Happy weekend, everyone!

I hope you are all well!

I’ve been pushed for time this week because Christmas is approaching and parties have been happening. I’ve also had to do a lot of shopping. I had planned to spend December practising my Japanese, French and English and maybe playing a game (90s JRPGs I’ve had on the backburner) but the month has slipped by. At least I got lots of Christmas cards and saw lots of smiles. I’ll practise the languages some other time and run some sets on Capcom vs SNK tonight.

This week was me on a holding pattern as I published news on the next Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme and also information on Third Window Films’ theatrical and home release of One Cut of the Dead (2017).

What is released this weekend?

Nisekoi: False Love    

ニセコイ 「Nisekoi」

Running Time: 98 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: Hayato Kawai

Writer: Shota Koyama, Noriaki Sugihara (Screenplay), Naoshi Komi (Original Manga)

Starring: Kento Nakajima, Ayami Nakajo, Natsumi Ikema, Haruka Shimazaki, Yuta Kishi, Hana Kawamura, Daigo, Kaede Aono, Marika Matsumoto,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: Raku Ichijo (Kento Nakajima) is a high school boy and the only son of the leader of the yakuza group Shuei-gumi. Instead of fighting he studies and is a hit with the ladies. He wants to grow up and become a public official but Chitoge Kirisaki (Ayami Nakajo), a new transfer student at his school, has other ideas. She is the daughter of a rival gang leader and is a fighter. However, to keep the peace between their father’s rival gangs, Raku Ichijo and Chitoge Kirisaki decide to act as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Futatsu no Kino to Boku no Mirai   

ふたつの昨日と僕の未来 「Futatsu no Kino to Boku no Mirai」

Running Time: 98 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: Kenichi Ohmori

Writer: Takuro Fukuda, Kenichi Ohmori (Screenplay),

Starring: Gaku Sano, Itsuki Sagara, Tetsuya Sugaya, Rio Kanno, Yuki Kubota, Mao Miyaji, Satoshi Jinbo,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: Kaito (Gaku Sano) was a marathon runner and hoped to compete in the Olympics but an injury forced him to quit and now he works in a city hall. He is apathetic and drifting through life which is probably why his girlfriend Marino (Itsuki Sagara) leaves him. It seems like he’s had a run of bad luck but things change when, while on a trip in the mountains, he finds a mysterious mine and enters it to stay dry during a sudden storm. What seems like a shelter seems to be a tunnel to an alternate reality, one where Kaito has won a gold medal in the Olympics and he is still with Marino and super popular. Just what is going on?

Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER    

平成仮面ライダー20作記念　仮面ライダー平成ジェネレーションズ FOREVER 「 Kamen Raida- Heisei Jenere-shonzu Foeba-」

Running Time: 100 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: Kyohei Yamaguchi,

Writer: Kento Shimoyama (Screenplay), Shotaro Ishinomori (Original Creator),

Starring: So Okuno, Gaku Oshida, Shieri Ohata, Keisuke Watanabe, Katsuhisa Namase, Atsuhiro Inukai, Kaho Takada,

Website IMDB Kamen Rider Wiki

Synopsis: A powerful Time Jacker named Tid creates two powerful warriors, Another Double and Another Den-O, and sends them after a young boy named Shingo. However Sougo Tokiwa will protect him but Tid and other forces begin to manipulate the other Kamen Riders.

Karappo    

からっぽ 「Karappo」

Running Time: 53 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: Nao Nomura

Writer: Nao Nomura (Screenplay),

Starring: Riko Uchikoshi, Aki Kawachikatsu, Akira Sudo, Tomoki Kimura, Nanako Sakurai, Akane Hirashima, Kentaro Taura,

Website

Synopsis: Nao Nomura makes his feature film debut with this, a graduation work from Musashino Art University and it won the Entertainment Award at the Pia Film Festival Award 2018. A young lady who works numerous part-time jobs to make ends meet falls in with a painter who wants to use her as his muse. She agrees but she feels uncomfortable and begins to get cold feet which is when she meets writer who also wants to use her as a muse. House-hopping and being looked after can’t hide the emptiness she has inside…

Kuma Elohim    

クマ・エロヒーム 「Kuma Erohi-mu」

Running Time: 76 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: Takahiro Sakata

Writer: N/A

Starring: Yukino Murakami, Kosuke Furuya, Aya Takami, Nanami Honda, Ken Kagaya, Maria Malkovich, Takeshi Watanabe,

Badly Translated Synopsis: This is a part crowdfunded near future SF depicting what happens in an ageing society with a declining birthrate which is run by a religious organization. A new system of surrogacy is created and the people who create the children are parted from them which has negative consequences…

Watashi ha Watashi over the rainbow   

私はワタシ over the rainbow 「Watashi ha Watashi over the rainbow」

Running Time: 90 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: Genki Masuda

Writer: N/A (Screenplay),

Starring: Hiroshi Hasegawa, Hiroko Masuhara, Peter, Ai Haruna, Leslie Kee, Fumino Sugihara, Gon Matsunaka,

Website

Synopsis: A documentary that looks at the myriad of LGBT people who have had an impact on the entertainment world in order to reveal the work, joys and conflicts sexual minorities experience.

Voice Actor Bowling Grand Prix 2      

声優ボウリングランプリ2 「Seiyuu Bouringu Guran Puri」

Running Time: 68 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A (Screenplay),

Starring: Sho Nogami, Shun Horie, Takuma Nagatsuka, Yuuki Iwai,

Synopsis: The first volume of Voice Actors Bowling Grand Prix was released in September and we get a second round with new VA who bowl for prizes and bragging rights and, if they lose, are forced to undergo punishment games. This is screened for a week before there is a DVD release and the DVD includes bonus footage.

Planet of Amoebas   

プラネット・オブ・アメーバ 「Puranetto obu Ame-ba」

Running Time: 75 mins.

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Director: Yasushi Koshizaka

Writer: Yasushi Koshizaka, Yuta Takahashi, (Screenplay),

Starring: Nanami Kawakami, Rina Hatsume, Hirokio Ando, Takashi Irie, Aki Morita, Kurumi Nakata, Shinya Orikasa, Marina Yamagishi,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: AV actor Nanami Kawakami has appeared in movies such as Make-Up Room and it’s sequel Make-Up Room 2, Love and Other Cults, and Lowlife Love, playing some variation of her dayjob. She takes on a sci-fi role here as Rei (Nanami Kawakami), a young woman who discovers that Earth girls are being kidnapped and impregnated by mysterious amoebas on a meteorite and then returned to their homes. Next she discovers that her little sister Ami (Rina Usaki) is the latest victim. If that wasn’t traumatic enough, the Ministry of Defence send her to the meteorite alone to do something…

Shounen Hollywood “HOLLY STAGE FOR YOU” Complete Edition   

少年ハリウッド「HOLLY STAGE FOR YOU」完全版 「Shōnen Hariuddo `HOLLY sutēji fōyū’ kanzenhan」

Release Date: December 22nd, 2018

Running Time: N/A

Director: Toshimasa Kuroyanagi, Sumiko Yasurai,

Writer: Ikuyo Hashiguchi (Screenplay/Original Creator/Series Composition),

Starring: Daiki Yamashita (Kira Saeki), Kensho Ono (Shun Maiyama), Ryota Ohsaka (Kakeru Kazami), Shouta Aoi (Daiki Tomii), Tetsuya Kakihara (Ikuma Amaki), Daisuke Kishio (Ryunosuke Date),

Animation Production: ZEXCS

ANN Website

Synopsis: The famous Hollywood Tokyo Theater in Harajuku is where the group Shonen Hollywood was started and there is a new is generation of this famed super group ready to steal the hearts of people around the world. All it takes is talent, training, and lots and lots of singing.

Love & Peace      

ラブ＆ピース 「Rabu　&　Pisu」

Release Date: June 27th, 2015

Running Time: 117 mins.

Director: Sion Sono

Writer: Sion Sono (Screenplay),

Starring:  Hiroki Hasegawa, Kumiko Aso, Tohiyuki Nishida, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Eita Okuno, Makita Sports, Erina Mano, Megumi Kagurazaka, Miyuki Matsuda

Website IMDB

Christmas movies range far and wide in terms of content from Heavenly interventions seen in Frank Capra’s classic It’s A Wonderful Life to the monstrous antics of the little green Gremlins seen in Joe Dante’s same-named film but these appear normal compared to Sion Sono‘s 2015 film Love & Peace takes the seasonal setting and goes down a radically different path as he makes genre mash-up of a Christmas movie with a kaiju/rock opera epic with a little help from Santa…

Ryoichi Suzuki (Hiroki Hasegawa) once dreamed of becoming a punk rock star but he gave up on his dreams and became a salaryman at a musical instrument parts company in Tokyo. Life is miserable because he is bullied by his colleagues and he has no friends but he has feelings for a timid office lady named Yuko Terashima (Kumiko Aso) whose bravery and kindness keeps him from going insane. Alas, he can’t express himself to her but fate soon strikes!

One day, Ryoichi meets a turtle on the rooftop of a department store which he adopts and names Pikadon. They become best friends and Ryoichi begins to hope again but after a vicious instance of workplace bullying Ryoichi panics and flushes Pikadon down a toilet. It seems like he has hit rock bottom as he has betrayed his loyal pal and the world begins to be mean to him again but Pikadon, doesn’t forget his human owner even as he travels down into Tokyo’s sewers which is where he meets a mysterious old man (Toshiyuki Nishida) who has a workshop strewn with Christmas decorations and a collection of talking toys and magic candy and potions. Thanks to one candy in particular, Pikadon begins to make Ryoichi’s dreams come true and his friend becomes the lead singer of punk rock band Revolution Q. This is just the start of a weird adventure that will sweep Ryoichi and all of Tokyo along as Christmas approaches and his dreams keep getting bigger!

Taking the lead is Hiroki Hasegawa. Having previously worked with Sono as the mad cinephile in the yakuza movie comedy Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, he is a revelation here. His physical performance is impeccable as a cowardly and skittish man transforming into an arrogant pop star. His first incarnation is all tremulous body hunched over in fear as we see him get hammered by humiliations. Director Sono communicates his mindset with set-decoration and camerawork with POV shots and close-ups in tight spaces where the other actors are leaning in on him with mocking smiles and insults. The desperation radiates off the man and this shows us how socially maladroit he is and also the depth of his loneliness which is how we come to love the care and attention that Pikadon and Yuko Terahsima bring as he becomes dependent on them for comfort and they return his affections.

Ryoichi’s rise to the top is then a familiar tale of a man selling out and it’s easy to understand. In concise sequences we see how the faces of those around him change from hostile to adoring as riches pour forth and we hear the music get more professional and the videos flashier and Hasegawa loses that hunched look to straighten up and become more expressive. He stands centre stage strumming a guitar and singing genuinely catchy songs as he turns into Wild Ryo, a man who can fill stadiums and then a pretentious and cruel pop star who breathlessly brags about his skill. Ironically, at the height of his fame, as he is about to cast off his precious friends and becomes a monstrous egomaniac, he makes the song Kizuna 絆 (connection). It is only when Pikadon achieves a monstrous size himself and threatens all of Tokyo that Ryoichi comes back down to earth.

The early parts of the script are full of foreshadowing as plot points and lyrics of the songs that Ryoichi creates are displayed in play session between him and Pikadon and then later echoed. Viewers will see every idea from the opening echoed throughout the film until the end credits in a brilliantly written script that culminates on Christmas as Pikadon makes Ryoichi’s stadium-sized dreams come true.

Pikadon starts out as a normal turtle that Ryoichi carries in his pocket but by the end the creature reaches an epic size after a sparkly adventure with the other toys and animals owned by the old man who is clearly Santa. 

In these sequences, bright colours and decorations light up the screen in glorious reds and greens and yellows and we are in an alternate world of playtime with these toys and creatures who run riot but there is also a melancholy note because they have been discarded. Pikadon’s adventures with the old man and his toys offer a commentary on how society is built on disposable happiness and the value of loyalty pales in comparison to ephemeral satisfaction that money and new items bring. Just as Ryoichi discards people, the have been discarded. The toys long for their human owners despite being mistreated. Interestingly Ryoichi is still massively unhappy despite fame and fortune clouding his view and we know it’s because his eagerness for fame and fotune has blinded him to the real treasures in life: love and friendship. It’s Oliver Twist levels of pathos at times and it takes Pikadon being in peril to awaken that realisation in the rocker. 

Sono keeps the politics flowing through the background of the film as he criticises the lack of political and historical awareness in a younger media-fed generation who don’t know anything about the atomic bombings of Japan and takes aim at an entertainment industry that creates blind followers. This is something similar to his film Suicide Club (2002) only less bloody and less reliant on metaphors and symbolism.

These themes are mixed with a typical tale of one man’s corruption by fame but what saves Ryoichi and gives the film so much heart is the loyalty and love of those closest to him leaving the film in Pikadon and Yuko’s hands to deliver a one-two punch of sentimentality and hope at the end that had me crying. Kumiko Aso, the lady running around in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s horror film Pulse is a solid anchor in that regard but this is all about Ryoichi and Pikadon whose friendship is pure tear-fuel.

Whether it is time spent with family or loved ones, Christmas truly is a time for love. I hope everyone takes care of each other and things get better.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Hello everyone, welcome to the last trailer post of 2018!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday period or are about to have one!

My Christmas was okay. Quiet. I didn’t watch many films but I did practice a lot of Japanese and mastered some difficult kanji which I can write from memory!

We are coming up to the new year and so people in Japan are preparing for Hatsumode and people in the west, well, we’re preparing for parties. Now is a time for reflection, a time to put negative things away and to make the promise to do better. Life is a learning experience and the important thing to remember is to keep trying to be better. In my case, braver and kinder and more organised so I can learn and understand much more.

In terms of film posts, just one this week: Love and Peace (2015) which is the ultimate Christmas movie. Expect more to come before the year is out.

What is released this weekend in Japan? Just one film but next weekend has a lot more! What is the film???

A Banana? At This Time of Night?   

こんな夜更けにバナナかよ　愛しき実話 「Konna Yofuke ni Banana kayo: Kanashiki Jitsuwa」

Running Time: 120 mins.

Release Date: December 28, 2018

Director: Tetsu Maeda

Writer: Hiroshi Hashimoto (Screenplay), Kazufumi Watanabe (Original Novel),

Starring: Yo Oizumi, Mitsuki Takahata, Haruma Miura, Masato Hagiwara, Makiko Watanabe, Koichi Sato, Mieko Harada, Shohei Uno, Hanae Kan,

Website IMDB

This is based on a true story that took place in lead actor Yo Oizumi’s home town. He’s a good actor who does every-man and comic roles well. This one seems like a combination of the two as he takes on a person with muscular dystrophy who has a different sense of humour who just wants to be normal. Expect pathos after the laughter. He is partnered with two good actors, Haruma Miura (Tokyo Koen), Mitsuki Takahata (Japanese Girls Never Die), Makiko Watanabe (Love Exposure), Koichi Sato (Starfish Hotel) and Hanae Kan (Yamato California). 

Synopsis: Yasuaki Kano (Yo Oizumi) a man with muscular dystrophy. He has had it since the age of 12 but that doesn’t stop him trying to live life to the fullest including being mischievous in ways from an eccentric sense of humour to escaping the hospital. It’s totally in character for him to say he wants to eat a banana late at night.

He meets Hisashi Tanaka (Haruma Miura), a medical student doing volunteer work at his hospital. Hisashi kind of likes him but when Yasuaki develops a crush on Hisashi’s girlfriend Misaki Ando (Mitsuki Takahata) Hisashi finds himself in a bind..

2018 was the year of “I haven’t achieved my dream yet but I do what I want”. I travelled back to Japan for a second time and spent a month in the country, visiting places from Kawagoe to Onomichi and some things in between and I worked at the Osaka Asian Film Festival again. I’ve become involved in more than just Kotatsu, I have become part of other festivals in Europe and America which is so much fun and such an honour because I love films. I have also continued to contribute to V-Cinema and Anime UK News, typically highlighting indie gems, many of which form my top ten titles of the year.

To summarise what I have experienced in terms of cinema, I have contributed to V-Cinema’s end of year post which will be out soon. 

Now here is my Top Ten Films of 2018, starting with number one…

Columbus (Dir: Kogonada) I watched this one twice at the Osaka Asian Film Festival and came out of each screening in tears because its tale of children having to make the decision to connect or separate with a parent resonated with me. Fantastic acting, cinematography and a haunting score and an intelligent script gave me something wonderful to engage with.

Love and Peace (Dir: Sion Sono) I reviewed four Sono films this year but none hit the sweet spot like this charmer. A tale of a man corrupted by rock stardom given to him by his friend, a turtle, that turns into a kaiju movie that culminates on Christmas day takes the audiences to fun places with a witty script and acting and adventurous visuals but what got me the most was how sincere and openly affectionate it was.

Of Love and Law (Dir: Hikaru Toda) There is a lot of hatred and selfishness out there in the world but Hikaru Toda’s documentary film offers an alternative vision where love and kindness and looking after our fellow man take precedent. It follows two wonderful lawyers who take the cases of those who are at risk of being left out of society and we see how traditions like gender roles and closet fascism can hurt people and those brave enough to defend the human rights and free speech of others.

Amiko (Dir: Yoko Yamanaka) First love can hurt and this is something high school girl Amiko finds out when the object of her affection disappears. The film strikes some sad notes at the end but remains playful and defiant in the way Yamanaka keeps the tone light with her energetic shooting style and in how her main character, the titular Amiko takes to the world with her free-wheeling and rebellious attitude. Also, random dancing.

Ordinary Everyday (Dir: Noriko Yuasa) A teacher gets mixed up one of his student’s family and ends up in a psycho-thriller. I like a good supernatural tale and this delivered on it. Shot in down-town Tokyo what we have in this short is a superb build-up of atmosphere through visual and aural elements that keep the story off-kilter until we get to the ending which will have audiences flawed and laughing. Noriko Yuasa is definitely a director to watch.

Room for Let (Dir: Yuzo Kawashima) I’m scratching the surface of Kawashima’s career having watched four of his films but this one is my favourite. It is a warm-hearted and rambunctious tale of a bunch of oddball characters washed up in a mansion overlooking Osaka in post-war Japan. Everyone is unique and funny and dealing with their own mostly comedic problems and as we sort through them we get closer to them and begin to never want to part company.

The Sower (Dir: Yosuke Takeuchi) This is a first-rate drama about how people deal with mental health as one man faces ostracisation from his own family after a tragedy occurs to an innocent. It features raw emotions that create harrowing moments of cinema but also life affirming ones that will make you see the value of human connections.

Interview with the director.

The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (Dir: Kazuo Hara) I watched this when I was just beginning high school and it had a massive impact on me because of the subject of the doc, Kenzo Okuzaki, an anti-establishmentarian who goes on a rampage across Japan looking to uncover the truth behind possible wartime massacres. Watching it again this year was a reminder of how boundary-breaking the man was as he defies cultural mores to bring justice to those who had their lives thrown away in war.

Here and Here (Dir: Yoshimasa Jimbo) A pregnant writer travels around Busan, South Korea, collecting people’s first memories but she is worried about the health of her baby. This turns from a travelogue of sorts into a spiritually moving tale but its done with simplicity of writing and direction. A beautiful film that had me choked up. I got to meet the director and lead actor and get their autographs.

Sweet Bean (Dir: Naomi Kawase) 2018 saw the world lose veteran actor Kirin Kiki so I reviewed this 2015 film. It is a story of characters isolated from society who form bonds and find themselves brought back to life. The characters face the unfairness of their lives and still manage to find beauty. Kiki’s character remains a source of positivity and hearing her talk about her emotions and background proved to be a massively moving experience in this quiet but moving film. It also helps that this is a beautiful thanks to the scenes bathed in the pink glows of cherry blossom trees.

Honourable Mentions:

Nagisa, Night Working, The Scythian Lamb, Hanagatami

Welcome to my last post of 2018.

I hope everyone is well and has had a good year.

2018 has been fantastic for me and even if I haven’t been able to respond to everything, I’ve still had fun and made friends. I wrote a piece for V-Cinema about my cinematic highlights and I’ve adapted parts of my entry for this post.

Everything started in the UK at the Japan Foundation’s Touring Film where a friend and I watched Yuzo Kawashima’s Room to Let (1959), an ensemble comedy with a set of sometimes sad, often-times funny characters who lodge together in an old mansion overlooking a rapidly expanding Osaka. It was a thrill to see the city in the 50s and recognise places and it was a pleasure living together with that collection of characters all of whom showed an infectious desire to live and love even if their way of life was slightly wayward. By the end I felt sad that I was leaving their company after seeing their fun misadventures.

Within a month of seeing Osaka on the screen I would be there in person for the Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF), an event which has become one of the best at catching the trends in Asian cinema first by often giving festival berths to female film-makers, political works and emerging talents. Whilst there I watched a diverse slate of stories from Filipino and Hong Kong-based film-makers but my personal highlights were watching the Japanese indie titles and interviewing the film-makers.

New Discoveries in Film-makers

I try to support different and interesting voices in film and I was able to find a lot thanks to OAFF.

I became a big fan of Noriko Yuasa based on Ordinary Everyday (2017), her psycho-thriller which featured a seemingly normal Tokyo family turned menacing thanks to the machinations of a supernatural force. I ended up reviewing two of her earlier films in the latter half of 2018, Looking For My Lost Sunflowers and Girl, Wavering. I missed out on interviewing Yuasa which is a regret but I hope to see her again in the future.

Kushina, what will you be (2018) by Moët Hayami took me from the city and into a mysterious community in a forest and I became enraptured in a wonder of the natural world Hayami weaved on screen through her strong vision. Hayami was the first film-maker I had interviewed in about five years but the whole thing went smoothly and I found her to be an intense and intelligent person who I hope will grace the screen with her vision again.

Rina Tanaka’s Filled With Steam, despite some awkward comedy, nailed the nagging sense of dissatisfaction people who fall out of love experience and ends on a heartbreaking sequence that I still remember clearly despite it being months ago. The interview that followed the film screening was riotous at times as I sat across from Tanaka’s team and talked about the film. I reviewed another of Tanaka’s film, Snake Beneath the Flower Petals a couple of weeks ago.

I found myself profoundly moved by the humanism of two films: Yosuke Takeuchi’s The Sower (2016), was a harrowing experience as he took time to unfold a tapestry of repressed anger, guilt, and discrimination following a tragedy and Korean-American Kogonada’s 2017 film Columbus featured the unwinding of painfully tangled parent-child emotions takes place in the same-named town in America famous for its modernist architecture. Both had emotionally potent knockout endings which left me in tears. I interviewed Takeuchi during OAFF and found him to be an intelligent and kind fellow who I was at ease with and subsequently enjoyed talking about different acting styles at one of the OAFF parties.

On a similar note, I talked with Daisuke Miyazaki was back in Osaka with TOURISM, with a light and intriguing road trip with models turned actors Nina Endo and SUMIRE who ventured into Singapore. It turned into a meditation on globalisation and alienation but also the pleasures of exploration and featured a cool spontaneous dance sequence all of which I got to talk to him about during our interview.

A Short Bit About Travel

Overall, everything I wrote about showed directors with strong control of and inventiveness in narrative and mise-en-scene which made their youth-oriented stories refreshing.

While in Japan I explored places I hadn’t when I had lived there from 2016 to mid-2017. There was a day-trip with a friend to Kawagoe just north of Tokyo, which is famous for it’s Edo-era atmosphere and sweets, and Onomichi just south of Okayama. The latter two are locations used frequently in older films from the likes of Yoshitaro Nomura and Nobuhiko Obayashi and I found myself tracking down certain locations used in films like Tokyo Story but the real pleasure came in just enjoying being in another culture and experiencing new ways of thinking. I remember clearly leaving Onomichi’s tiny station and walking amidst the hills to my lodging and then down along the port and greeting people young and old. These feelings spiked with days out at coffee shops, restaurants, shrines, temples with friends as I savoured human connections before my return to Europe.

Back in the UK, I continued to work as a pen-for-hire at different festivals in various capacities and watched many films but I really enjoyed two indie titles thanks to Amiko (2018) and Of Love and Law (2017) which played as part of Japan Cuts. They come from Yoko Yamanaka and Hikaru Toda, respectively.

While the first has a conventional story of first love gone awry it is refreshingly different because it features a protagonist who fizzes with energy and verve and Yamanaka’s direction matches the character’s subversive and idiosyncratic behaviour by being off-kilter and adventurous. I found it breezy and charming. It’s energetic and that’s what I like to see.

Hikaru Toda’s film is a documentary following Japan’s first law firm run by an openly gay couple, Kazuyuki “Kazu” Minami and Masafumi “Fumi” Yoshida. They take the cases of anyone who does not conform to social norms and through the central pair and their work, funny, warm-hearted and loving as they are, we get a wider look at Japanese society, its conservatism and growing nationalism and see people committed to defending the rights of individuals and just showing kindness. For people around the world who worry about the lack of empathy, this is the perfect antidote.

Anime Autumn

An aspect of Japan I have always loved is anime and so I worked for friend’s anime festival in September and October. Going into the event I was aware that after two years of stellar titles, 2018 saw anime studios falling back on producing entries for familiar series like Gundam. That written, female directors continued to make waves with critically acclaimed films. Naoko Yamada followed up her powerful drama A Silent Voice with the low-key but emotionally touching relationship drama Liz and the Blue Bird. Mari Okada, a prolific anime screenwriter made her directorial debut with Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, a distinctive fantasy story about an elfen girl who adopts a human child. It was a visually and aurally moving experience set in a world reminiscent of Renaissance era Venice. Its look at motherhood and human connections in many forms was very moving and left myself and the audience I was with very emotional.

I tried a selection of other anime with the new JoJo’s and Golden Kamuy and I’m trying to finish those off.

Winter of 2018 featured plenty of films and a renewed focus on learning English and Japanese as well as French. I’ve managed to memorise a lot of kanji.

We lost two acting talents in the year, Ren Osugi and Kirin Kiki and so we should remember them and others who passed away.

As far as this blog goes I had set myself the goal of beating 30-something film reviews published and I hit it, finishing the year on 54. I watched many more films but didn’t publish every review. I hope to do better next year. I also featured a lot more reviews from female filmmakers and indie directors.

I try and shine a spotlight on Japanese films and alert the world to unheralded titles and indies and I feel I did an okay job this year. I can always improve.

My resolutions for 2018 

• I will travel across more of Japan,

• I will learn to speak, read, write and listen to Japanese to a much higher level than I currently do,

• I will write down more of my adventures,

• I will improve my writing style,

• I will find a super-positive direction in my life,

• I will continue to review films.

I could cross off most of those resolutions but I won’t because they are lifelong things (which explains the word “remix” in the title because I will constantly work on it but approach it differently). I want to continue doing all of these things which is why I have been working a lot in my day job and also on other projects. I hope to improve myself in every area and become a better person. So…

My resolutions for 2019

• I will travel across more of Japan,

• I will learn to speak, read, write and listen to Japanese to a much higher level than I currently do,

• I will write down more of my adventures,

• I will improve my writing style,

• I will become super super positive,

• I will continue to review films.

I want to give shout-outs to some of my fellow bloggers and Twitter-users who have been with me:

Windows on Worlds, mibih, Usagi to Neko, échec et (ciné)mat, Denny Sinnoh, FJMag1979, JaeSwoon, the Kotatsu team, Third Window Films, Japan Cuts/Japan Society in New York,  Japan Foundation in London and the guys and gals over at VCinema

There are many more and a thank you goes out to those not mentioned.

Major shout-outs to friends and family across the world. You guys are in my heart. Thanks for sticking with me.

Resolutions are cool but 2019 is going to be the year of making dreams real! Let’s make them happen! Positive energy! Let’s go!

Happy New Year! Stay dandy, everyone!

よいお年をお迎え下さい。

One Cut of the Dead    

カメラを止めるな！ 「Kamera wo tomeru na!」

Running Time: 96 mins.

Release Date: November 04th, 2017

Director:  Shinichiro Ueda

Writer: Shinichiro Ueda (Screenplay),

Starring: Takayuki Hamatsu, MAO, Harumi Syuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Manabu Hosoi, Tomokazu Yamaguchi,

IMDB        Website

One Cut of the Dead was created by the ENBU Seminar guys, an outfit who do indie films on a shoestring budget with somewhat experienced crews working with newbie actors. Originally released in November 2017, it disappeared before being picked up by film distribution house Third Window Films and soon it was touring international festivals racking up awards and buzz throughout 2018. It won runner-up in the audience vote in the Udine Far East Festival while taking audience awards at a variety of fests like Yubari in Japan, Camera Japan in Holland, Reel Asian in Canada, and more. In 2019 it is unleashed across the UK as Third Window Films gives it a theatrical and then home release.

With so many awards and nothing but praise from fans and critics, film-makers and publicists, the hype is big for this film so I went into it with some trepidation, that I might be out of step with nearly the rest of the world and not feel anything. Thankfully I was charmed and enjoyed it a lot. Before I go further, part of my enjoyment was not knowing what happens in the story and so I make this request to those who have not watched it: avoid trailers and reviews and just watch the film however you can.

The story starts in media res with a small crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie that looks like any other number of enjoyably rotten J-horror forays into the genre such as Zombie Self-Defence Force (2006) where the zombies are people painted a shade of bluey-green and the set-dressing, special effects and locations are noticeably cheap.

Adhering to the cheap and cheerful ethos is this film production being shot in an abandoned water-filtration plant in the mountains. Amongst the cast are a “serious actor” named Kazuaki Kamiya (Kazuaki Nagaya) who is meant to be causing his co-star, a waif-like idol named Aika Matsumoto (Yuzuki Akiyama), to be terrified as he shambles towards her and attempts to chow down on her neck. She lacks the experience to show emotions so the scene falls flat which drives the director mad. We find out that this is the 42^nd take and the director, Higurashi (Takayuki Hamatsu), has had enough. He flies off the handle and into Aika’s personal space in a rage and berates her with a great line, “Give me real fear! The true shiver in your face!” Seeing the man lose his grip, the film’s make-up artist, Nao (Harumi Syuhama), steps in to save the cast from Higurashi’s tirade and the director storms off to the roof to do something with fake blood.

During a tense break, the remaining cast and crew try and clear the atmosphere and warm to each other by trading stories. Nao tells everyone of the director’s desperation to get the project finished and the urban legends surrounding their shooting location, a place where the Japanese army practised dark experiments in resurrecting the dead. Rumours come to life when genuine honest to goodness zombies start showing up and chowing down on the crew. Nao becomes a warrior woman leading the two young actors on an epic escape from the recently turned assistant director and other shamblers which is when Higurashi reappears with his own camera and a maniacal grin. Does the director stop shooting? Hell no! This is the zombie movie he dreamed of!

(Final spoiler warning)

This is part of One Cut of the Dead’s much talked about opener where audiences get to enjoy an ambitious full-throttle one camera one-take chase sequence which, from beginning to end, lasts 37 breathless minutes and involves a sole camera-person and actors racing around the water filtration plant. This is a dance with complex choreography as people pop in and out of little scenes to create a lot action at the right moments. Everyone hits their marks perfectly to make it happen. It is a bravura performance from all involved to create a prime example of b-movie material as people howl while holding prosthetic limbs and fake blood coats the set. It also sets up a switch in direction for the wider narrative as we soon realise we are seeing the end result of a film production and One Cut of the Dead adopts the film within a film approach to give viewers a gentle self-reflexive and satirical look at the world of film-making.

It turns out that the opening 37 minutes are all part of a live television broadcast and we get a full understanding of how such a project comes into being by rewinding a month earlier to the inception when care-free television execs hired the most pliable director and bankable actors they could find and we see everyone assembled for this ambitious production. It provides another dimension on what we have already watched. Characterisation and comedy carry the film as we get a new perspective on people we have already met by sitting in on the script read-throughs and then seeing how they work together on location. Idols turned wannabe actors are hired alongside “artistes”, a beer-soaked veteran, and one poor actor who suffers from diarrhoea if given the wrong things to drink. The cast are being carried by a harried and harassed crew comprised of newbies who love horror and experienced and cynical veterans and we see they do even more racing around the set than the actors to make everything work.

Through giving us the behind the scenes action of the opening 37 minutes the audience gets an insight into how cheap zombie flicks are made with bad make-up, B-movie camerawork, silly plot holes and characterisation that afflict nearly every example of the genre showing up here. We also see how everyone played a part, their different character traits and talents feeding into the sometimes chaotic but always fun process. It allows Ueda and his cast to play up the humour of the lo-fi realities of making films on a budget complete with the thrills of potential disasters as cast go AWOL, emergency toilet breaks happen during filming, cheap prosthetic get thrown around and equipment is damaged. It is all good-natured and there is immense satisfaction in seeing the saves each person brings to a production which is perpetually teetering on the brink of disaster and we understand just how much passion and effort was involved. That would be enough for a film but the script has one more genre twist to give us with some family drama interwoven in the action.

Higurashi, the insane auteur at the beginning, is more than just an actor, he is the director at the helm of the project. He is cheerful and unassuming and a bit of a hack who describes himself as “fast, cheap, but average” but beneath his gentle smile and patient eyes is a passionate man with enough acting experience to channel the emotions he has built up through some method acting as he takes on the role of mad cinephile. Tough as nails make-up artist Nao is Higurashi’s wife. She herself is a method actor who had to quit acting because she goes a little too deep into character which is played for laughs in the film as she takes the role too seriously. Higurashi and Nao have a daughter named Mao who wants to get into film-making and has characteristics of both of her parents through her passion for film she keeps the production rolling.

This is like the family friendly version of an earlier Third Window Film release called Lowlife Love. We see the film industry picked apart on the indie end of the spectrum, just without the bitterness and negativity that some experience. This is an ode to the joys of film-making. The infectious enthusiasm of everyone involved, from assistants to television execs, in the making of this B-movie radiates from the screen as people overcome the chaos unfolding around them to deliver something entertaining for audiences. Everyone cares and everyone takes part. This enthusiasm lifts even a throwaway film to the level of worthwhile entertainment. This is why I was charmed by it. I hope you get the chance to be charmed, too.

After a career of short films writer and director Shinichiro Ueda brilliantly announces his arrival as a feature film-maker through this loving crafted and complex story dedicated to creativity. A loving tribute to film made through many complex processes, One Cut of the Dead gives us the joys and terrors of life making films through a quality slice of zombie action.

Also, stick around during the end credits to see the real deal.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Also, Happy New Year!

Welcome to my first trailer post of 2019. I trust that everyone is well and enjoyed their holiday period. After a nice break the fight is back on. I find myself facing some big otome game scripts to work on as well as wanting to write about films for fun and so it’s a case of working all hours I can get. I’m confident I can deliver the game on time and do the film work as well.

In terms of posts here, the beginning of the week was spent saying goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019 and also a review of One Cut of the Dead which I watched a couple of weeks ago for the first time. I also posted my Top Ten Films of 2018, a list made up of films that provide a transcendent experience.

What is released this weekend? A LOT!

Some great indies including one starring Nagiko Tsuji who is becoming one of my new favourite actors!

YUKIGUNI    

ゆきぐに 「YUKIGUNI」

Running Time: 87 mins.

Release Date: January 02nd, 2019

Director:  Satoshi Watanabe

Writer: N/A

Starring: Keiichi Iiyama, Kaoru Kobayashi (Narration)

Website

Synopsis: At the age of 92, Keiichi Iiyama is Japan’s oldest active bartender. After being born in Sakata city in Yamagata Prefecture, he lived through the reign of three emperors and has seen a lot of history not least the post-war years when he started working as a bartender. He also made history because he is credited with creating one of the most popular drinks amongst bartenders, “Snow Country” (Yukiguni) which won the All-Japan Home Cocktail Competition sponsored by Toshiya (Suntory’s predecessor) in 1955. This documentary, narrated by the actor Kaoru Kobayashi (Shinya Shokudo) looks at the life of the man who sadly lost his wife during shooting. It tells the secret story of ‘Snow Country’ and helps revive ties with family members.

Trains on Parade Major Private Railway Collection Kansai Edition    

列車大行進　大手私鉄コレクション　関西編 「Ressha dai kōshin ōte shitetsu korekushon Kansai-hen」

Running Time: 65 mins.

Release Date: January 04th, 2019

Director:  N/A

Writer: N/A

Starring: N/A

Website

Synopsis: Vicom’s popular Blu-ray / DVD “Train’s on Parade” series introduces trains in various parts of Japan and this one gets a screening in Kansai. The focus for this film are the trains in the Kansai area where five major companies have dominated traditionally dominated: Kintetsu, Keihan, Nankai, Hankyu and Hanshin. In 2018, “Osaka Metro” was born. Each of the companies and their trains are profiled with archive footage as well as new footage telling their stories.

Trains on Parade Major Private Railway Collection Kanto Edition   

列車大行進　大手私鉄コレクション　関東編 「Ressha dai kōshin ōte shitetsu korekushon Kanto-hen」

Running Time: 66 mins.

Release Date: January 04th, 2019

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

Starring: N/A

Website

Synopsis: Vicom’s popular Blu-ray / DVD “Train’s on Parade” series introduces trains in various parts of Japan and this one gets a screening in Kanto. The focus here is the Kanto area as the film introduces the most commonly used commuter and limited express type trains in operation.

Trains of Japan on Parade 2019    

日本列島　列車大行進 2019 「Nipponrettō ressha dai kōshin 2019」

Running Time: 92 mins.

Release Date: January 04th, 2019

Director:  N/A

Writer: N/A

Starring: N/A

Website

Synopsis: Vicom’s popular Blu-ray / DVD “Train’s on Parade” series introduces trains in various parts of Japan and this one gets a screening all over the country. This edition is dedicated to Shinkansen (bullet trains) and sightseeing trains that run all over Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu, we will introduce about 170 types including new models such as “E353 Series Limited Express Super Azusa” and “Odakyu Romance Car GSE”.

Trains on Parade 2019 Kids Passion    

れっしゃだいこうしん2019キッズバージョン 「Ressha dai kōshin 2019 Kizzu Pa-shon」

Running Time: 38 mins.

Release Date: January 04th, 2019

Director:  N/A

Writer: N/A

Starring: N/A

Website

Synopsis: Kids ride trains so I guess they like them so they get their own film where three characters, Doctor Tetsudo, Kenta-kun, and Sumika-chan introduce trains. These screenings take place at Aeon cinemas throughout the country.

Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow   

ラブライブ！サンシャイン!! The School Idol Movie Over the Rainbow 「Rabu Raibu! Sanshain!! The School Idol Movie Over the Rainbow」

Release Date: January 04th, 2019

Running Time: 100 mins.

Director: Kazuo Sakai

Writer: Jukki Hanada (Screenplay), Hajime Yatate, Sakurako Kimino (Original Creator),

Starring: Ai Furuhata (Ruby Kurosawa), Aika Kobayashi (Yoshiko “Yohane” Tsushima), Aina Suzuki (Mari Ohara), Anju Inami (Chika Takami),

Animation Production: SUNRISE

ANN MAL Website

Synopsis: This is a sequel to the main series where the Uranohoshi Girls’ High School’s idol group Aquors won the final Love Live contest. While preparing to enrole at a new school, the first and second-year students encounter unexpected trouble and the third-year students go missing during their graduation trip in Italy. Through their crises they learn the value of friendship.

Made in Abyss: Tabidachi no Yoake    

劇場版総集編　前編　メイドインアビス　旅立ちの夜明け 「Gekijouban soushuuhen zenpen meido in abisu tabidachi no yoake」

Release Date: January 04th, 2019

Running Time: 119 mins.

Director: Masayuki Kojima

Writer: Hideyuki Kurata (Screenplay), Akihito Tsukushi (Original Creator),

Starring: Mariya Ise (Reg), Miyu Tomita (Riko), Shiori Igawa (Nanachi), Sayaka Ohara (Ozen), Aki Toyosaki (Marulk), Mutsumi Tamura (Nat),

Animation Production: Kinema Citrus

ANN MAL Website

Synopsis from Anime News Network: In the story, an enormous pit and cave system called the “Abyss” is the only unexplored place in the world. Strange and wonderful creatures reside in its depths, and it is full of precious relics that current humans are unable to make. The mysteries of the Abyss fascinate humans, and they head down to explore. The adventurers who venture into pit are known as “Cave Raiders.” A little orphan girl named Rico lives in the town of Ōsu on the edge of the Abyss. Her dream is to become a Cave Raider like her mother and solve the mysteries of the cave system. One day, Rico starts exploring the caves and discovers a robot who resembles a human boy.

Astral Abnormal Suzuki-san   

アストラル・アブノーマル鈴木さん 「Asutoraru・Abunomaru Suzuki-san」

Running Time: 87 mins.

Release Date: January 05th, 2019

Director:  Daisuke Ono

Writer: Daisuke Ono (Screenplay),

Starring: Honoka Matsumoto, Mayuko Nishiyama, Taketo Tanaka, Kotoha Hiroyama, Tomoki Kimura, Tani Nobara, Kei Kato,

Website

Synopsis: Boredom and the internet makes people crazy. Take Rara Suzuki (Honoka Matsumoto), a young woman who lives in Gunma. That means she lives in the country. There’s nothing to do beyond pachinko so she becomes a YouTuber and she has to do crazy things to get noticed. And so the cycle of madness continues. Living with her is her mother and younger brother who patiently bear with her absurd gags which attracts the attention of a TV director. Rara takes advantage of this situation. She feels she was on course for stardom but her sister stole her thunder and became a star. Wouldn’t you know it, just as Rara is scheming to make it big, her sister comes back to town.

This film originally began life last year in June when the first of 17 short videos was released on YouTube’s AlphaBoat Stories channel. That content has been edited into this film.

Anime joshi gaiden ai no tsubasa karetsu    

アニメ女子・外伝　藍の翼・カーレッ 「Anime joshi gaiden ai no tsubasa karetsu」

Running Time: 87 mins.

Release Date: January 05th, 2019

Director:  Manabu Suga

Writer: Takao Isami, Koichi Murakami (Screenplay),

Starring: Reina Fujie, Ami Maeda, Aki Takajo, Jun Iwamoto, Etsuko Shimamatsu, Tomoko Matsuno, Hiroko Tanaka,

Synopsis: Three graduates from AKB48 star in this omnibus story depicting three women who dream of leaving a certain circumstance, like working in the care industry and a boring marriage, and being in the notoriously low-paying and sleep depriving animation industry. The three former idols also contribute the theme song, the first time they have recorded together since leaving the group.

Tetsuya Kumagawa K Ballet Company “Romeo and Juliet” in Cinema       

熊川哲也 Kバレエ カンパニー 「ロミオとジュリエット」 in Cinema 「Kumakawa tetsuya K barē kanpanī `Romio to Jurietto’ in Cinema」

Running Time: N/A

Release Date: January 05th, 2019

Director: Tetsuya Kumakawa

Writer: N/A

Starring: Shiori Asakawa, Shuntaro Miyao, Shuuya Ishibashi,

Synopsis:  This is the ninth in a series of films that bring the performances of the Kumagawa Tetsuya K Ballet Company to the cinema screen. The story of Romeo and Juliet is the source of the performance which took place in October 2018 at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Great Hall. It looks like a straigh adaptation set in Renaissance-era Verona with the Montague and Capulet families and their feud ruining things for the titular Romeo and Juliet. Asakawa Shiroi, the prima ballerina for K Ballet Company, plays Juliet and this is her final role.

A movie theater said to be the best in the world    

世界一と言われた映画館 「Sekai ichi to iwareta eigakan」

Running Time: 67 mins.

Release Date: January 05th, 2019

Director:  Hirokazu Sato

Writer: N/A

Starring: Keichi Iiyama, Nobuyuki Doi, Yoshihiro Sato, Eiko Kato, Keiji Ota, Ren Osugi (Narration),

Website IMDB

Synopsis: Documentary collecting testimony about the legendary Green House cinema in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture that opened in 1949 and survived the Sakata Great Fire that occurred in October 1976. Ren Osugi does the narration and Keiichi Iiyama appears.

Night of the Dead Geisha    

温泉しかばね芸者 「Onsen Shikabane Geisha」

Running Time: 45 mins.

Release Date: January 05th, 2019

Director:  Kiyoto Naruse

Writer: Kirari Tanaka (Screenplay),

Starring: Nagiko Tsuji, Ruby Nakamura, Kohei Nagano, Satoshi Nishikori, Iona,

Website

Synopsis: Misa Murai (played by the wonderful Nagiko Tsuji) is a mediocre screenwriter who is often ordered to rewrite her scripts by directors and often forced to rewrite the rewrites. Her latest project is the legend of a cursed geisha in a small village which is hidden deep in the mountains. The legend proves to be dynamite inspiration for Misa who writes the script at amazing speed. However, fiction turns real as the president of a movie production company is killed by the geisha acting according to her script. Misa decides to take revenge on everyone mean to her through her own scenario.

Okechimyaku    

おけちみゃく 「Okechimyaku」

Running Time: 69 mins.

Release Date: January 05th, 2019

Director:  Hokuin Akihira

Writer: Yukie Ochiai (Screenplay),

Starring: Toshiki Ayata, Bengal, Motoya Izumi, Kotomi Takahata, Masafumi Inami, Sara,

Website

Synopsis: A fantasy period drama based on a rakugo tale that takes place during the sengoku period where Emma, the Great King of Hades, sees his realm face a crisis as people are escaping visiting his realm through “Okechimyaku“. This is a stamp given out by monks at a temple to the deceased that absolves their past sins and guarantees a trip to heaven. It’s pretty cheap, too! Both rich and poor are getting the stamp and even fearsome warlord Hideyoshi Toyotomi wants to get his hands on it. Emma decides the best way to solve the problem is to call upon the services of the great thief Ishikawa Goemon to steal the stamp.

Train to Busan   

부산행 「Busanhaeng」

Running Time: 118 mins.

Release Date: July 20th, 2016

Director:  Yeon Sang-Ho

Writer: Yeon Sang-Ho, Park Joo-Suk (Screenplay),

Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-Mi, Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Soo-Ahn, Kim Eui-Sung, Choi Woo-Sik, Ahn So-Hee, Shim Eun-Kyung,

IMDB

Train to Busan was something of a global success for the Korean film industry in 2016 when it played to rave reviews at sold-out screenings in a variety of festivals. Familiarity with director Yeon Sang-Ho’s previous works which are animated dramas The King of Pigs and The Fake (both released in the UK under Terracotta) won’t prepare you for this film which is a non-stop thriller light on horror but never sidelines character development.

The action follows Seok-Woo (Gong Yoo), a handsome fund manager who lives with his daughter Soo-An (Kim Soo-Ahn) and mother in a fancy apartment in Seoul. The demands of his job meant his wife disembarked from the marriage and it is now affecting his relationship with his daughter who he doesn’t spend time with. Indeed, this is shown in how he misses a school recital and tasks a subordinate to get the cute girl a Nintendo Wii for her birthday little realising that he had bought one a few months earlier. Soo-An, feeling neglected, insists on staying with her mother in Busan for her birthday. A heartbreaking, “I won’t waste your time. I can go alone by myself.” uttered by Soo-An gets across the distance between the two.

Seok-Woo feels the gap and the guilt but he has no other choice but to take her on a train to Busan.

They catch the early-morning KTX train for Busan at Seoul Station. It is probably the first train out since Seok-Woo plans to be back in work by the afternoon but what he doesn’t realise is that a veritable zombie apocalypse is already underway and his plans will soon be derailed by zed-heads who get on board and chow down on the passengers. Seok-Woo will have to re-route his priorities to look after his daughter and prove he can still be a decent father…

He will get his chance and it will be hair-raising stuff as he has to shepherd his daughter to safety in Busan.

The easiest way to describe this is by analogy and that is 28 Days Later on a train. The characters are fleeing infected, or fast zombies, who spread their virus quickly. The how and why of the virus and the containment breach are given little attention in this film other than a leak in a biotech district which quickly leads to chaos. Both the character set-up and outbreak are handled clearly and concisely with the two strands meshing together on the car ride to the station and the train boarding sequence. Haunting moments such as Soo-An noticing ash falling from the sky as emergency vehicles rush by and a glimpse of a building on fire as seen in a reflection in Seok-Woo’s car window provide ominous signs before news reports provide meatier exposition for the characters to get confused by and to tip the audience off to the scale of events.

The film continues to be lean and efficient when the zombie attacks begin with little time wasted as a stowaway on the train infects an attendant and then the two chomp on some passengers and so forth. There is enough attention given to make-up to make the zombies pass the grade visually so this doesn’t come off as cheap B-movie material. The infected are given the cloudy eyes and salient veins, they foam and drool like they have rabies and they have one-track minds that lead them to simply attack on sight. It is enough for zombies but there are some different rules governing their abilities such as how they see in the dark which provides gripping thriller mechanics for later on in the film. Whatever the case, the fact that they are on the train with the characters and go from carriage to carriage makes them a threat.

The train-bound sequences provide a lot of suspense due to the characters getting separated and having to fight or sneak their way through tight spaces while the moments when the train stops and characters disembark provide high levels of panic and breathless escapes as stampedes of infected assail people. Much like World War Z (2013), the chaos and the disorientation of being engulfed by people and tearing away from a stampede is captured well with lots of dolly shots following escapees dashing up and down stairs and there is an intense sequences where a rig is attached to characters dodging around a train station. The use of multiple POV shots as characters wrestle with dead-heads allow audiences to see the gnashing teeth and eyes riven by rage up close in the many, many infected attacks but the most intimidating thing is the sense of danger from large crowds as windows and doors cave in under pressure and people get trampled on. To get the sizeable crowds going, CG is used but it meshes well with the live-action actors who are fleeing in different directions to hide, all the better to build up tension as people get separated and trapped.

The thread that holds the film together is the relationship between Seok-Woo and Soo-An. The battle between his survival instincts and the need to be a better man for his daughter provides a lot of the development as his daughter is constantly watching him. The character arcs gradually alter over the course of the narrative as he meets and works with or abandons people from station to station. His change isn’t immediate and seeing him wrestle with selfishness provides interesting dramatic intersections as audiences are never quite sure whether he will be heroic and save another character or just himself and Soo-An.

The film has a set of characters representing different segments of Korean society decide to join forces or save themselves. The people range from a homeless man to highschoolers to a cowardly oligarch whose selfish actions condemn others to death. Seok-Woo fits in with the greedy and scared at first but Soo-An’s kind behaviour to strangers and the intervention of other passengers, most notably a pregnant couple, Sung-Gyeong (Jung Yu-Mi, star of Our Sunhi) and her gentle giant of a husband Sang-Hwa (Ma Dong-Seok), get him to reform for his daughter. It is a believable development that doesn’t provide easy redemption and audience may well be swept along with Sang-Hwa’s cool-headed character, a cynical but dedicated man whose immense strength has the force of a freight train and makes him a runaway sensation when it comes to battering zombies and whose wry sense of humour leavens dead serious or terribly sad moments. Indeed, he almost steals the film.

It falls into sentimentality in the end but it is a fitting culmination to everyone’s stories. The fact that the film is so brave and daring to have horrible people in the lead roles and humanise them and it is all so enjoyably and energetically violent in the way its fights are staged and so ruthless and uncompromising in the way it dispenses with most of the cast makes it so thrilling to watch. This isn’t a profound or scary zombie movie but it is fun and has tension so it’s definitely worth a go. A sequel is currently in the works but before that is an animated prequel called Seoul Station.

Seoul Station   

서울역 「Seoulyeok」

Running Time: 92 mins.

Release Date: August 18th, 2016

Director:  Yeon Sang-Ho

Writer: Yeon Sang-Ho (Screenplay),

Starring: Shim Eun-Kyung, Ryoo Seung-Ryong, Lee Joon, Jang Hyuk-Hin, Lee Sang-Hee, Hwang Suk-Jung, Kim Nam-Jin,

IMDB

Seoul Station is the animated prequel to Train to Busan (TtB). Both made in 2016, the animation was released a couple of months before its more famous live-action sibling according to IMDB. It features similar themes to TtB in its criticism of an unjust society but it does not have a drop of sentimentality. This is a bleak look at life at the bottom in Seoul as the city stands on the cusp of a zombie apocalypse.

The story essentially surrounds teenage runaways Hye-Sun (Shim Eun-Kyung) and her boyfriend Ki-Woong (Lee Joon). Ever since Hye-Sun fled her father’s home she has met nothing but bad people and was forced into prostitution. Ki-Woong rescued her and they now live either by hanging out in PC bangs or cheap inns but with money running low they face being forced out on to the streets. An argument over how to get cash sees them separate just as the homeless community who camp in Seoul Station for shelter become ravaged by a zombie virus and the infected emerge from tunnels to attack the healthy.

Where TtB is quick to get into the action, Seoul Station takes its time to allow for the build-up of the story and setting to allow us to get a sense of the characters who are not your usual leads.

Instead of the rich and beautiful or poor and honourable, we are rooting for the survival of dispossessed and broken people. The issue of homelessness is given a lot of screen time from seeing the daily routine of those who use Seoul Station as a shelter when official shelters turn them away to how average citizens treat these castaways. Hye-Sun and Ki-Woong’s plight as youngsters on the margins is far too common in reality but not depicted that often in films and their journey to be reunited with each other forms the spine of the plot as we see them try and survive various privations and zombie attacks. In a typical zombie movie twist the real monsters turn out to be other people.

The rest of society are shown to be pretty unsympathetic to these characters. The hypocrisy of how people are treated is made with dialogue full of progressive talk coming from people with callous disregard for down-and-outs who survive on scraps around the glamorous confines of the titular station and the violence of the state. Seoul Station opens with two young people talking universal healthcare and ignoring a homeless man who is seriously injured with a bite. The police treat the homeless and then, as the situation gets worse, regular citizens with government-sanctioned prejudice and violence. Normal people, be they police officers, station attendants, or shop owners treat the homeless and runaway kids like a nuisance and this attitude evolves into something more deadly as the infection runs rampant and their prejudice makes them even more irrational.

The theme of selfishness that was present in the TtB is taken to extremes here with Hye-Sun’s sexual exploitation providing an incredibly ugly comment on the fate of those unfortunate to fall off the social ladder.

Unlike TtB, the zombie virus is never even glanced at. What we see are the results and how those at the bottom of society are condemned to die at the hands of selfish people or an indifferent government. Images of riot police and soldiers taking to the streets and killing civilians will roil memories of Koreans who lived through military governments. Anybody with an ounce of empathy with feel it come out as the film works up some tragedy in a series of easily avoidable clashes and a deadly twist. If nothing else, the film proves to be an effective social drama.

Perhaps this is one of the benefits of it being an animation. A live-action film this bleak and with subjects this difficult might not get financed and this is clearly low-budget as can be seen on screen.

The animation is detailed in terms of backgrounds in some scenes while all details, including faces on minor characters, fade out in others. This isn’t so much a problem since the action takes place in the bland alleys and stations of Seoul but it isn’t the most interesting thing to watch especially since the colours are mostly lifeless gradients of grey. For a film set in down-town Seoul, one would expect more neon and the use of light and dark could have made for interesting visual contrasts and even story points. The character design and animation is also limited. The same few character models are used in some scenes with only a change in colour of an item of clothing to differentiate them and, considering the population of Seoul is around 10 million people, there is a significant lack of characters in scenes (even if it takes place at night when most people are sleeping). All of this gives a lifeless feeling to the film. While the animation lacks dynamism the sound design is fantastic as full use of locations is made to bounce the echoes of the infected around. These Zed-heads sound like they are from the video game Left for Dead and they move erratically like them as well.

Overall, the film’s power lies in its social content which gives the film its dramatic impetus and its emotional power at the end. The unfairness of Seoul is write large on screen and proves to be a bigger monster than the infected.

Happy weekend, people!

Hope you are all well.

I am currently nearing the end of a big proofreading job and it’s a month and a half ahead of the deadline and that was by doing it before work, on my commute to work, in work and after work. I intend to move on to really intensive Japanese practice so that will be after I wake up in the morning, during the day, and during the evening. I also intend to keep the reviews going by watching a couple of titles a week and exercise. Cannot forget about exercise. I’m packing as much in as possible.

In terms of reviews, I posted about Train to Busan and Seoul Station a week after my review of One Cut of the Dead. I will keep it up with the zombie movies with what I consider to be the best I have seen in a long, long time. Speaking as someone who watched Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead on VHS and then DVD multiple times, I was pleased to see how this particular movie shaped up. Okay. That’s enough disjointed hype.

What films are released this weekend?

Hikari no Uta    

ひかりの歌 「Hikari no uta」

Running Time: 153 mins.

Release Date: October 26th, 2017 (TIFF)

Director:  Kyoshi Sugita

Writer: Kyoshi Sugita (Screenplay)

Starring: Akie Namiki, Misaki Kitamura, Tomo Kasajima, Kana Ito, Keisuke Hidaka, Hiromasa Hirosue, Takenori Kaneko, Masaru Matsumoto, Leow Puay Tin,

Website    IMDB

This work is the second feature directed by Kyoshi Sugita, following A Song I Remember. It also goes under the name Listen to Light and it was at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2017. 

Synopsis from the Tokyo International Film Festival site: Based on four tanka poems, selected from 1,200 submissions to a contest with the theme of light, this film illustrates the meaning of light in the lives of four female protagonists. Shiori, Yukiko, Kyoko and Sachiko continue to live each day with untold feelings inside. Unable to forget a colleague on a trip, a father who is ill, a friend who works at a store that is about to close, and a long-lost husband, each woman takes a step forward. There is a light that sometimes embraces them, calmly and gently.

Konomichi    

この道 「Konomichi」

Running Time: 104 mins.

Release Date: January 11th, 2019

Director:  Kiyoshi Sasabe

Writer: Riko Sakaguchi (Screenplay),

Starring: Nao Omori, Akira, Shihori Kanjiya, Wakana Matsumoto, Fujiko Kojima, Yutaka Matsushige, Michiko Hada, Kanji Tsuda,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: This World War II drama is based on real people.

Hakushu Kitahara (Nao Omori) is a genius poet and a libertine who drinks and cavorts, apparently, with married women. He is partnered up with a musician named Kosaku Yamada (Akira) who is diligent and talented. The two men don’t get along but when they are hired by Miekichi Suzuki (Shingo Yanagisawa), a man who runs a magazine on children’s literature, to write children’s songs together, they strike the right note and make lots of songs to cheer up the children. Things get dark when they are asked to write pro-war songs.  

Kinkyuu Kenshou! The Movie Nessie vs Nostradamus vs Uri Geller   

緊急検証！THE MOVIE ネッシーvsノストラダムスvsユリ・ゲラー 「Kinkyuu Kenshou! The Movie Nessie vs Nostradamus vs Uri Geller」

Running Time: N/A

Release Date: January 11th, 2019

Director:  Kei Takahashi

Writer: Nobuyuki Ito (Screenplay),

Starring: Tarou Itsumi, Kenji Otsuki, Uri Gellar, Naemo Shinsam, Akio Asuka, Bintarou Yamaguchi, Takeshi Nakazawa,

Website

Synopsis: This is based on a TV show from the 2010s where people investigated supernatural phenomena. The “Occult Three Musketeers” investigate Nostradamus, the Loch Ness Monster, and Uri Gellar in this special.

The Saddest Audition in the World   

世界でいちばん悲しいオーディション 「Sekai de ichiban kanashī ōdishon」

Running Time: 98 mins.

Release Date: January 11th, 2019

Director: Hiroki Iwabuchi

Writer: N/A

Starring: Aina The End, Cent Chihiro Chittiii, Momoko Gumi Company, Lingling, Hashiyasume Atsuko, Ayuni D, YUiNA EMPiRE, Kamiua Saki, Yua Yumeno,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: EMPiRE, GANG PARADE, BiS, BiSH are idol groups managed by the music office “WACK” and over a week in March 2018, the management made 24 idols take part in an audition which is done in the style of a boot camp style in Ikijima in Kyushu. The girls had to do singing and dancing as well as lots of exercise trials such as marathons. and squat confrontation, life game are given.

Gekijouban Fate/stay night Heaven’s Feel II. lost butterfly   

劇場版 Fate/stay night Heaven’s Feel II. lost butterfly 「Gekijouban Fate/stay night Heaven’s Feel II. lost butterfly」

Release Date: January 12th, 2019

Running Time: N/A

Director: Tomonori Sudo

Writer: Akira Hiyama (Screenplay), Kinoko Nasu, TYPE-MOON (Original Creator),

Starring: Ayako Kawasumi (Saber), Noriaki Sugiyama (Shirou Emiya), Jouji Nakata (Kirei Kotomine), Sakura Matou (Noriko Shitaya), Kana Ueda (Rin Toosaka), Mai Kadowaki (Illyasviel von Einzbern),

Animation Production: ufotable

ANN MAL Website

Synopsis: We are in the middle of The Holy Grail War, where Masters and Servants fight to claim the Holy Grail, something which can grant the wishes of the one who possesses it. The war takes the form of people, or Magi, who are aided by warriors who have the spirits of great people from history. Fuyuki City is the battleground and the protag is Shirou Emiya and his servant Saber. They find themselves followed by one of Zouken Matou’s summoned spirits, the Servant, True Assassin.

Kimi kara me ga hanasenai Eyes on You   

君から目が離せない Eyes On You 「Kimi kara me ga hanasenai Eyes on You」

Running Time: 86 mins.

Release Date: January 12th, 2019

Director:  Tetsuo Shinohara

Writer: Tetsuya Okabe, Shintaro KAnno (Screenplay),

Starring: Kentaro Akisawa, Masumi Sanada, Ryohei Watabe, Noriko Kijima, Sora Yoshida, Rino Aikawa, Tomoko Shimazaki,

Website

Synopsis: Kenta (Kentaro Akisawa) to the older woman named (Masumi Sanada) as he takes control of a theatre company. Their relationship is shown through the three seasons of spring, summer, autumn.

Cinema Kabuki Hototogisu Kojou Rakugetsu   

シネマ歌舞伎 沓手鳥孤城落月 「Shinema Kabuki Hototogisu Kojou Rakugetsu」

Running Time: N/A

Release Date: January 12th, 2019

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A (Screenplay), Shoyo Tsubochi (Original Work)

Starring: Tamasaburo Bando, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Matsuya Onoe, Baishi Nakamura, Yonekichi Nakamura,

Website