawa Film Fest last year and it caught my attention due to the dark subject-matter and strong direction on display in the trailer. I want to see it!

Synopsis: Yuji Amano uses knowledge he gained in medical school to create a suspense film where he explores negative feelings found in modern society and he does so in a film where a woman seeks revenge over workplace bullying. A 24-year-old woman who works in the clerical department of a medical facility becomes infected with hate for society after bullying and resolves to eradicate people in the workplace. When she is at home, she repeatedly engages in eerie experiments using scientific knowledge in order to execute her perfect revenge but unexpected obstacles and embarrassments hinder her plan… 

Yassadaru Man   

やっさだるマン 「Yassadaru Man」

Running Time: 90 mins.

Release Date: April 21st, 2018

Director: Kenichi Ohmori

Writer: Kenichi Ohmori (Screenplay),

Starring: Hisanori Sato, Maasa Sudo, Ayana Taketatsu, Ichirota Miyakawa, Misa Shimizu, Toshie Nonomura, Kentaro Sakai, Hiroki Horikawa,

Website

Synopsis: Yassadaru Man is a city mascot and Hazime Kisaragi (Hisanori Sato) and Satomi Akahata (Maasa Sudo) run events connected to him. They are assigned a new team member named Yuna (Ayana Taketatsu) who really loves Yassadaru Man and Hazime falls in love with her while the three have fun.

Liz to Aoitori    

リズと青い鳥 「Liz to Aoitori」

Running Time: 110 mins.

Release Date: April 21st, 2018

Director:  Naoko Yamada

Writer: Reiko Yoshida (Script),

Starring: Atsumi Tanezaki (Mizore Yoroizuka), Nao Toyama (Nozomi Kasaki), Ayaka Asai (Hazuki Kato), Chika Anzai (Reina Kosaka), Yuri Yamaoka (Yuuko Yoshikawa), Moe Toyota (Sapphire “Midori” Kawashima), Shiori Sugiura (Ririka Kenzaki),

Animation Production: Kyoto Animation

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis from Anime News Network: Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki are a pair of best friends in their final year of high school. Their shared obsession? The school’s brass band club. With Mizore on the oboe and Nozomi on the flute, they spend their days in happiness–until the club begins to practice songs inspired by the fairy tale Liz und ein Blauer Vogel (Liz and the Blue Bird). Immersed in this story, Mizore and Nozomi begin to realize that there may be no such thing as being together forever.

Ninagawa Yukio Theatre 2 `jajauma narashi'(aya no kuni Sheikusupia shirīzu)’   

蜷川幸雄シアター2「じゃじゃ馬馴らし」（彩の国シェイクスピア・シリーズ） 「Ninagawa Yukio Shiata- 2 `jajauma narashi'(ayanokuni Sheikusupia shirīzu)’」

Running Time: 147 mins.

Release Date: April 21st, 2018

Director: Yukio Ninagawa

Writer: William Shakespeare (Original Play)

Starring: Ennosuke Ichikawa, Toshio Kakei

Website

Synopsis: Three of Ninagawa’s plays are going to be screened in cinemas in order to remember the great theatre/film director who died in 2016. This one is his adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew.

Jonetsu tairiku Presents Sono Shion to iu ikimono    

園子温という生きもの 「Sono Shion to iu ikmono」　

Running Time: 97 mins.

Release Date: May 14^th, 2016

Director: Arata Oshima

Writer: N/A

Starring: Sion Sono, Shota Sometani, Fumi Nikaido, Megumi Kagurazaka, Eri, Naoto Tanobe, Takuji Yasuoka,

Website    IMDB

Third Window Films’ recent release of The Whispering Star (2016) was paired up with The Sion Sono, a documentary directed by Arata Oshima, son of legendary filmmaker Nagisa Oshima. Both films were originally released on the same day in Japan and prove to be the perfect partners for a home format release since they capture moments in the evolving career of Sion Sono, Japan’s most maverick multi-hyphante talent.

Sono is a poet, painter, writer, filmmaker, and rebel who decries convention and has taken on the role of subversive provocateur daring to tackle all manner of subjects and genres in his films. Gory horror, family drama, political and social diatribes, comedy, and everything in between have been mined to create a truly unique filmography of over 40 films and this documentary traces the origins of his work ethic, his love of films, and give a glimpse of the real character behind the cult figure.

Filmed in 2014 during the shoot for The Whispering Star, Arata Oshima gets a look behind the scenes of the production whilst also interviewing cast and crew from past films before diving headlong into Sono’s past. Through doing this we get an insight into how Sono’s work during the 90s has been utilised to create many present-day titles including, for example, seeing the storyboards he made for The Whispering Star which he created when he was 27. Through locating highlights of Sono’s career, we understand how much of a maverick he is and always was.

Shot with a handheld digital camera and with little set-up for scenes (including lighting which makes for some amusing moments as natural light is not enough to see interiors of buildings) it is exciting and intimate as we see public and private spaces. Events run from script reading through to the Fukushima shoot on The Whispering Star which shows him in Tomioka and Namie towns with his crew in the reality of a post-nuclear-meltdown environment to him taking work home in Tokyo. On set he is at his most earnest as he works together with locals and talks with them on the same level about their experiences. It is clear that he is passionate about what has happened in the area and is respected by the people who talk with emotion over seeing their story in Sono’s film, The Land of Hope. Alas, there is no real digging into why Sono is so invested in this subject. It is more about the man.

The film avoids being a hagiography by showing Sono drunk, challenging Arata Oshima on directorial choices and critiquing Japanese film culture, and being candid about his own pretentiousness and personal failures. This is coupled with direct-to-camera interviews with various people such as his first producer to give fascinating information on the man’s career.

What we get is a contradictory character, a fierce creative who naturally rebels against convention whilst also showing typically heightened Japanese restraint and care. It’s an interesting synthesis of aspects that has crafted a socially conscious and daring filmmaker with a strong desire to tell human stories in nearly every film regardless of genre.

These contradictions are best exemplified when we get interviews with the wonderful lead actors of Himizu, Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaido. They talk about how Sono turned up drunk for their auditions but later on grew to be like a father figure allowing them to freely express themselves. A powerful interview is naturally given by Sono’s wife Megumi Kagurazaka who acted for him in Cold Fish. She details the weight of responsibility she carried taking on her role and how their connection grew during this emotionally challenging time in her life which was worthwhile. It naturally segues into enlightening observations on Sono’s character and how he follows his interests in a single-minded fashion and again there’s an underlying sense of Japaneseness that makes him human, his ki wo tsukau, doing things from one’s soul with passion and dedication. That and his penchant for experimentation which moves across forms and is inherent in his character.

We venture into Sono’s studio in Shimokitazawa and see him create artwork around a disturbing story about a young girl’s life-choices which sounds a lot like one of his his latest releases, Antiporno (2017). He applies paint without caution and espouses that it should be how a person lives life regardless of the mess and the chap is charismatic as he says it and a narrative around how he bucks normality settles in. As he states, it is the tradition of people in Japan to belittle the unorthodox and he goes on to proclaim, “formality is overrated”.

He has an awareness of his own brand, so to speak, but it isn’t narcissism or commercialism, it’s as a genuine firebrand artist. Calling his work on commercial films indecent jobs which he works hard on and his more personal projects as a way of getting clean again is believable after seeing him in Fukushima and he positions himself as the anti-Kawase and shadow image of Kore-eda, directors who make “literature” movies. You wonder if Shohei Imamura and Nagisa Oshima were talking like this when they helped launch the new wave.

The most fascinating part is a dive deep into the schooldays of Sono when he returns to his hometown of Toyokawa city, Aichi Prefecture by train and we meet his friends and his sister with whom he shares a five year age gap. They introduce audiences to a collection of memories from old school essays and manga he made and sold to friends and family. The scale of artistic ambition is evident in his homemade magazine full of movie reviews covering everything from Shampoo and Rollerball to Jaws. It also features ads proclaiming himself a genius filmmaker. The creativity is charming, the confidence is astounding, it all makes sense with the benefit of hindsight.

The one frustrating thing about the documentary is Arata’s inability to nail down just why Sono is so embedded in the Fukushima issue. It is obviously something close to his heart since he has made three films and a number of art exhibition about it but that is, realistically, for a documentary focused on the issue rather than here which is about the man himself. Sono is special and this documentary does a great job of giving a glimpse as to why.

The 2018 East Winds Film Festival is about to launch and it has a great line-up of films from around Asia. There are three Japanese titles to select from and they are all European premieres!

Here are the titles:

Colors of Wind   

風の色 「Kaze no Iro」

Running Time: 119 mins.

Release Date: January 26th, 2018

Director: Jae-young Kwak

Writer: Jae-young Kwak (Screenplay),

Starring: Takemi Fujii, Yuki Furukawa, Maiko Ito, Naoto Takenaka, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Tomoya Ishii, Yoshiko Nakada, Mantaro Koichi,

Website IMDB

Jae-young Kwak directed My Sassy Girl (2001), a mega-hit that took Asian cinema fans by storm and was part of the Korean New Wave that swept the world away. He tried to recapture that hit with Windstruck (2004) and Cyborg Girl (2008) and then pretty much disappeared after the remake of his super hit before resurfacing in Japan earlier this year.

Synopsis: Before Ryo’s girlfriend Yuri dies, she tells him that a woman who looks identical to her is in Hokkaido. To find out more, Ryo travels to Hokkaido where he meets a woman named Aya who looks a lot like Yuri. She claims Ryo looks like her boyfriend Ryu, a popular magician who went missing during an illusion on the seashore. Ryo pretends to be Ryu and acts like he lost his memory but he feels guilt over his actions and runs away, leaving Yuri’s diary behind…

. 

Impossibility Defense    

不能犯 「Funohan」

Running Time: 106 mins.

Release Date: February 01st, 2018

Director: Koji Shiraishi

Writer: Junpei Yamaoka, Koji Shiraishi (Screenplay), Arata Miyatsuki, Yuya Kanzaki, (Original Manga),

Starring: Tori Matsuzaka, Erika Sawajiri, Mackenyu Arata, Erina Mano, Sae Okazaki, Shugo Oshinari, Akiko Yada, Ken Yasuda,

Website IMDB

A great cast for this thriller with character actors like Ken Yasuda roped in. A special mention for Shugo Oshinari who was in the 2015 indie film Promises.

Synopsis: Police detective Tomoko Tada (Erika Sawajiri) is on the hunt for a seemingly untraceable contract killer. Her target is Tadashi Usobuki (Tori Matsuzaka), a mysterious man who wears a black suit and picks up his contracts from a specific phone booth. His method of killing and what makes him hard to track is the power of suggestion. He can drive people to take their own lives through mind control. The police better be careful when chasing him!

Sunny / 32    

サニー/32 「Sani- / 32」

Running Time: 110 mins.

Release Date: February 17th, 2018

Director: Kazuya Shiraishi

Writer: Izumi Takahashi (Screenplay),

Starring: Rie Kitahara, Mugi Kadowaki, Pierre Taki, Lily Franky, Taro Suruga,

Website IMDB
Kazuya Shiraishi, director of “Twisted Justice” (2016), “Dawn of the Felines” (2017), links up with his main actors from “The Devil’s Path” (2013) along with Mugi Kadowaki who was really good in the lead role in “Double Life” (2016).

Synopsis: A middle school teacher named Akari Fujii (Rie Kitahara) is kidnapped on her 24th birthday. These two men who abduct her call themselves “The Most Lovely Murderers in Criminal History” and they are big admirers of a girl named Sunny, an internet idol because as an 11-year-old child she murdered a classmate in a gruesome killing. So adorable was she, Sunny was dubbed the “the cutest murderer ever” and a cult started around her. Her photo, with its unique 3 and 2 finger peace pose, earned her the moniker “Sunny,” a name derived from how 3 and 2 are pronounced in Japanese. But why kidnap Akari? Is there some connection? As more people from the cult turn up, things spiral out of control…

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival is back from June 11th to the 16th and it’s packed with anime feature films, TV anime, and conferences. The Japanese presence is heavy this year and everything looks high quality from the student works to the feature films from the likes of Naoka Yamada (A Silent Voice) and Mamoru Hosoda (The Wolf Children)! Netflix has a presence here thanks to their positive contribution to anime and it’s an exciting TV anime. The student works look equally enticing with one from Tokyo University of the Arts. I feel glad to see so much diversity in content and approach!

Here are the titles:

There are a number of films screening both in and out of competition

Mirai of the Future    

未来のミライ 「Mirai no Mirai」

Running Time: 100 mins.

Release Date: July 20th, 2018

Director:  Mamoru Hosoda

Writer: Mamoru Hosoda (Screenplay/Original Work)

Starring: Haru Kuroki (Mirai-chan), Moka Kamishiraishi (Kun-chan), Gen Hoshino (Father), Koji Yakusho (Father), Kumiko Aso (Mother), Mitsuo Yoshihara (Mysterious Man), Yoshiko Miyazaki (Grandmother)

Animation Production: Studio Chizu

Website ANN MAL

Mamoru Hosoda’s new Mirai no Mirai (Mirai of the Future) is said to be closer to the human drama of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children rather than the more action-packed Summer Wars and The Boy and the Beast. It is reportedly based on Hosoda’s own experiences of being a father in a family where a newborn took the attention of the parents away from the elder sibling and the emotions that radiated from that feeling.

This will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival before Annecy.

Synopsis: A family living in a small house in a corner of a Yokohama dotes on a spoiled four-year-old boy named Kun-chan. When he gets a little sister named Mirai, he feels that his new sister stole his parents’ love from him. Jealousy and resentment well up until he meets an older version of Mirai, who has come from the future and takes him on an adventure.

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう 「Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou」

Running Time: 115 mins.

Release Date: February 24th, 2018

Director: Mari Okada

Writer: Mari Okada (Screenplay),

Starring: Manaka Iwami (Maquia), Miyu Irino (Ariel), Misaki Kuno (Medmel), Tomokazu Sugita (Izol), Hiroaki Hirata (Barlow), Yoko Hikasa (Dita), Rina Satou (Mido),

Animation Production: P.A. Works

Website ANN MAL

The film is the directorial debut of anime screenwriter Mari Okada (Anthem of the Heart, The Dark Maidens) and it was animated at P.A. Works. It appeared at the recent Glasgow Film Festival and Japan Film Festival Ireland and it will get a home format release in the UK courtesy of Anime Limited who are handling it at Annecy.

Synopsis: Maquia, comes from the elfin lolf race. They stop ageing in their mid teens. She isn’t as brave as Leilia, the most beautiful girl in her clan and the person she idolises. Although her days are peaceful she feels lonely, maybe because she has no parents and Leila has attracted the attention of Clear, the boy Maquia has secret feelings for. When an army of dragon-riding bandits invades seeking the legendary women who stop ageing, Maquia is able to escape, but she loses her friends and her home. Wandering alone in the forests of the outside world, a place she was warned to avoid, she finds Erial, a baby boy who has lost his parents. Unable to leave him behind, she adopts him, initially untroubled by the fact he will age like a human while she won’t…

Liz to Aoitori    

リズと青い鳥 「Liz to Aoitori」

Running Time: 110 mins.

Release Date: April 21st, 2018

Director:  Naoko Yamada

Writer: Reiko Yoshida (Script),

Starring: Atsumi Tanezaki (Mizore Yoroizuka), Nao Toyama (Nozomi Kasaki), Ayaka Asai (Hazuki Kato), Chika Anzai (Reina Kosaka), Yuri Yamaoka (Yuuko Yoshikawa), Moe Toyota (Sapphire “Midori” Kawashima), Shiori Sugiura (Ririka Kenzaki),

Animation Production: Kyoto Animation

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki are best friends who are both in their school’s brass band club. Mizore plays the oboe and Nozomi plays the flute. Despite being in the final year of high school, they are so very happy–until the club begins to practice songs inspired by the fairy tale Liz und ein Blauer Vogel (Liz and the Blue Bird). Immersed in this story, they begin to realise that there may be no such thing as being together forever.

Okko’s Inn

若おかみは小学生！ 「Waka Okami wa Shōgakusei!」

Running Time: 120 mins.

Release Date: N/A

Director:  Kitaro Kosaka

Writer: Reiko Yoshida (Script), Asami, Hiroko Reijou (Original Creator)

Starring: Seiran Kobayashi (Oriko “Okko” Seki), Etsuko Kozakura (Suzuki), Nana Mizuki Kaji (Matsuko Akino), Satsumi Matsuda (Makoto “Uri-bō” Tachiuri),

Animation Production: Madhouse

Website ANN

Synopsis: “Okko” is a girl who has lost her parents in a traffic accident. Since she is in the sixth grade of elementary school, she moves to her grandmother’s hot spring inn “Haru no Ya” (Spring House) where she begins training to take over running the establishment. She finds it tough at first but discovers she can see ghosts and soon begins to enjoy herself with the help of the ghost “Uri-bō” and other mysterious friends.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters I & II    

GODZILLA –怪獣惑星– 「Godzilla: Kaijuu Wakusei」

Running Time: 89 mins.

Release Date: November 17th, 2017

Director:  Hiroyuki Seshita, Kobun Shizuno

Writer: Gen Urobuchi (Screenplay), Koi (Script/Original Creator)

Starring: Mamoru Miyano (Haruo Sakaki), Kana Hanazawa (Yuko Tani), Daisuke Ono (Eliott Leland), Junichi Suwabe (Mulu-Elu Dolu-do), Yuuki Kaji (Adam Bindewald), Tomokazu Sugita (Martin Lazzari), Kenyuu Horiuchi (Omberto Mori),

Animation Production: Polygon Pictures

Website MAL ANN

The new Godzilla anime film trilogy, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (Godzilla: Kaiju Wakusei) launched on Netflix last year but only the first two instalments will be screened at Annecy. They showed up as a work in progress at last year’s Annecy. The directors are Kobun Shizuno (director of some Detective Conan movies) and Hiroyuki Seshita (Knights of Sidonia). 

Synopsis: The last summer of the 20th Century. That day, the human beings learn that they are not the only ruler of the planet Earth. Giant living creatures known as Kaiju appear and humanity is almost wiped out. Chief amongst these new creatures is Godzilla who reigns over everything. A select few people are chosen by an A.I. to escape the planet in the year 2048 and so they travel aboard the spaceship Aratrum to Tau Cetus e, a planet 11.9 light-years away. The new environment is tough and a selection of the emigrants want to return to Earth to fight the monsters. They are led by Haruo who saw his own parents killed by Godzilla. When they return to Earth, they find that the ecosystem has changed and that Godzilla still rules…

Annecy Classics has a number of great anime!

Millennium Actress 

千年女優 「Sennen Joyuu」

Release Date: September 14^th, 2002

Running Time: 83 mins.

Director: Satoshi Kon

Writer: Satoshi Kon (Screenplay),

Studio: Madhouse

Starring: Fumiko Orikasa (Chiyoko Fujiwara), Shouzou Iizuka (Genya Tacibana), Masaya Onosaka (Kyouji Ida), Kouichi Yamadera (Man of the Key),

IMDB MAL ANN

Every so often, I occasionally wonder what Satoshi Kon would be making if he were still alive now.

Synopsis: In a very obvious homage to the very real actors Hideko Takamine and Setsuko Hara, Satoshi Kon builds a story around the fictional Chiyoko Fujiwara, an icon of 1950s cinema. When the film starts. she has retired and is living in seclusion but when she is visited by a devoted fan wanting to make a documentary about her career, they plunge back into her past and  we hop between events in her real and her on-screen life in roles in a variety of genres from samurai epics to kaiju eiga and romances that were filmed in different time-periods. This is a celebration of Japanese cinema and a magical anime!

30 years after it was first release, Totoro has become a worldwide phenomena and people can attend an Outdoor Screening at Annecy as well as the classics screening.

My Neighbor Totoro    

となりのトトロ 「Tonari no Totoro」

Running Time: 86 mins.

Release Date: April 16th, 1988

Director:  Hayao Miyazaki

Writer: Hayao Miyazaki (Script),

Starring: Noriko Hidaka (Satsuki), Chika Sakamoto (Mei), Shigesato Itoi (Tatsuo Kusakabe), Sumi Shimamoto (Yasuko Kusakabe), Hitoshi Takagi (Totoro),

Animation Production: Studio Ghibli

ANN MAL  IMDB

Synopsis: In 1950s Japan, two girls named Satsuki and Mei are relocated to the countryside by their father Tatsuo to be closer to their mother who is hospitalized due to long-term illness. As the girls grow acquainted with rural life, Mei encounters a small, bunny-like creature in the yard one day. Chasing it into the forest, she finds “Totoro”—a giant, mystical forest spirit whom she soon befriends. Before long, Satsuki too meets Totoro, and the two girls suddenly find their lives filled with magical adventures in nature and fantastical creatures of the woods.

Gauche the Cellist   

セロ弾きのゴーシュ 「Serohiki no Go-shu」

Running Time: 63 mins.

Release Date: January 23rd, 1982

Director:  Isao Takahata

Writer: Isao Takahata (Script), Kenji Miyazawa (Original Novel)

Starring: Hideki Sasaki (Gauche), Fuyumi Shiraishi (Cat), Masashi Amenomori (Conductor), Junji Chiba (First Cellist), Atsuko Mine (Orchestra Musician),

Animation Production: Studio Ghibli

IMDB ANN MAL

Synopsis: Gauche is a cellist in a small town orchestra. Alas, he’s not very good and with a big concert on the horizon, the conductor is getting frustrated. Gauche retreats to his house at the edge of a forest and over the next few nights he tries to practice but he’s always interrupted by various animals. A cat, a bird, a raccoon, and a mouse all show up with musical requests much to Gauche’s annoyance but what he doesn’t realise is that these requests are actually teaching him to become a better cellist…

B: The Beginning   

セロ弾きのゴーシュ 「Serohiki no Go-shu」

Running Time: 27 mins.

Release Date: March 02nd, 2018

Director:  Kazuto Nakazawa, Yoshiki Yamakawa

Writer: Katsuya Ishida (Script), Kazuto Nakazawa (Original Creator)

Starring: Hiroaki Hirata (Keith Kazama Flick), Asami Seto (Lily Hoshino), Yuuki Kaji (Koku), Satomi Satou (Yuna), Toshiyuki Morikawa (Gilbert Ross),

Animation Production: Production I.G

Website ANN MAL 

The TV Films category features the Production I.G anime, B: The Beginning, a crime drama that looks really good on the basis of the trailer. It looks a lot like Psycho-Pass and that’s no bad thing! The first episode of a 12-episode run which was launched on Netflix in March is getting screened.

Synopsis: The nation of Cremona is located on an archipelago and run by a hi-tech system of computers. Despite the futuristic look of the place, supernatural things occur and nobody knows this better than Keith, a legendary investigator for the police. He is plagued by a ghost from the past while looking into a mysterious criminal organisation and trying to capture the serial killer, Killer B who is responsible for a horrific string of crimes.

Satie’s Parade (14 min) is a 2D hand-drawn animation from the award-winning Koji Yamamura, a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. He mixes quotes taken from French composer Erik Satie’s essays on the music he composed for the 1916 ballet Parade. It can be found in the Classical (Music and Animated Movies) section/ Here’s a trailer:

Kaiju Shinwa (Quest of the Battling Gods) is a 13 minute 2D computer animated film from Yosuke Tani, a student at Tokyo University of the Arts – Graduate School of New Media. It’s a story about two Gods engaged in “a magnificent battle that transcends worlds, time and parallel universes.”

Over in the Short Film Competition 5 section we have Hunter, an eight-minute short directed by Ryoji Yamada. It concerns a hunter looking for “gossip”. Intriguing!

There are two Japanese shorts in the Midnight Specials section

Bloody Date (Original 2006 / Remake 2010, 5 mins.) MAL Director Takeno Nagao uses claymation to tell the story of a young couple attacked by an axe-wielding maniac. There’s a whole YouTube channel dedicated to Nagao’s horror-influenced output.

Negative Space (France 2017 Dirs: Ru Kawahata and Max Porter, 5 min) is from a team based in America, Tiny Inventions in the Baltimore. It is based on the poem by Ron Koertge and shows a young man and his relationship with his father who is constantly travelling. Ru Kawahata is one of the two directors and his experiences helped create the highly detailed puppets and hand-crafted sets used to tell this tale. Here’s a trailer:

Also in town for the Works in Progress section are director Seiji Kishi and writer Makoto Uezu along with the producer Yuji Higa from the studio Lerche. They are talking about their forthcoming TV anime Radiant. This is based on a French comic book by Tony Valente which is being published in Japan (source).

The story is about a young sorcerer’s apprentice named Seth and his group of friends, all of whom are searching for the source of an outbreak of monsters called “nemesis”. Apparently something called radiant might be that very source…

The BFI Southbank in London is running another “Anime Weekender” event in May with three days featuring some of the most recent anime releases. The tickets for the Weekender are on sale so just scroll down to see what is on offer. Dates and times have been put in as well as links to each film which will allow you to book tickets so just click on the titles.

Here’s what’s on offer:

We start off with the biggest anime title from 2016/17…

Your Name  

君の名は。 「Kimi no Na wa.」　

Running Time: 106 mins.

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Writer: Makoto Shinkai (Screenplay/Original Story)

Starring:  Ryunosuke Kamiki (Taki Tachibana), Mone Kamishiraishi (Mitsuha Miyamizu), Kana Hanazawa (Yukari Yukino), Masami Nagasawa (Miki Okudera), Kanon Tani (Yotsuha Miyamizu)

Website MAL ANN

Makoto Shinkai is an anime auteur that everyone bills as the next Miyazaki despite the two men having different styles and Shinkai’s films all focussing on the pain of loneliness and relationships. This one is part body-swap comedy, part sci-fi epic with touches of romance. I still haven’t watched it despite working for a festival which screened it…

Synopsis: Two teenagers’ lives are changed forever when the first visible comet for a thousand years approaches Japan. Mitsuha lives in a rural area and longs to leave, whilst Taki waits tables in Tokyo when he’s not studying. Despite never having met, they both begin to dream about each other, imagining that somehow they have exchanged bodies and are existing in parallel lives. As this phenomenon continues, they start communicating with each other via messages left on smartphones and resolve to meet to make sense of what is happening to them. Despite the fun body-swap vibe that our heroes initially experience, a dark journey lies ahead.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion – Initiation    

コードギアス　反逆のルルーシュⅠ 興道 「 Code Geass – Hangyaku no Lelouch – Kodō」

Running Time: 133 mins.

Director:  Goro Taniguchi

Writer: Ichiro Okouchi (Screenplay),

Starring: Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch Lamperouge), Takahiro Sakurai (Suzaku Kururugi), Yukana (C.C.), Akeno Watanabe (Viletta Nu), Ami Koshimizu (Kallen Stadtfeld),

Animation Production: Sunrise

Website ANN MAL

This is the first in a trilogy recounting the events of the TV anime. Yes, it’s one of those compilation films that get released in Japanese cinemas.

Synopsis: Following the conquest of Japan, The Empire of Britannia has near domination of the world . It has renamed Japan Area 11 and rules the country with a ruthlessness that doesn’t duck away from killing innocents. One Britannian named Lelouch vows to free the country after getting caught up with terrorists and meeting a young girl who gives him the power of Geass, which makes anyone obey any order…

The Eureka Seven franchise returns with a prequel movie that depicts a defining event only hinted at in the TV anime…

Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution    

交響詩篇エウレカセブン ハイエボリューション 「Kokyo shihen Eureka sebun Hai eboryu-shon 1」

Running Time: 109 mins.

Chief Director:  Tomoki Kyoda

Director:  Hisatoshi Shimizu

Writer: Dai Sato (Screenplay),

Starring: Kaori Nazuka (Eureka), yuko Sanpei (Renton Beams/Renton Thurston), Aya Hisakawa (Ray Beams), Juurouta Kosugi (Charles Beams), Tohru Furuya (Adrock Thurston), Michiko Neya (Talho Yuuki),

Animation Production: BONES

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: It has been ten years since the “First Summer of Love” rocked the world and Renton, who lost his father during the event, now attends the army school of the United Federation of Predgio Towers located in the town of Bellforest. Because his late father is still praised as a hero, Renton feels unable to live up to the man’s reputation and his days are boring. Then one day, things change dramatically when a ship called Nirvash, the world’s oldest LFO, appears in front of him and the pilot, a girl named Eureka, emerges from the cockpit. This was the beginning of the future of humans and Scub Coral, another intelligent life-form.

The next one is an original title from one of the most important voices in anime…

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう 「Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou」

Running Time: 115 mins.

Director:  Mari Okada

Writer: Mari Okada (Screenplay),

Starring: Manaka Iwami (Maquia), Miyu Irino (Ariel), Misaki Kuno (Medmel), Tomokazu Sugita (Izol), Hiroaki Hirata (Barlow), Yoko Hikasa (Dita), Rina Satou (Mido),