Happy Weekend, again!

I hope you are still feeling good.

This is the follow-up to yesterday’s trailer post. Not much news from me other than I will be recording another episode of Heroic Purgatory tonight! It’ll cover a Hong Kong comedy via Stephen Chow!

What else was released this weekend?

Ai utsutsu       

愛うつつ　 「Ai utsutsu」

Release Date: 2018

Duration: 70 mins.

Director: Kosei Hana

Writer: Kosei Hana

Starring: Takeshi Hosokawa, nagoho, Kazuho Yamamoto, Takehito Sato, Minori Inoue,

Website

This one played at the Kanazawa Film Festival two years ago.

Synopsis: A human drama based on the director’s own experiences. It offers questions on the forms of love and sex through the travails of one couple. Yui is a university student who is dating Jun, an office worker. She wants to be embraced by him but he cannot be embrace her because he loves her. The two have different forms of love that finally come into conflict when Yui discovers something about Jun.

A-ku-a room only for two people   

あ・く・あ　ふたりだけの部屋 「A ku a futari dake no heya」

Release Date: May 29th, 2021

Duration: 86 mins.

Director: Kyuya Nakagawa

Writer: Etsuo Hiratani (Screenplay), 

Starring: Hinata Koizumi, Yasuyuki Sakurai, Koji Seki, Saya Imajo, Yuya Ishikawa,

Website

This project is a collaboration between Etsuro Hiratani, the screenwriter of The Greatful Dead, who has been working on this story for 20 years, and director Kyuya Nakagawa, who has worked on a diverse array of films ranging from splatter titles by Yoshihiro Nishimura to some of Sion Sono’s dramas.

Synopsis: Here’s another film about a guy and a gal who roam around the boundaries of love. The guy is Tatsuo, a bicycle courier who has the ability to enter a mysterious room with the words “A, Ku, A” carved into the wall. When he meets a dead-eyed woman named Satoko, he falls in love with her but Satoko already has a boyfriend with whom she comes alive with. The rest of the week, she is empty. One day, Tatsuo peeps at the two having sex and is beaten up but when he later masturbates in tge mysterious room, Satoko, who has somehow acquired the ability to enter the mysterious room as well, appears in front of him.

Kenda Master Fist   

ケンダマスター拳 「Kenda Masuta- Ken」

Release Date: May 29th, 2021

Duration: 30 mins.

Director: Pierre Ito

Writer: N/A

Starring: Takeshi Maeda, Misato, Maya Okamoto, Yui Nekomata, Mitsuru Sato,

Website

Synopsis: A 30-minute indie animated short about a 13-year-old boy named Kenta who is a genius kendama player and also a muscular macho man. He uses kendama (a Japanese toy) at Kendama Gakuen in Tokyo and has a romance with his childhood friend Tamako and battles with his rival Mitsurugi and, on top of all that,  he also fights against the evil organization Dark Angel by piloting the Kendama Robo left behind by his dead father…

Tayutaedomo Shizumazu   

たゆたえども沈まず 「Tayutaedomo Shizumazu」

Release Date: May 29th, 2021

Duration: 103 mins.

Director: Yutaka Endo

Writer: N/A

Starring: N/A

Website

Synopsis: This documentary is based on 10 years of footage recorded by TV-Iwate beginning immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake. 1,850 hours of footage were combed through to show the changes that happened in the landscape and the lives of people living through the recovery from the disaster.

Rhapsody of Colors   

ラプソディ オブ colors 「Rapusodi Obu colors」

Release Date: May 29th, 2021

Duration: 108 mins.

Director: Takayuki Sato

Writer: N/A

Starring: Riri Ishikawa, Kazutoshi Nakamura, Joplin, Mayumi, Toshiaki Arai,

Website

Synopsis: This documentary follows 500 days in the life of “colors,” a barrier-free social circle based in Ota Ward, Tokyo. This group is made up of people with various disabilities, and they take part in as many as 10 events every month. The events range from lectures by university professors to music festivals and drinking parties. The events attract a total of 800 people a year, each of whom has a rich personality. Then one day, the building that houses Colors is set to be demolished, and the group are faced with a crisis…

Mrs. Noisy   

ミセス・ノイズィ　 「Misesu Noizi」

Release Date: December 04th, 2020

Duration: 98 mins.

Director: Chihiro Amano

Writer: Chihiro Amano (Screenplay), 

Starring: Yukiko Shinohara, Yoko Ootaka, Takuma Nagao, Chise Niitsu, Masanari Wada, Yoriko Doguchi, Raiki Yanemoto,

Website      IMDB 

Words develop a life of their own. Once a person releases them into the world, they travel far and wide and can change form depending upon the person interpreting them. This is why you should be careful with what you say and what you write. This something that a writer neglects to remember much to her cost in Mrs. Noisy, a domestic comedy that turns into heart-breaking drama by way of literary struggle.

Inspired by real-life events from 2005, the film follows a conflict between two neighbours in a danchi (housing complex).

Our protagonist is Maki Yoshioka (Yukiko Shinohara), a once successful novelist who is struggling through a prolonged slump. The reason? According to her editor, her characters are two-dimensional. With each work he turns down the more desperate she becomes. With a deadline looming, moving to a new home with her daughter Nanako (Chise Niitsu) and husband Yuichi (Takuma Nagao) promises a fresh start but things go awry soon after Maki finishes unpacking as her neighbour, Miwako Wakata (Yoko Ootaka), starts infringing on her life.

Miwako is a flinty middle-aged lady who lives with her reclusive husband and has a habit of thwacking her futons while also singing loudly on her balcony at different hours of the day. This noise often disrupts Maki’s work just as she’s about to hit a moment of genius. Maki really takes offense over perceived social slights that come when Nanako slips out and disappears all day while she is too busy writing to notice. Nanako returns to find Maki in a panic only to inform her mother that she was either at the park or at Miwako’s apartment. When the older woman scolds Maki over her poor parenting, the police get involved and neighbours start to gossip. This is when Maki becomes really hostile and quarrels begin.

The film gets into gear once the domestic war starts. It is one where the weapons of choice in the Battle of the Balconies are barbs, brooms, and boomboxes. The dust-ups between the women devolve into slapstick comedy for onlookers in the surrounding community and, eventually, the internet after Maki listens to her irresponsible social media savvy cousin Naoya (Raiki Yonemoto) and turns her conflict into a series of online blog posts where she creates a caricature of a nutty neighbour who kidnaps little Nanako. Soon a book deal with a sleazy publisher enticed by the notoriety is in the offing and it looks like Maki has found her authorial mojo again but once the media get a hold of her words they turn it into a cause célèbre and it soon spirals out of control as Miwako is made into a monster. When the true nature of Miwako and her husband emerges, it gets a lot more complicated than expected.

The build up is gradual but it benefits from all of the everyday details in routines and behaviour that writer/director Chihiro Amano draws upon. Audiences will find a universal story of the fundamental difficulties in trying to balance career and family, Amano intertwining the quotidian aspects of Maki’s life with scenes of editorial meetings and writing to create her underlying sense of anxiety that leads to the conflict. While Miwako’s absurd behaviour and admonishment may be the spark that lights the fire of conflict it is mostly Maki’s self-doubt that is the kindling since it is clear that their dispute is merely where she channels her guilt and frustration over failing as a mother and writer.

Both Maki’s desperation to make it and her weaknesses as a writer – her inability to add depth to characters – play into why she cannot see more to Miwako other than a nuisance neighbour and this organically leads into a situation ripe for media sensationalism. Maki’s words set the parameters of the conflict between the two women and the media take it into a particularly nasty phase. The details of how things go viral online and on variety shows hit notes of believability and Amano takes advantage of the various formats to show how a recording of a particularly laugh-out-loud funny fight is parasitically used for ratings with little room for humanity which leads audiences into the final third of the movie where the roles are surprisingly reversed.

Stage actress Yoko Ootaka gives a fine comic performance as Miwako who comes off as a fierce ogress who bellows and rages and bashes down walls but when there is a radical shift in perspective to give us more background, her performance softens remarkably so that there is a new view of her character. It’s foreshadowed via props she hands to Nanako and how she treats the little girl, but Amano’s choice to frame things from Maki’s perspective prevents all but the most observant and objective viewer from piecing the clues together so it is easy to become prejudiced against Miwako.

It isn’t until the full picture is unfurled, effectively after many in the audience have probably taken Maki’s side, that we discover how little we knew of this human being whose life and behaviour the writer had turned into a parody. Indeed, the final scenes are a devastating reversal and I was in tears over how the older woman was treated by the media. Maki is put through similar treatment and loses her capacity with words to explain her actions in front of the media. While this is offered as a chance of redemption at the end, it felt a little too easy for her to get off the hook, so believable and heartrending was the humiliation that Miwako had  been put through.

Whatever the case, the film makes the case of how thoughtless words can severely damage people. It is something I struggle with myself so I appreciated that the film made me think about it. I highly recommend this drama, a surprising and very moving depiction of the power of words over everyday lives.

Two films are released today in Japan: Kakegurui the Movie: Zettai Zetsumei Russian Roulette had its premiere back in April but a general release was pushed back to now due to the Japanese government imposing a state of emergency which, first, closed many cinemas, and then placed cinemas under reduced opening hours.

The second film released today looks like an interesting indie that draws upon the Covid-19 pandemic as material. While everyone and everything felt the impact of the pandemic, women were particularly affected by job cuts and domestic violence which saw a spike and a resultant rise in the suicide rate amongst females. Child abuse also rose during this period. It was a dynamic seen globally but this is among the first films to directly draw upon it for a story. You can read a little more about the issue here.

Here are the trailers:

Kakegurui the Movie: Zettai Zetsumei Russian Roulette   

映画 賭ケグルイ絶体絶命ロシアンルーレット 「Kakegurui the Movie: Zettai Zetsumei Roshian Ru-retto」

Release Date: April 29th, 2021 (Original Date)

Duration: 119 mins.

Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa

Writer: Tsutomu Hanabusa, Minato Takano (Screenplay), Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura (Original Manga)

Starring: Minami Hamabe, Mahiro Takasugi, Aoi Morikawa, Ruka Matsuda, Ryusei Fujii, Natsumi Okamoto, Miki Yanagi, Akira Onodera, Elaiza Ikeda,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: This is the second film to adapt the manga. The story centres on Hyakkaou Private Academy. From the outside it looks normal but for the student body it is a battleground where the sons and daughters of the elite take part in fierce gambling battles. Yumeko Jabami (Minami Hamabe) dominates everyone with her gambling prowess but the return of a former student named Makuro Shikigami (Ryusei Fujii) threatens her influence because he is a deadly gambler! 

The Women   

女たち 「Onnna-tachi」

Release Date: June 01st, 2021

Duration: 97 mins.

Director: Nobuteru Uchida

Writer: N/A

Starring: Yukiko Shinohara, Kana Kurashina, Atsuko Takahata, Sahel Rosa, Shunsuke Kubozuka, Kanako Tsutsui,

Website

Synopsis mostly taken from the website: Ever since graduating from a Tokyo university, nothing has gone right for 39-year-old Misaki (Yukiko Shinohara). She had to return to her home in a rural town where her hard-hearted mother lives and she has been unable to get worthwhile employment. The bright spots in her life are her relationships with her childhood friend Kaori (Kana Kurashina) and her romantic relationship with her aging, handicapped mother Mitsuko’s care worker, Naoki (Shunsuke Kubozuka). They are much needed, especially during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic but when these two pillars of support disappear from her life, Misaki is pushed to the brink of a crisis…

Happy Weekend!

I hope you are all doing well.

I only published one film review this week, Mrs. Noisy, which I highly recommend watching. There were two films released at the start of the week which I posted about. On Sunday last week I took part in a Heroic Purgatory podcast recording of a Stephen Chow film from the 90s.

What are the next batch of films released this weekend?

colorless   

猿楽町で会いましょう　 「Sarugakuchou de aimashou」

Release Date: June 04th, 2021

Duration: 122 mins.

Director: Takashi Koyama

Writer: Takashi Koyama, Yu Shibuya (Screenplay), 

Starring: Daichi Kaneko, Ruka Ishikawa, Shuntaro Yanagi, Sakurako Konishi, Ikuma Nagatomo, Hitoe Ookubo,

Website IMDB

The winner of 2018’s Unfinished Movie Trailer Grand Prix MI-CAN where filmmaker’s can win a cash prize based on a trailer around 3 minutes, this takes place in Sarugakuchou in Shibuya and looks at the lives of two young people drawn to that area of Tokyo who meet there and embark upon a stormy relationship. Here’s more about the area from Tokyo Weekender.  

You can read my review of the film here.

Synopsis: A young blonde-haired guy named Shuji Oyamada (Daichi Kaneko) is struggling to make it as a fashion photographer but when an editor throws him an assignment taking profile shots of a struggling amateur model named Yuka Tanaka (Ruka Ishikawa), he finds his muse and the one he thinks will be the love of his life. She is pretty, coquettish, like any number of ingénues drawn to Shibuya. Behind her glittering façade and good looks is a deceitful woman but her deceit comes from a fractured background.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning   

るろうに剣心　最終章 The Beginning「Rurouni Kenshin Saishusho The Final」

Release Date: April 23rd, 2021

Duration: 137 mins.

Director: Keishi Ohtomo

Writer: Keishi Ohtomo (Script), Nobuhiro Watsuki (Original Manga)

Starring: Takeru Satoh, Mackenyu Arata, Emi Takei, Yosuke Eguchi, Munetaka Aoki, Yu Aoi, Yusuke Iseya, Tao Tsuchiya, Riku Ohnishi,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: This is the second instalment of the latest adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin and it is based on the “Remembrance Arc” of the original story, in which Kenshin and how he came to take a vow of not killing and the mystery of the cross-shaped scar on his cheek and also… the existence of his wife!

Brothers in Brothel   

はるヲうるひと「Haru wo Uruhito」

Release Date: June 04th, 2021

Duration: 113 mins.

Director: Jiro Sato

Writer: Jiro Sato (Script/Original Stageplay)

Starring: Takayuki Yamada, Riisa Naka, Osamu Mukai, Maki Sakai, Yoko Koudou, Ririne Sasano,

Website IMDB

Jiro Sato does the filmic adaptation of a play he did with the theatre troupe “Chikarawaza” in 2009.

Synopsis:  There is an island that has a ferry that travels from the mainland to the place twice a day. On the island are brothels and one of these brothels is run by Tetsuo (Jiro Sato) and his siblings. Tetsuo has a mean personality while his younger brother, Tokuta (Takayuki Yamada), follows him like a henchman. The eldest daughter, Ibuki (Riisa Naka), is bedridden with a chronic illness. The four sex workers at the brothel are jealous of the beautiful Ibuki…

Mune ga Naru no wa Kimi no Sei   

胸が鳴るのは君のせい「Mune ga Naru no wa Kimi no Sei」

Release Date: June 04th 2021

Duration: 104 mins.

Director: Hiroto Takahashi

Writer: Rie Yokota (Script), Risa Konno (Original Manga)

Starring: Hidaka Ukisho, Sei Shiraishi, Mizuki Itagaki, Nanoka Hara, Hana Kawamura, Nana Asakawa,

Website

Synopsis: Tsukasa (Sei Shiraishi) is a bright and strong girl who works hard to attain what she wants but she was never able to get the heart of her middle school crush Hayato (Hidaka Ukisho). Now that they are in high school together, he treats her as just a friend but Tsukasa still loves him. Their closeness means that their relationship begins to change little by little…

Gray Zone   

グレーゾーン「Gure- Zo-n」

Release Date: June 04th 2021

Duration: 100 mins.

Director: Hiroshi

Writer: Hiroshi (Script), 

Starring: Hiroshi, Manaka Nishihara, Hikaru Aoyama, Kanato Kuroji, Nana Wada,

Website

A suspense action film written and directed by single-named Hiroshi who also produced, and starred in the film.

Synopsis: The Kurokawa and Shirakawa crime families have been locked in combat for many years. When the head of the Kurokawa family is assassinated by someone, his three children are immediately suspected since they were fighting to take his place. Ryu Haibara, a servant of the family, begins to investigate the children at the request of a detective and uncovers secrets…  

Happy weekend.

This is the third and final trailer post of this week. Here are the last of the films to get screened this weekend!

Pompo: The Cinéphile   

映画大好きポンポさん「Eiga Daisuki Pompo-san」

Release Date: June 04th 2021

Duration: 90 mins.

Director: Takayuki Hirao

Writer: Takayuki Hirao (Script), Shogo Sugitani (Original Creator)

Starring: Konomi Kohara (Joelle Davidovich @Pompo@ Pomponett), Hiroya Shimizu (Gene Fini), Ai Kakuma (Mystia), Akio Ohtsuka (Martin Braddock), Rinka Otani (Nathalie Woodward)m

Animation Production: CLAP

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: There are many players in “Nyallywood,” the movie capital of the world, and one of them is Joelle Davidovich Pomponette (Pompo-san), a film producer who works on B-movies. She has the talent to get the best out of her cast and crew as she churns out action and erotic films but has yet to show her own artistry. That changes when Pompo’s “film-buff” assistant Gene discovers one of her scripts. He sees its potential but Pompo tells him to direct it. So, for his directorial debut, he has a script, he just needs his star. Pompo intervenes again by discovering and casting Natalie, an ordinary girl with dreams of being a star. And thus begins their latest adventures in making movies!

Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight Movie   

劇場版　少女☆歌劇 レヴュー・スタァライト「Gekijouban Shoujo Kageki Rebyu- Sutaaraito 」

Release Date: June 04th 2021

Duration: 120 mins.

Director: Tomohiro Furukawa

Writer: Kanata Nakamura, Tatsuto Higuchi (Script), 

Starring: Momoyo Koyama (Karen Aijo), Suzuko Mimori (Hikari Kagura), Aina Aiba (Claudine Saijo), Ayasa Ito (Kaoruko Hanayagi), Maho Tomita (Maya Tendo),

Animation Production: Kinema Citrus

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: In this anime, we follow girls who attend Seishou Music Academy, a girls’ school established to nurture talents who will lead the world of theatre. 

Knights of Sidonia: Love Woven in the Stars     

シドニアの騎士　あいつむぐほし 「Sidonia no Kishi: Ai Tsumugu Hoshi 」

Release Date: June 04th, 2021

Running Time: 110 mins.

General Director: Hiroyuki Seshita, Director: Tadahiro Yoshihira,

Writer: Sadayuki Murai (Screenplay), Tsutomu Nihei (Original Manga),

Starring: Aya Suzaki (Tsumugi Shiraui), Ryouta Oosaka (Nagate Tanikaze), Eri Kitamura (ren Honoka), Satomi Arai (Lala Hiyama), Mamiko Noto (Yure Shinatose), Aki Toyosaki (Izana Shinatose),

Animation Production: Polygon Pictures

Website ANN MAL

I enjoyed the first season of the Knights of Sidonia TV anime as my first impression and series review make clear while I think I kinda liked the second season. This film features a new story that deviates from the manga. It was supervised by Tsutomu Nihei, the creator. Here’s a clip of the opening four minutes of the film:

Synopsis: Earth has been destroyed by Gauna, biomorphous alien creatures of an unknown origin. Their appearance forced humanity to flee into space and look for a new home using gigantic spaceships. One of these ships is called Sidonia but it has lost contact with the other spaceships in the fleet and has flown through space for a millennia. The inhabitants of Sidonia believe they are the last survivors of humanity. When the Gauna discovers the ship for the first time in a century, a desperate series of battles ensued. To help fend off the threat, humanity had developed mecha named Morito (Guardian) and an ace pilot named Nagate Tanikaze, together with the human-Gauna hybrid Tsumugi Shiraui, managed to stave off extinction.

Ten years pass and the people of Sidonia enjoy peace but with the Gauna still out there, it can only be temporary. A final battle is planned…

Cinema Kabuki The Sardine Seller’s Net of Love   

シネマ歌舞伎　鰯賣戀曳網    (Shinema Kabuki Iwashi Uri Koi Hikiami)

Website

This is based on a Yukio Mishima play which has been written up on Wikipedia.

There were two films by actor/writer/director Yutaro Nakamura at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021. They shared actors such as An Ogawa (For Rei) but wildly diverged stylistically. The first, Sweet Bitter Candy, was a standard-issue drama of bad romance and schoolgirls while A New Wind Blows featured a storyline that was wayward and dreamy and clearly shot guerrilla style in the suburbs. It was punctuated with scenes that offer visceral emotions, surprising twists, and a eccentric-cum-humanistic bent that made it stand out.

The film introduces us to a set of characters – Yujiro (Yujiro Hara), Hikari (Hikaru Saiki), Takaya (Takaya Shibata), Anzu (An Ogawa), and Kotaro (Yutaro Nakamura, the director himself) – who are cycled through in a number of stories where they get together and alternately torment and fall in love with each other, first as high schoolers and then as young adults later, before returning to them as high schoolers. Mental illness, prejudice, and literal bed hopping take place and there are extremes of emotions that go from normality to very dark. However, as scenes and sequences slip by, there is a sense of care and comfort and possibility. You can read my review here and also a playfulness as music video sequences and cute on-screen text and images are used. 

Yutaro Nakamura took time out of his schedule to answer questions relating to A New Wind Blows.

This interview was done with the help of Takako Pocklington, who translated between English and Japanese to help bring director Nakamura’s answers to this blog.

The Japanese transcript is first and it is followed by English. Click on a link below to be taken to one or the other.

Japanese |  English

Japanese

この映画を作ってくださってありがとうございます。ごちゃごちゃしてて面白くて、でもちょっと衝撃的でもあって。ファンタジーっぽくもあり、ばかばかしいユーモアも含んだリアリズム。あの寒空の下、天使の格好の柴田貴哉さんは、さぞかしきつかったでしょうね。でも観終る頃には前向きな気持ちになり、何度でも観返したくなりました。

どういうきっかけで、映画制作を始められたのですか？

映像と演劇が学べる大学に入って、学内政治が強かった為、一言申すつもりで作り始めました。

影響を受けた監督って誰かいますか？

特に影響を受けた監督はいませんが、山田洋次監督、黒木和雄監督、東陽一監督が好きです。

この映画のアイデアはどこから生まれたのでしょうか？

当時、制作会社に勤めており、日ごろの鬱憤から適当にラフを書き始めました。

この映画では、死から甘い愛の告白まで、雰囲気が目まぐるしく変わります。でも暗い面があるにもかかわらず、楽観的な印象を受けました。観客の皆さんに、この物語から何を汲み取って欲しいですか？

全然気楽に観て欲しいです。気楽に作った作品なので。

今回出演された俳優さんの中には、監督が以前一緒に仕事された方もいらっしゃいますね。『スウィートビターキャンディ』の小川あんさん、『若さと馬鹿さ』の柴田貴哉さん。斎木ひかるさん、原雄次郎さんも含め、この俳優さんたちをキャスティングした理由について話していただけますか？

当時、プライベートで仲の良かった俳優陣をキャスティングしただけです。

各役柄についてですが、監督御自身、そして他の役者さんたちはどのように役作りをされたのでしょうか？

僕の要望を、稽古場でも現場でも伝え続けました。

今回は、いわゆるゲリラ撮影だったのでしょうか？もしそうであれば、映画の後半部分のあの破茶滅茶なシーンを、公共の場で撮影するのって、どんな感じだったんでしょうか？

野外はゲリラ撮影です。止められたり、苦情が入る緊張のもと、撮影していました。

この映画に挿入されている音楽について説明してください。特に、町あかりさんの歌の歌詞についてお話していただけますか？

曲のイメージは、先にありました。歌詞は脚本の延長線上で考えて、僕が書きました。

町さんとの制作は何度も経験しているので、お互いに似たイメージを持っていました。

監督は、カメラの前で撮られる側でもあり、後ろで撮る側でもあります。監督御自身が好まれるのはどちらですか？

僕は撮る側の方が好きです.

また別の作品の企画はありますか？

何本か撮ろうとしている企画はあります。

インタビューにお時間さいてくださってありがとうございます。

こちらこそ、ありがとうございました。

English

Thank you for making the film. It was chaotic and fun but also a little shocking. It mixed realism with a little fantasy and absurd humour – Takaya Shibata dressing as a fairy on a cold day must have been tough! – but I found it optimistic in the end and felt I could watch it again and again.

How did you get your start in filmmaking?

I entered university where I could study video production and theatre. The academic politics were oppressive, so I started making films to express my opposition to it.

Are you influenced by any directors?

There aren’t any directors whom I was particularly influenced by, but I like director Yoji Yamada, Kazuo Kuroki and Yoichi Higashi.

Where did the idea for the film come from?

I was working at a production company and I started to write a rough storyline based on my frustration with daily life.

There are big tonal shifts in the film, from death to sweet confessions of love but I found it optimistic despite the darkness. What do you want the audience to take away from the story?

I want the audience to enjoy it since I made it with ease.

You have worked with some of the actors before – Ann Ogawa in “Sweet Bitter Candy” and Takaya Shibata in “Wakasa and Bakasa” – could you talk about your reason for casting them as well as Hikaru Saiki and Yujiro Hara?

I just cast them because they are good friends in my private life at the time.

How did you and the actors get into the roles?

I constantly told them what I wanted to do at both rehearsals and at the shoot.

Was this a case of guerilla filmmaking？ If so, what was it like shooting the chaos in the second half of the film in public?

Yes, the scenes outside were guerilla filmmaking. We shot under the tense circumstance of being stopped or being complained about.

Could you explain about the use of music in the film, particularly the lyrics of the Akari Machi song?

I had an image of the song earlier. I wrote the lyrics as an extension of the script. I have worked with Machi-san several times, so we had a similar idea for the song.

You work both in front of and behind the camera. Do you have a preference for one or the other?

I prefer to be behind the camera.

Do you have another project in the works?

Yes, I have some projects I’m trying to shoot.

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions.

Thanks to you too.

Despite knowing that low-budget films are often shot very quickly, when I saw that Shinji Imaoka was going to be at Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021, I was surprised at how quick his return was since he was at the 2020 edition with the drama Reiko and the Dolphin for which I had interviewed him. Of course, since he has a background in making pink films he knows how to do a quick turnaround on a production but an even bigger surprise lay in the subject of his film: a divorce as seen through the eyes of a child done by way of the musical genre. That and it was one of at least four(???) films he made in 2020!

The film is a star vehicle for starlet Yuune Sakurai who takes on the role of Haruka, an 11-year-old girl who is navigating experiencing the sensation of love for the first time while her parents Nobutaka (Ryujyu Kobayashi) and Kumiko (Yuri Ogino) are about to divorce. The sweetness and bitterness come together over one weekend spent with the fractured family at a campsite. The emotions come out when people burst into song and dance. A musical about divorce? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before but it works. However, it is a title that may prove divisive as Sakurai gives the sort of beyond-her-years performance that some people will be bowled over by while others may find too artificial to take seriously. Also, girls that age don’t act like that. It depends upon your perspective, ultimately. You can read my review here and also a playfulness as music video sequences and cute on-screen text and images are used. 

While working on the review and interview, three other films by director Imaoka were discovered and two were released: Yome wa, Toriatsukai chuui! Part 1 & 2 and Aoi-chan wa yarasete kurenai. It’s all very impressive and so I wanted to find out more about the background of A Rainbow-colored Trip and how director Imaoka worked with his talented cast, getting some great performances from newbie actress Yuune Sakurai and veteran Yuri Ogino (East of Jefferson and Human Comedy in Tokyo)  and also get some insight.

This interview was done with the help of Takako Pocklington, the talented interpreter who worked on the Reiko and the Dolphin interview and most of my other interviews.

The Japanese transcript is first and it is followed by English. Click on a link below to be taken to one or the other.

Japanese |  English

Japanese

この映画を作ってくださってありがとうございます。そしてインタビューを受けて下さりありがとうございます。

離婚について描いたミュージカル、というのを今回初めて観たような気がします。監督は、この映画をどういう風に説明されますか？また、映画のアイデアはどこから生まれたのでしょうか？

大人の都合で振り回される子供の無力さを描きたいと思ったのですが、ストレートにやると深刻になりすぎてしまうと思い、ミュージカルの要素を入れて、誰もが楽しめる映画にしたいと思いました。

脚本についてですが、小さいお嬢さんを持つお父さんとしての、ご自身の経験を元にされたりしたのでしょうか？

そうですね。子供は自分の考えていることや感じていることをうまく言葉にできなくて、もどかしい思いをしていると思います。私も子供の考えなど無視して、勝手にことを進めていることがよくあります。

この映画が大阪アジアン映画祭で上映された1ヵ月後には、『農家の嫁は、取り扱い注意！ Part1 天使降臨篇』と『農家の嫁は、取り扱い注意！ Part 2 有機ある大作戦篇』が、そして2ヵ月後には『葵ちゃんはやらせてくれない』が封切りされました。この映画の撮影期間はどれくらいだったのですか？どのようにこの３本の映画の合間を縫って、撮影されたのでしょうか？

撮影は、2020年の４月１日から４日間ほど、静岡県の富士山麓のキャンプ場で合宿体制で行われました。日本がコロナで最初の緊急事態宣言が発令される直前の撮影でした。自主制作だったので、仕上げ作業に長い時間がかかりました。「農家の嫁」「葵ちゃん」は、この仕上げ作業の間に撮影されました。

劇中の音楽と歌詞をどのように思いついたのか、お話し頂けますか？

歌詞はシナリオライターの宍戸英紀さんに書いてもらいました。主人公の晴花の心情を歌詞にしてほしいと頼みました。音楽は出来上がった歌詞を基にして、音楽の宇波拓さんに作ってもらいました。ジャズの要素を盛り込んでほしいと頼みました。子供の中の大人の部分を表現したかったのです。

キャストについてですが、何故この俳優さんたちを選ばれたのでしょうか？また、ミュージカル部分とドラマ部分での、それぞれの役柄作りを、役者さん達にどのように行われたのでしょう？

まず最初に、晴花役の櫻井佑音さんが決まりました。個人出資の自主制作映画なので、出資された方が、櫻井さんのファンだったということもあり、まず櫻井さん主演の映画ということが決まりました。あとのキャストは、気心の知れた俳優さんに声をかけ出てもらったいう感じです。ミュージカル部分については、曲が出来上がった後、歌や振り付けのレッスンを行いました。ドラマ部分はみんなと話し合って、方向性を決めました。

櫻井佑音さんは、人を惹きつけるオーラのようなものをたくさん持ち合わせ、存在感があります。この個性によって、彼女は主役に抜擢されたと思うのですが、どうやって彼女を発掘されたのですか？

出資された方が櫻井さんのファンだったので、是非とも彼女を主演にしたいという申し出がありました。一度、櫻井さんのコンサートのリハーサルを見に行ったのですが、子供とは思えない、豊かな歌声に魅了されました。櫻井さんが劇中で歌うというのも、そこからの発想でした。

大人の俳優さんと仕事するのに対し、子役さんと仕事をするのはどんな感じでしたか？

なるべく子供扱いしないようにと思いました。大人の俳優さんと同じように演出したつもりです。ただ子供は集中力がないので、芝居に飽きないうちに、なるべく早く撮るように心がけました。

お母さんと娘が話をするシーンにジーンときました。荻野友里さんと櫻井佑音さんによるあのシーンは、晴花が、大人の悲しさ(悲しい事情)を何となく理解するという、映画の中で重要な場面となっています。あのシーンの撮影について、また荻野友里と櫻井佑音さんのリアクションはどんな感じだったのか、聞かせて頂けますか？

テストを繰り返しているうちに、荻野さんは母親に、櫻井さんは娘になりきっていったと思います。何度テストを繰り返しても、お互い涙がボロボロ出てくるのには驚きました。撮影を通じて、櫻井さんも少し大人に近づいていたのかも知れません。

滝の伝説は本当ですか、それともただ単に晴花の気持ちを表すためのものだったのでしょうか？

フィクションです。滝の前に佇んで手を合わすというビジュアルが最初に浮かびました。

『にじいろトリップ』というタイトルの意味を説明して頂けますか？

少女が滝を探すという小さな冒険を通じて、少し大人になるという話です。滝の水しぶきの向こうに虹がかかっているというイメージで「にじいろトリップ」というタイトルにしました。虹は実際撮影では撮れませんでしたが。

観る人に、この映画をどのように感じとって欲しいと思われますか？

誰もが必ず子供だった時期があります。その頃の悔しかった気持ちや楽しかった気持ちを少し思い出してもらえたらと思います。歌あり、踊りあり、涙あり。櫻井さんの魅力がたくさん詰まったこの映画を楽しんでもらえたら嬉しいです。

English

Thank you for making the film and for taking part in the interview.

I think this is the first musical about divorce I have ever seen. How would you describe the film and where did they idea come from?

I wanted to portray the powerlessness of children who are wrapped around their parents’ fingers. However, I thought that it would have been too serious if I performed it directly. That is why I used a musical style and made it as entertainment that everyone would enjoy.

In terms of the script, did you use some of your own experience as the father of a young daughter?

Well…I think children sometimes feel frustrated with not being able to explain their feelings or thoughts well. I do often carry out things while ignoring my children’s thoughts.

This was screened at OAFF just a month before the release of Nouka no Yome wa, Toriatsukai chuui! Part 1 & 2 and Aoi-chan wa yarasete kurenai. How long was the shoot and how did you fit A Rainbow Coloured-trip in?

We lodged together for the shoot in a camping site at the foot of Mt. Fuji for four days from 1^st April 2020. It was just before the declaration of the first Covid-19 state of emergency. It took quite a while to finish the work because it is an independent film. Nouka no Yome wa, Toriatsukai chuui! Part 2 and Aoi-chan wa yarasete kurenai were shot during this time.

Could you talk more about coming up with the music and lyrics?

The script-writer Hideki Shishido wrote the lyrics. I asked him to describe the main character Haruka’s feelings. The music was composed by Taku Unami to accompany the lyrics. I asked him to incorporate some essence of Jazz into it as I wanted to express emotional maturity in childhood.

In terms of the cast, why did you select them and how did you get them into their roles, both for the musical parts and dramatic parts?

Yuune Sakurai who played Haruka was cast first. As this film is funded by an individual party, who is a fan of her, it was decided to make a film starring her in a leading role. Then, I asked some actors who I feel familiar with to play other roles in the film. As for the musical parts, they had singing and choreography lessons after the music was composed. For the drama parts, I decided on the acting direction whilst discussing with the staff and actors.

Yuune Sakurai has a lot of charisma and a good presence. These qualities make her an engaging lead actress. How did you discover her?

There was a proposal from a person who funded the film and wanted to cast her as the main character since he is a fan of her. Then, I went to see her at her concert rehearsal. I was fascinated by her mature singing voice which I couldn’t believe because she is still a young child. That is why I had the idea of her singing in the film.

What was it like to work with children as opposed to the adults?

I tried not to treat them as children as much as I could. I think I directed them the same way as the adults, but I tried to shoot the scenes as quickly as possible, before they got bored, because children tend to lack concentration.

The scene where mother and daughter talk to each other was moving. It takes place between Yuri Ogino and Yuune Sakurai and is an important passage in the film where it felt like Haruka could glimpse the sadness of the adults. Could you describe shooting that scene and the reaction of Yuri Ogino and Yuune Sakurai?

While we were rehearsing the scene, Ogino-san gradually became a mother while Sakurai-san became a daughter as if they are an actual mother and daughter. I was amazed to see them both keep shedding tears even though we repeated camera tests. Sakurai-san might have moved a little bit into adolescence through the shoot.

Was the legend of the waterfall real or simply a way of displaying Haruka’s mindset？

It was fictional. I initially got a picture in my head of her putting her hands together in front of the waterfall.

Could you explain the meaning of the title, A Rainbow-Coloured Trip?

It is a story that a young girl who grows up through her little adventure of finding the waterfall. I made this title from the image of a rainbow behind splashes of the waterfall. Unfortunately, we couldn’t capture any rainbow though.

How would you like audiences to engage with the film?

Everyone used to be a child once. I hope the film will remind you of the feelings of frustration or happiness when you were young. It contains songs, dances and tears. I would be happy if you can enjoy the film full of the charms of Sakurai-san.

Happy weekend!

Here is the first batch of trailers for films released this weekend. The second batch comes tomorrow!

Character   

キャラクタ 「Kyarakuta」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 125 mins.

Director: Akira Nagai

Writer: Akira Nagai, Anna Kawahara, Takashi Nagasaki (Script), Takashi Nagasaki (Original Manga)

Starring: Masaki Suda, Fukase, Shun Oguri, Mitsuki Takahata, Shido Nakamura, Yoshiki Fujieda,

Website IMDB

Akira Nagai, director of Judge! and If Cats Disappeared From this World, teams up with talented actors Masaki Suda and Mitsuki Takahata, and also the musician Fukase, from the band Sekai no Owari in this glossy crime thriller.

Synopsis: Keigo Yamashiro (Masaki Suda) is a talented artist who is stuck as an assistant to a manga artist. He is struggling to make his own work but he lacks the experience and imagination to make a villain. That changes when he is given a task to sketch an ideal family, turns up at their home and finds them all murdered and the culprit still there. The murderer becomes the inspiration for his manga which becomes a hit. The only snag is that the police know he encountered the killer and the killer starts to re-enact murders from the manga…

Namonaihi: A Day with no Name   

名も無い日 「Kyarakuta」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 124 mins.

Director: Yuichi Hibi

Writer: Seito Shinryo, Yuichi Hibi (Script), Yuichi Hibi (Original Idea)

Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Joe Odagiri, Miki Imai, Yoko Maki, Nobuaki Kaneko, Mariko Fuji, Kayoko Ohkubo,

Website

Yuichi Hibi, director of Erica 38, comes back in this film which has a strong cast.

Synopsis: Tatsuya (Masatoshi Nagase), Akihito (Joe Odagiri) and Takashi (Nobuaki Kaneko) are three brothers born and raised in Atsuta Ward in Nagoya City. Tatsuya left home to work as a photographer in New York but he returned to Nagoya after receiving news of the death of his younger brother Akihito (Joe Odagiri). Armed with his camera, Tatsuya travels around Nagoya as if searching for memories of people and experiences.

Aoi-chan wa yarasete kurenai   

葵ちゃんはやらせてくれない 「Aoi-chan wa yarasete kurenai」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 98 mins.

Director: Shinji Imaoka

Writer: Shinji Imaoka, Minoru Sato (Script), 

Starring: Mako Komaki, Shohei Matsuzaki, Ryu Morioka, Kizuna Sakura, Yuri Mishima,

Website

A time-slip love story by Shinji Imaoka, director of Reiko and the Dolphin. I interviewed him for that film last year and interviewed him for A Rainbow-colored Trip just this week!

Synopsis: Shingo, a young man who aspires to become a film director, is visited by the ghost of Kawashita, a senior from his film club at university. Kawashita committed suicide a year ago but has come back to life because he wanted to have sex with Aoi-chan, their junior at university. The two travel back in time to the day when Kawashita had his only chance to have sex with Aoi-chan…

All the Kindness of a Man is a Motive   

男の優しさは全部下心なんですって 「Otoko no yasashi-sa wa zenbu shitagokoronande sutte」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 72 mins.

Director: Nao Nomura

Writer: Nao Nomura (Script), Yuichi Hibi (Original Idea)

Starring: Chie Tsuji, Atomu Mizuishi, Makoto Tanaka, Shunsuke Tanaka, Taichi Kodama, Oto Abe, Kenta Kiguchi,

Website

This is a re-edited version of a MOOSIC LAB 2019 film. It has music composed by Mariko Goto and its star Chie Tsuji who won the Best Actress award at MOOSIC LAB 2019.

Synopsis: Miko Uda (Chie Tsuji) works as an attendant for a merry-go-round at a shopping mall and as a mascot. Miko believes in people to the utmost but has been rejected by every man she has ever given herself to. Unable to become the only one for someone, Miko spends her days alone on the merry-go-round.

Amazing! The Super Legend of Sea Creatures: Darwin’s Coming! 

驚き！海の生きもの超伝説　劇場版ダーウィンが来た！「Odoroki! Umi no ikimono chō densetsu gekijō-ban dāu~in ga kita!」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 84 mins.

Director: Yuuki Tadokoro

Writer: N/A

Starring: Sakana-kun, Naoki Tatsuta,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: The third film adaptation of NHK’s nature documentary program Darwin is Here! The theme of the film is the ocean and the many new species and mysterious ecology that are being discovered. Featured in the film are creatures such as a monkfish that crushes shells with a powerful punch, a flying fish that escapes from enemies with its amazing flying skills, Gentoo penguins that dash to teach their chicks how to run, and sea otters that patiently teach their young how to crack shells.

Blue Heaven For You   

ブルーヘブンを君に 「Buru- Hebun o Kimi ni」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 93 mins.

Director: Takehiko Hata

Writer: Takehiko Hata (Script), 

Starring: Saori Yuki, Yutaka Kobayashi, Yurina Yanagi, Hajime Okayama, Takafumi Honda, Michiko Iwahashi,

Website

Synopsis: Fuyuko Sagisaka (Saori Yuki) is known in some gardening circles as the creator of “Blue Heaven,” the world’s first blue rose, which was said to be impossible to produce. Now a grandmother, she has been diagnosed with cancer and its terminal. With only six months to live, her doctor encourages her to try to make the most of her days. Fuyuko remembers one thing she has left undone, and that is to fly in the sky with a hang glider.

Kotei no Sora       

湖底の空 「Kotei no Sora」

Release Date: June 12th 2021

Duration: 111 mins.

Director: Tomoya Sato

Writer: Tomoya Sato (Script), 

Starring: Im Tae-kyung, Tsuyoshi Abe, Agnes Chan, Myonpa, Hiromitsu Takeda,

Website

Synopsis: A Japan-China-Korea co-production about siblings, Sora and Umi (both played by Lee Tae-kyung) who were born to a Japanese father and a Korean mother and raised in South Korea. Sora now lives in Shanghai and works as an illustrator. When she meets a Japanese guy named Mochizuki, they become close. This is when her sibling Umi visits. Umi was born intersex and had undergone gender reassignment surgery to become a woman. Umi encourages Sora and Mochizuki to fall in love, but Sora becomes mentally unstable…

Happy weekend!

I hope you are well.

This is the follow-up to yesterday’s trailer post. This week I posted interviews with Yutaro Nakamura, director of A New Wind Blows, and Shinji Imaoka, director of A Rainbow-colored Trip.

I watched around ten Stephen Chow films, the 1972 film Bone, and The Quiet Family in preparation for a Heroic Purgatory podcast recording.

What else is released this weekend?

Floating Borderline   

ふゆうするさかいめ 「Fuyuu suru sakaime」

Release Date: June 12th 2021

Duration: 65 mins.

Director: Naoko Sumimoto

Writer: Naoko Sumimoto (Script), 

Starring: Marino Kawashima, Minori Suzuki, Takahiro Ogami, Chihiro Hamada, Shunsuke Minamiwa,

Website

Illustrator and columnist Naoko Sumimoto makes her feature debut with this film that mixes live action with images and animation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1a-kMtRrTg&feature=youtu.be

Synopsis: Marino lives in Tokyo and works part-time at a coffee shop. She suffers from “bedsore” pain due to sleeping too much. All of that sleep sounds as if she wants to keep away from reality. When she learns that one of her regular customers, Mamoru, works as a bedding salesman, she decides to buy a new futon. From that decision comes changes: Marino begins to see shadows in her house, she begins to dance, something she could not do before, and her childhood friend Minori reappears. Marino’s quiet life begins to waver little by little. 

Eiga Sayonara Watashi no Cramer First Touch     

映画　さよなら私のクラマー　ファーストタッチ 「Eiga Sayonara Watashi no Kurama- Fa-suto Tacchi」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 104 mins.

Director: Seiki Takuno

Writer: Natsuko Takahashi (Script), Naoshi Arakawa (Original Creator)

Starring: Miyuri Shimabukuro (Nozomi Onda), Koji Yusa (Kozo Samejima), Kouki Uchiyama (Tetsuji Yamada), Ryoko Shiraishi (Junpei Onda), Shion Wakayama (Sawa Echizen),

Animation Production: LIDEN FILMS

Website ANN MAL

This movie is an adaptation of a manga by Naoshi Arakawa, the creator of Your Lie in April. It is a prequel to the TV anime. While that is set in a high school, this is set in a middle school.

Synopsis: 14-year-old Nozomi Onda loves football and has played the sport with boys since she was a child. She has amazing technique and she works hard but now that she has entered junior high the physical differences between her and the boys are beginning to tell. Despite this, she asks her coach to let her play in an official match where her childhood friend is involved. He once told her that there was no way a girl could compete with a big boy and Nozomi is determined to win the match and prove him wrong…

“Uchuu Senkan Yamato” to Iu Jidai: Seireki 2202-nen no Sentaku 

「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」という時代　西暦2202年の選択 「“Uchuu Senkan Yamato” to Iu Jidai: Seireki 2202-nen no Sentaku」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 120 mins.

Director: Atsuki Sato

Writer: Harutoshi Fukui, Yuka Minakawa (Script), Leiji Matsumoto, Yoshinobu Nishizaki (Original Creator)

Starring: N/A

Animation Production: Studio MOTHER

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: Since 2012, the remakes of the classic anime Space Battleship Yamato, Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and its sequel Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love, have been screened in cinemas and broadcast on TV. This film offers something of an overview as it depicts the entire history of humanity and space, from the Apollo moon landing in 1969 to the space exploration, the voyage to Iskandar in 2199, and the Battle of Gatlantis in 2202, with a new perspective. 

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway    

機動戦士ガンダム　閃光のハサウェイ 「Kidou Senshi Gandamu Senkou no Hasawei」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 95 mins.

Director: Shukou Murase

Writer: Yasuyuki Muto (Script), Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate (Original Creator)

Starring: Kensho Ono (Hathaway Noa), Atsumi Tanezaki (Mace Flower), Chiharu Sawashiro (Kenji Mitsuda), Toru Furuya (Amuro Ray), Reina Ueda (Gigi Andalucia),

Animation Production: Sunrise, Shochiku, Graphinica,

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: Twelve years have passed since the end of the second Neo Zeon War (Char’s Rebellion) and the Earth Federation government is more corrupt than ever, its leaders allowing pollution and persecution of civilian populations to happen on a massive scale.

A rebel organization named “Mafty” has emerged and its leader, “Mafty Navue Erin,” orchestrates a campaign of terrorism and assassinations aimed at the Federation government. It has gained popular support but Mafty Navue Erin has not revealed their identity. This person is actually Hathaway Noa, the son of Bright Noa, an officer of the Earth Federation Forces. Hathaway was on the Federation’s side during Char’s Rebellion but became disillusioned. Now he secretly leads a rebellion but his destiny changes when he encounters the Federation Forces officer Kenneth Sleg and a mysterious young beauty named Gigi Andalucia.

Gyoko no Nikuko-chan   

漁港の肉子ちゃん 「Gyoko no Nikuko-chan」

Release Date: June 11th 2021

Duration: 97 mins.

Director: Ayumu Watanabe

Writer: Satomi Ooshima (Script), Kanako Nishi (Original Creator)

Starring: Shinobu Otake (Nikuko), Cocomi (Kikuko), Hiro Shimono (Gecko/Lizard), Ikuji Nakamura (Sassan), Izumi Ishii (Maria), Matsuko Deluxe (Darcia), Natsuki Hanae (Ninomiya), Riho Yoshioka (Miu),

Animation Production: Studio 4°C

Website ANN MAL

Synopsis: Living in a fishing port, the gourmand and brainy Nikuko-chan is compassionate, loves to fall in love, and is easily deceived by men. Her 11-year-old daughter Kikuko, who is cool and firm, is a little embarrassed by her mother. Eventually, the secret between mother and daughter is revealed, and the best miracle comes to them. 

Following on from last year’s edition which was totally online, the Udine Far East Film Festival takes place at the end of the month and it is a hybrid event with an online portion leading off before the physical portion. The organisers will screen a total of 63 films from 11 countries and territories as well as host workshops, webinars, and other industry events.

The digital portion of the festival has already opened with explosive Hong Kong action film Shock Wave 2, from veteran director Herman Yau, while the on-site opening will be the international festival premiere of Zhang Yimou’s latest film Cliff Walkers, a historical espionage thriller.

The information for online screenings is already up and quite a few titles are available for people to stream worldwide. Check this website for more information on the films and this page for more information on how to participate.

I’ve only covered a couple of films prior to this edition – Keep Rolling and Ito, both of which I’d recommend. I’m going to list the Japanese films in this post:

BLUE ブルー   

ブルー 「Buru-」

Release Date: April 09th, 2021

Duration: 107 mins.

Director: Keisuke Yoshida

Writer: Keisuke Yoshida (Script),

Starring: Kenichi Matsuyama, Fumino Kimura, Tokio Emoto, Masahiro Higahide, Pistol Takehara, Ayuri Yoshinaga, Shinichiro Matsuura,

Website

Festival Link

Synopsis: Nobuto Urita (Kenichi Matsuyama) and Kazuki Ogawa (Masahiro Higashide) are two boxers at the same gym but leagues apart in talent as Kazuki is a top fighter while Nobuto is a loser. They are also connected another way: Kazuki is engaged to Chika Amano (Fumino Kimura), Nobuto’s childhood friend and his first love…

The Goldfish: Dreaming of the Sea   

海辺の金魚 「Umibe no Kingyo」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 76 mins.

Director: Sara Ogawa

Writer: Sara Ogawa (Script)

Starring: Miyu Ogawa, Runa Hanada, Tateto Serizawa, Nayuta Fukuzaki, Kinuo Yamada,

Website IMDB

Festival Link

Synopsis: 18-year-old Hana (Miyu Ogawa) is on the verge of leaving the foster home she has lived in ever since she was taken from her mother. As the oldest there, she helps take care of newcomers and this includes an 8-year-old girl named Harumi (Runa Hanada) who is deeply introverted and prickly. The two gradually bond and open up to each other as they see their similarities and they share the secret scars they hold inside… 

Hold Me Back   

私をくいとめて 「Watashi o Kuitomete」

Release Date: December 18th, 2020

Duration: 135 mins.

Director: Akiko Ohku

Writer: Akiko Ohku (Script), Risa Wataya (Original Novel)

Starring: Non, Kento Hayashi, Asami Usada, Hairi Katagiri, Takuya Wakabahayshi, Ai Hashimoto,

Website IMDB

This won Best Film at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival thanks to audience votes. Here’s a Festival Report from the event to clue you in as to why it was so popular.

Festival Link

Synopsis: 31-years-old Mitsuko Kuroda (Non) is happily enjoying her single life after getting used to living alone. A big reason is that she has a consultant, counsellor “A”, a voice in her mind which gives her advice on how to behave and on her relationships. She believes her happy and peaceful single life with “A” will continue, but she falls in love with Tada-kun (Kento Hayashi), a salesman who is younger than her. Mitsuko decides to take a step forward, even though she is confused by her new lack of courage.

Ito   

いとみち 「Itomichi」

Release Date: June 25th, 2021

Duration: 92 mins.

Director: Satoko Yokohama

Writer: Satoko Yokohama (Script), Osamu Koshigaya (Original Novel)

Starring: Ren Komai, Etsushi Toyokawa, Mei Kurokawa, Yoko Nishikawa, Mayuu Yokota, Ayumu Nakajima, Daimaou Kosaka, Shohei Uno,

Website IMDB OAFF

Winner of the Grand Prix and Audience Award at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021, Ito is the first solo feature film from director Satoko Yokohama since her 2015 drama The Actor. Her cinematic return is set in Aomori Prefecture, the birthplace of Yokohama and also of the film’s lead actress Ren Komai.

I saw this as part of the Osaka Asian Film Festival earlier this year. I found it a charming film. You can read my review here and my interview with the director, Satoko Yokohama, here.

Synopsis: High schooler Ito Soma (Ren Komai) is a gangly girl who hails from Itayanagi, a small town outside Hirosaki city. She has a timid nature and a thick Tsugaru accent which makes her sound a bit like a hick. However, far from being a hayseed, Ito is very knowledgeable about her local culture and dialect and she can also play the shamisen, a three-stringed instrument that is particularly popular in Aomori. This skill is something she picked up from her grandmother (Yoko Nishikawa) and a massive part of the few memories she holds of her late mother, a talented shamisen player in her own right. Alas, Ito refuses to practice and stays silent due to her embarrassment over her country roots and also her melancholy over never having known her mother. However, it is through fully embracing these factors that Ito can eventually unlock her ability to express herself. What puts the girl on the path of self-acceptance and self-expression is an unlikely job at a maid café in Hirosaki City. 

Last of the Wolves   

孤狼の血 LEVEL2   「Korou no Chi Level 2」

Release Date: August 20th 2021

Duration: 139 mins.

Director: Kazuya Shiraishi

Writer: Junya Ikegami (Script), Yuko Yuzuki (Original Novel)

Starring: Tori Matsuzaka, Ryohei Suzuki, Nijiro Murakami, Nanase Nishino, Taichi Saotome, Takumi Saito, Kotaro Yoshida, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Miwako Kakei, Susumu Terajima, Hiroki Miyake,

Website IMDB

Festival Link

Synopsis: It has been a number years since the death of Shogo Ogami in “The Blood of Wolves,” and rookie detective Shuichi Hioka (Tori Matsuzaka) stepped up into his position to implement the dead man’s plan to control the yakuza and prevent further gang wars that would hurt innocent people. This delicate balance of power is upset by a vicious gangster named Narihiro (Ryohei Suzuki) who is back on the streets following time in prison…

Midnight Swan   

ミッドナイトスワン「Middonaito Suwan」

Release Date: September 25th, 2020

Duration: 124 mins.

Director: Eiji Uchida

Writer: Eiji Uchida (Script), 

Starring: Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Misaki Hattori, Asami Mizukawa, Tomorowo Taguchi, Sei Matobu, Eriko Sato, Toshie Negishi, Yusuke Hirayama,

Website IMDB

From Eiji Uchida, the director of Love and Other Cults (2017) and Greatful Dead (2014), a film that sounds a little like Close Knit (2017), the quietly affecting transgender drama from Naoko Ogigami. It stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, former member of SMAP in the lead role, Asami Mizukawa (A Beloved Wife) and Tomorowo Taguchi (Tetsuo: The Iron Man).

Festival Link

Synopsis: Nagisa (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) started life as a guy in Hiroshima but moved to Shinjuku, Tokyo, and transitioned to a woman. Her life is changed when a distant relative named Ichika (Misaki Hattori) comes to stay with her. She has been neglected by her mother Saori (Asami Mizukawa) and has nowhere else to go but it won’t be easy for Ichika and Nagisa to get along. However, over time, a bond develops between the two as they influence each other and Nagisa discovers her maternal instincts.

Hell’s Garden   

地獄の花園 「 Jigoku no Hanazono」

Release Date: May 21st, 2021

Duration: 102 mins.

Director: Kazuaki Seki

Writer: Bakarhythm (Screenplay), 

Starring: Mei Nagano, Alice Hirose, Masanobu Katsumura, Tomomi Maruyama, Nanao, Miyuki Oshima, Kenichi Endo, Satoru Matsuo, Eiko Koike

Website IMDB

Festival Link

Synopsis: Naoko Tanaka (Mei Nagano) thinks her new friend Ran (Alice Hirose) is a normal office lady just like her. Ever since Ran joined the company, they have worked together and, in order to get to know each other they visit cafes together to eat cake and chat during their free time. Naoko is in for a surprise as Ran is really a charismatic Yankee OL whose trademark is a scajacket and Ran’s entrance into the company makes Naoko’s company a target for various gangs of office ladies from all over Japan. 

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

偶然と想像 「Guzen to sozo」

Release Date: March, 2021

Duration: 121 mins.

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Writer: Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Script), 

Starring: Kotone Furukawa, Hyunri, Ayumu Nakajima (segment “Magic (or Something Less Assuring”)), Shouma Kai, Katsuki Mori, Kiyohiko Shibukawa (segment “Door Wide Open”), Aoba Kawai, Fusako Urabe (segment “Once Again”),

IMDB

Three short stories make up this omnibus film directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi who is famous for Happy Hour, which won a special mention for script and best actress at Locarno in 2015, and Asako I & II, which played at Cannes 2018 in the Competition section.  Each of the stories has the theme of “coincidence” and “imagination”.

Festival Link

Synopsis: “Magic (or Something Less Assuring”) realises that the man her best friend has talked about as “hitting on her” is a former boyfriend who broke up with her two years ago. “Door Wide Open” features a story of a student who failed to graduate planning to ruin a professor’s reputation by using a girl to trap him. “Once Again” sees two women who reunited in Sendai for the first time in 20 years. They each share feelings that they have held in their hearts since their high school days.

Underdog   

アンダードッグ「Anda-doggu」

Release Date: November 27th, 2020

Duration: 276 mins.

Director: Masaharu Take

Writer: Shin Adachi (Script/Original Novel)

Starring: Mirai Moriyama, Takumi Kitamura, Ryo Katsuji, Asami Mizukawa, Kumi Takiuchi, Minori Hagiwara, Ami Tomite, Ryotaro Ninomiya, Mami Kumagai, Akira Emoto,

Website

This film has been split into two parts and it reunites writer Shin Adachi with Masaharu Take who both made the award-winning boxing film 100 Yen Love (2014). Here’s a review at the Japan Times.

Festival Links: Part 1 and Part 2

Synopsis: “Underdog” follows three boxers who are all underdogs. Akira Suenaga (Mirai Moriyama) is a boxer who once had a shot at the title but has now been relegated to being a human punching bag. Ryuta Omura (Takumi Kitamura) is a young boxer with a bright future but a violent past. Shun Miyagi (Ryo Katsuji) is a TV comedian who has taken up boxing to revitalise his showbiz career. Their performance in the ring can change their lives for the better and each man struggles to win.

You’re Not Normal, Either   

まともじゃないのは君も一緒 「Matomo Janai no wa Kimi mo Issho」

Release Date: March 19th, 2021

Duration: 98 mins.

Director: Koji Maeda

Writer: Ryo Takada (Script), 

Starring: Ryo Narita, Kaya Kiyohara, Kotaro Koizumi, Yuki Kura, Rika Izumi, Mai Ohtani, Kasumi Yamaya,

Website

Festival Link

Synopsis: Yasuomi Ono (Ryo Narita) is a math teacher who finds it easier to get lost in equations than to get involved with other people. As he grows older, however, he begins to worry about growing into an old bachelor and so he seems to luck out when his student Kasumi Akimoto (Kaya Kiyohara) explains that he’s not normal starts coaching him in how to become normal and start dating. Little does he suspect that she is trying to get him to date the partner of her romantic ideal. What’s more, it seems like he is a hit with the lady…

Sumou-do samurai o tsugu-sha-tachi   

相撲道　サムライを継ぐ者たち 「Sumou-do samurai o tsugu-sha-tachi」

Release Date: October 30th, 2020

Duration: 104 mins.

Director: Eiji Sakata

Writer: N/A

Starring: Narration by Kenichi Endo

Website

Festival Link

Synopsis: A documentary that follows the world of sumo, which has a history of more than 1500 years and is deeply rooted in Japanese life as a national sport. For about half a year from December 2018, the cameras have been in close contact with two rehearsals in the Sakaigawa and Takadagawa stables. It captured powerful images and sounds, and reveals the charm of sumo from various angles such as history, culture and competition.

Past Coverage:

Udine 2018

Udine 2019

Udine 2020

Following last year’s Covid-19-forced cancellation, the Cannes Film Festival will return as a physical event and run from July 06-17. Although we are still in the middle of a pandemic, screenings will be allowed to operate at full capacity. One safeguard in place is that people present a vaccination certificate or a valid health pass via a PCR test.

As for the festival and its films, the event features over 63 films from around the world, with Oliver Stone’s JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass getting it’s premiere alongside In Front Of Your Face by Hong Sang-soo and Jane Par Charlotte by Charlotte Gainsbourg.

In the Official Competition section, made up of 24 titles, there is a wealth of talent which will get its world premiere – Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and Leos Carax’s Annette (the opening films of the fest) are early standouts. We have one title from Japan.

Drive My Car   

ドライブ・マイ・カー 「Doraibu Mai Ka-」

Release Date: August 20th 2021

Duration: 179 mins.

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Writer: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Ooe (Script), Haruki Murakami (Original Novel)

Starring: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Masaki Okada, Reika Kirishima,

Website IMDB

Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Happy Hour) returns to Cannes following his 2018 film Asako I & II with an adaptation of the Haruki Murakami short story Drive My Car (from his collection of short stories Men Without Women). Earlier this year, Hamaguchi won the Silver Bear Award at Berlinale with Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy.

The lead actor is Hidetoshi Nishijima (License to Live) who is paired with Reika Kirishima (Permanent Nobara, Norwegian Wood) as a husband and wife separated by death and a secret.

Synopsis: Yusuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is a stage actor and a stage director who is happily married to his playwright wife Fukaku (Reika Kirishima). Two years later, Yusuke lives with a sense of loss and the vague knowledge that she had a secret, When he takes a directing gig at a theatre festival in Hiroshima, he drives down in his beloved Saab where he meets Misaki (Toko Miura) who has been assigned as his exclusive chauffeur. She’s a taciturn person but while Yusuke spends time with her, he becomes aware of things which he had turned a blind eye to until then…

In the Director’s Fortnight section, there is one short film by a familiar name from the Japanese animation world:

Anxious Body (Dir: Yoriko Mizushiri, 6 mins. website)

This is a Japan-France co-production which was commissioned work for the exhibition “Inter+Play at the Towada Art Center and was on display from January to May this year.

Synopsis (from the website): Living things, artificial things, geometry shapes, and lines. When these different things encounter, a new direction is born. Desiring it as the sense of touch, things keep chasing it forever. Animation of tactility you only can let yourself go with the streaming of the images.

Onoda – 10 000 Nights In The Jungle   

Release Date: July 21st 2021 (France)

Duration: 165 mins.

Director: Arthur Harari

Writer: Arthur Harari, Vincent Poymiro (Script)

Starring: Yuya Endo, Kanji Tsuda, Yuya Matsuura, Tetsuya Chiba, Shinsuke Kato, Issei Ogata,

Website

This is an international co-production directed by French filmmaker Arthur Harari. It opens the Un Certain Regard section and retells a true story.

Synopsis from the Website: Japan, 1944. Trained for intelligence work, Hiroo Onoda, 22 years old, discovers a philosophy contrary to the official line : no suicide, stay alive whatever happens, the mission is more important than anything else.

Sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines where the Americans are about to land, his role will be to wage a guerilla war until the return of the Japanese troops.

The Empire will surrender soon after, Onoda 10.000 days later.

Here’s past coverage of the film festival:

Cannes 2012 Preview

Round-up – Like Someone in Love

Round-up – Ai to Makoto

Round-up – 11.25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate

Cannes 2013 Preview

Cannes 2013 Press Round-up

Cannes 2014 Preview

Cannes 2015 Preview

Cannes 2016 Preview

Cannes 2017 Preview

Round-up – Blade of the Immortal

Round-up – Before We Vanish

Round-up – Radiance

Round-up – Oh Lucy!

Cannes 2018 Preview

Round-up – Shoplifters

Round-up – Asako I & II

Round-up – Mirai

Kore-eda wins the Palme d’Or in 2018

Cannes 2019

Currently underway at the Japan Society is a season of films made up of the works of Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi, all of which can be streamed in the US (and in some cases, Canada) via their virtual cinema.

Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi are a husband-and-wife team of filmmakers who emerged out of the Japanese New Wave.

Both started out as photographers with an interest in disability, Hara working at a school for disabled children and Kobayashi living with the effects of polio. They met when Hara had his first photographic exhibition in Ginza in 1969 with the subject being the pupils at the school he worked at. Their relationship grew quickly from being acquaintances to becoming artistic collaborators with the founding of Shisso production and the making of their first film – with Hara as director and Kobayasi as producer – before culminating in their marriage in 1973.

Influenced by the social unrest at the time and inspired by New Wave figures such as Shohei Imamura and Nagisa Oshima, Hara and Kobayashi began to explore the lives of the underprivileged and iconoclasts through deeply humanist and challenging documentaries done in cinema vérité style. Their films are a realm where the camera not only documents what is going on but also acts as a tool to render their subject more open to intimate involvement with the filmmakers. The end result is that the “protagonists” expose their private lives in moments that move the film away from any sense of objectivity and moral judgements. Boundaries of various kinds disappear and viewers are left with a document that is quite revealing on both a personal and societal level but also challenging in how we regard the subjects and their position in society.

The film of Hara and Kobayashi have gone on to be highly regarded around the world with many documentary filmmakers citing them as inspirations. To understand the impact of their works, Japan Society has put together a career-spanning online retrospective that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Shisso Productions. This retrospective series includes nearly all of the pair’s films, starting with their first production, Goodbye CP (1972) and culminating in their latest, MINAMATA Mandala (2020).

Highlights include The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On, which follows a veteran named Kenzo Okuzaki who enlists his wife and some others to join him in a crusade to expose war crimes that took place in World War II; Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 sees Hara turn the camera on his own life and document the fallout of his marriage/divorce with radical feminist, Miyuki Takeda; and the rarely-seen The Many Faces of Chika—the pair’s only narrative feature. Also featured are their most recent works such as Reiwa Uprising, which charts the political fortunes of candidates in a newly established leftist political party, and MINAMATA Mandala, which was shot over 15 years and documents the legal and medical battles endured by the residents of Minamata, a city where some of the populace suffered the infamous neurological disease due to industrial wastewater from a chemical factory causing severe mercury poisoning.

In order to get a better sense of the season, the curator, K. F. Watanabe, gave an interview.

I first encountered Kazuo Hara’s films via a BBC broadcast of The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On in the early 2000s. What was your first encounter with the works of Kazuo Hara?

It was much later than you, in 2014, my first year working at Japan Society. The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On was included as part of a two-part film series in tribute to the critic Donald Richie, who had just passed away, guest curated by Kyoko Hirano, the former director of the film department at Japan Society for many years. We screened a 16mm print. I was blown away.

Documentary filmmakers have so many approaches, from observational to participatory. Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi’s approach is called “action documentaries.” Can you give an overview of what this is and how its approach?

Pat Noonan—who translated Kazuo Hara’s excellent book Camera Obtrusa (2009, Kaya Press) with Takuo Yasuda—describes the approach this way: “[Hara] uses his camera to create a type of ‘action’ that entertains while forcing his subjects to expose societal and historical truths they would rather ignore.” So, it is a type of boundary crossing enabled by the apparatus of the camera that Hara describes as “invading the realm of privacy.” Hara goes on to use the term to distinguish his approach from observational documentary filmmaking as it was practiced by Shinsuke Ogawa: “I try to forcibly generate action with the camera,” he writes, “I try to wrench it into existence. With deliberate force.”

Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi are given equal billing in this season.

Yes, this is important. Kobayashi is integral to all but one of the films as a collaborator and producer—essential and influential roles that are often easy to overlook. The series is also marked by the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their independent production company Shisso Productions, so it is only appropriate to give recognition to its two founders and filmmakers. I must mention that this was especially encouraged to me by my JAPAN CUTS programming colleague Joel Neville Anderson, a PhD who has written about and interviewed Hara and Kobayashi a few times. We had the pleasure of welcoming Hara and Kobayashi to Japan Society to screen their film Sennan Asbestos Disaster at JAPAN CUTS in 2017. Her importance to the production of these films become more apparent to me then, especially during the Q&A. Looking back on the early films such as Goodbye CP and Extreme Private Eros, this becomes very clear.

In recent years there have been an increasing number of screenings of Hara’s works but this seems like the most comprehensive thus far. Is that the case?

I haven’t looked into it, but I believe so. Many smaller retrospectives and screenings focus on the early films, but this series includes the recent documentaries and even their newest one MINAMATA Mandala, which is just making festival rounds now.

Can you explain Hara and Kobayashi’s impact on documentary filmmaking and their place in the Japanese film world?

I’m not qualified to say with much authority, but they are among the most significant and singular Japanese documentarians in the history the practice, standing among greats such as Noriaki Tsuchimoto and Shunsuke Ogawa in terms of importance while carving out their own unique approach and methodology that has doubtlessly influenced generations of filmmakers. The Emperor’s Naked Army alone is enough to include them in world documentary history books. Today, their documentaries continue to show us parts of Japan we don’t get to see anywhere else.

In terms of selecting the works, what were your criteria and were there any limitations?

We were lucky in that nearly all the films were licensed and sourced from only two companies, Janus Films and Shisso Productions, so that made things easier. We wanted to be as complete as possible and I believe this is nearly complete except for My Mishima from 1999, a film they made with Cinema Juku workshop participants, and TV work.

From Goodbye CP (1972) to Extreme Private Eros: Love Song (1974) to Reiwa Uprising (2019), this season offers different perspectives on Japanese society.

Yes, their career stretches 50 years, so you get to see very different eras of Japan and its politics, society, and counterculture.

What do you hope viewers will take away from this season?

As with everything we organize, I hope viewers can discover something new to them, something that inspires them, something that opens new perspectives and sparks interest in watching more—more Hara/Kobayashi films, more Japanese documentaries, more Japanese films. With this particular retrospective, I hope it brings greater appreciation and understanding of Hara and Kobayashi’s work, especially in what it reveals about and how it relates to our current social and political climate.

Here are links to where you can rent the films:

Goodbye CP    Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974    The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On    A Dedicated Life     The Many Faces of Chika    Sennan Asbestos Disaster    Reiwa Uprising     MINAMATA Mandala

Here are the prices:

Rentals: $10 / 20% off members

Bundle 1: $30 / 20% off members
Includes: Goodbye CP, Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974, The Emperor’s Naked Army
Marches On, A Dedicated Life and Sennan Asbestos Disaster – Available in the US and
Canada.

Bundle 2: $20 / 20% off members
Includes: The Many Faces of Chika, Reiwa Uprising and Minamata Mandala

Here is the first part of a two-part trailer post!

The Fable: A Contract Killer Who Doesn’t Kill   

ザ・ファブル 殺さない殺し屋 「The Fable: Korosanai Koroshiya」

Release Date: June 18th 2021

Duration: 123 mins.

Director: Kan Eguchi

Writer: Kan Eguchi, Masahiro Yamaura (Script), Katsuhisa Minami (Original Manga)

Starring: Junichi Okada, Fumino Kimura, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Yurina Hirate, Masanobu Ando, Mizuki Yamamoto, Ken Yasuda, Jiro Sato, Daisuke Miyagawa, Manami Hashimoto,

Website IMDB

The first film was highly enjoyable up until the extended (and overly long) finale and I felt that it captured the manga perfectly. The trailer indicates that the stunts and action have grown even more grandiose!

Synopsis: Akira Sato (Junichi Okada) is the legendary killer known as The Fable. He is continuing to keep a low profile in Osaka with his partner Yoko (Fumino Kimura) as they pretend to be ordinary siblings. He maintains his part-time job at a design company called Octopus where his boss, Takoda (Jiro Sato), and colleague/love interest, Misaki (Mizuki Yamamoto), are unaware of his hidden life of assassinations. The team at Octopus become the target of extortion when a seemingly innocent NPO run by a seemingly nice guy named Utsubo (Shinichi Tsutsumi) brings in a contract killer Suzuki (Masanobu Ando) to get money out of them. Akira must step in and use his skills.

Rika: Self-Proclaimed 28-Years-Old Pure Love Monster   

リカ 自称28歳の純愛モンスター 「Rika: Jisho 28 sai no Junai Monster」

Release Date: June 18th 2021

Duration: 99 mins.

Director: Tsukuru Matsuki

Writer: Kisa Miura, Masahiro Yamaura (Script), Takahisa Igarashi (Original Novels)

Starring: Saki Takaoka, Hayato Ichihara, Rio Uchida, Nozomi Sasaki, Ryutaro Okada, Kenji Mizuhashi,

Website IMDB

Takahisa Igarashi wrote a series of novels that were later turned into TV dramas, the first in 2019 – Rika – and the second in 2021 – Rika: Rebirth.

Synopsis: Following the discovery of a body in a suitcase, detective Jiro Okuyama (Hayato Ichihara) is on the hunt for Rika Amamiya, a beautiful woman who kidnaps and kills those who fall for her. He tracks her down by using a dating app and pretending to be her next partner in a deadly date but the hunter becomes the hunted as he becomes attracted to Rika. Takako (Rio Uchida), his fiancée and fellow police detective, becomes worried…

Hinomaru Soul: Heroes Behind the Scenes   

ヒノマルソウル　舞台裏の英雄たち 「Hinomaru Souru Butaiura no Eiyuu-tachi」

Release Date: June 18th 2021

Duration: 114 mins.

Director: Ken Iizuka

Writer: Kenichi Suzuki, Noriaki Sugihara (Script), 

Starring: Kei Tanaka, Tao Tsuchiya, Yuki Yamada, Gordon Maeda, Motoki Ochia, Nao Kosaka,

Website

Synopsis: This tells the true story of how ski jumper Jinya Nishikata, a silver medallist at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, helped the Japanese team reach gold at the Nagano Winter Olympics. He wasn’t on the official team but was a test jumper working behind the scenes to help the team reach gold after a blizzard interrupts the competition. 

Around the Table 

青葉家のテーブル 「Aobake no Te-buru」

Release Date: June 18th, 2021

Duration: 104 mins.

Director: Soushi Matsumoto

Writer: Soushi Matsumoto, Yasumi Endo (Screenplay),

Starring: Naomi Nishida, Miwako Ichikawa, Aino Kuribayashi, ShuRaiju Kamata, Haruka Kubo, Miku Uehara,

Website

Synopsis: Haruko (Naomi Nishida) is lives with her son Riku (Uta Yorikawa), her friend Aiko (Haruka Kubo) and Aiko’s boyfriend Sorao (Shugo Oshinari). This is their “family” and their days are filled with food, music, and art. One day, Haruko’s old friend Tomoko (Miwako Ichikawa), a social media star, gets in touch and asks Haruko to let her daughter, 17-year-old Yuko (Aino Kuribayashi), stay during her summer art school program. Their relationship isn’t on the best of terms but Haruko agrees and so begins a summer of self discovery for all involved… 

She Came   

彼女来来 「Kanojo Rairai」

Release Date: June 18th 2021

Duration: 91 mins.

Director: Tatsuya Yamanishi

Writer: Tatsuya Yamanishi (Script), 

Starring: Kou Maehara, Hana Amano, Nao, Hirona Murata, Asuka Hamaru,

Website

 This was the winner of the runner-up prize at MOOSIC LAB [JOINT] 2020-2021. The music is provided by Rei Miyamoto, violinist in the popular Kansai band “Vampillia.”

Synopsis: Thirty-year-old Norio works for a casting company and lives with his girlfriend Mari. One summer day, Norio returns home to find that Mari has turned into a strange young woman who tells him that she will be living in his home from now on… 

Happy Weekend, everyone.

I hope that you are all safe and well.

I’m careening from one thing to another. I started the week writing aboutthe Udine and Cannes film festivals before posting a news article and interview with the curator of a season of documentary films made by Kazuo Hara/Sachiko Kobayashi which are available to stream in North America via Japan Society. I’ll be reviewing these films over the next week. I also posted trailers yesterday.

This week I watched Assault on Precinct 13, Ronin, and the first half of Psycho-Pass Season 3. I also watched the Hara/Kobayashi films Goodbye CP and Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1984.

What else was released this weekend?

About the Pink Sky (Colour Version)                                 

ももいろそらを  カラー版   「Momoiro Sora Wo Kara- ban」

Release Date: January 12^th 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 113 mins.

Director: Keiichi Kobayashi

Writer: Keiichi Kobayashi

Starring: Ai Ikeda, Ena Koshino, Reiko Fujiwara, Tsubasa Takayama, Hakusyu Togetsuan

Website  IMDB

Keiichi Kobayashi’s film premiered at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival, where it won a major award, and it also screened at last 2012’s Sundance Film Festival and Rotterdam Film Festival. Its original form is a B&W film so this colour version will be an interesting re-watch. Looking at the names involved, Ena Koshino and Reiko Fujiwara have gone on to other projects.

Original Trailer Below

Synopsis: Izumi is a cheerfully cynical high-school girl who has a strange hobby: rating newspaper articles for positivity and negativity. One day she finds a wallet containing 300,000 yen and the owner’s ID: Sato, a wealthy schoolmate. Izumi decides to lend it to a friend in financial straits but her classmates Hasumi and Kaoru force her to return the wallet to Sato. However, unable to return the money she agrees to help Sato console a sick friend by creating a good news newspaper.

Henshin!   

へんしんっ！ 「Henshin!」

Release Date: June 19th, 2021

Duration: 94 mins.

Director: Tomoya Ishida

Writer: N/A

Starring: Tomoya Ishida, Osamu Jareo, Shizue Sazawa (Nozaki)

Website

This was the 2020 Pia Film Festival Grand Prix winning film. It played at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.

Synopsis: A documentary in which Tomoya Ishida, a director in am electric wheelchair works together with a blind actress and a woman named Shizue Sasawa who is dedicated to training interpreters for the deaf, amongst others, to explore the possibility of activities that allow people with disabilities to express themselves. While interacting with various people through filmmaking, he discovers various “differences”. He also pays attention to how he makes a movie that involves the people around him. Eventually, director Ishida is invited by choreographer and dancer Osamu Sunareo to perform on stage. The film was released theatrically as an “open screening” with Japanese subtitles and audio guidance.

The Magic of Chocolate (live action)   

ショコラの魔法 「Shokora no Mahou」

Release Date: June 18th 2021

Duration: 91 mins.

Director: Tomonobu Moriwaki

Writer: Tatsuya Kanazawa (Script), Rino Mizuki (Original Manga)

Starring: Maho Yamaguchi, Yui Okada, Ken Nakashima, Hiyori Sakurada, Mei Hatake,

Website

This is based on a horror manga series.

Synopsis: It is rumoured that somewhere deep in a forest on the edge of town is an illusive mansion that is owned by Chocolat (Maho Yamaguchi), a witch and chocolatier who runs a chocolate shop called Chocolat Noir. Her customers are those whose desires are so strong they can find the mansion. Once there, the customers can buy chocolate that can grant wishes but they come at a price greater than any sum of money. Believing in this rumour, a high school newspaper journalist named Nao (Yui Okada) goes in search of the mansion and from that day, mysterious incidents occur… 

Gradation   

グラデーション 「Gurade-shon」

Release Date: June 19th 2021

Duration: 64 mins.

Director: Rei Shiina

Writer: Rei Shiina (Script), 

Starring: Takumi Saito, Yoshihide Okazaki, Masahide Taniguchi,

Synopsis: Jun is a university student who works part-time at a standing bar. He spends his summer either lazing around or exploring the Himonya area of Tokyo and taking pictures with his camera. When he discovers that Yasu, a cabaret boy and a regular customer at the bar he works at, used to be an aspiring photographer, they embark on a relationship based on photography. Slowly, Jun’s life begins to revolve around Yasu but when Yasu stops visiting the bar… 

Musuko no mama de, joshi ni naru   

息子のままで、女子になる 「Musuko no mama de, joshi ni naru」

Release Date: June 19th 2021

Duration: 105 mins.

Director: Taiki Sugioka

Writer: N/A

Starring: Sally Kaede, Steven Haynes, Kodo Nishimura, JobRainbow, Ai Haruna, Satsuki Nishihara,

Website

Synopsis: This is a documentary about Sally Kaede, a transgender woman. Kaede had followed a lifelong passion for architecture to the prestigious Keio University and was on the cusp of achieving it when she received a job offer from a major construction company, but she felt uncomfortable living as a man so, before entering a new phase of her life, she transitioned. Now Kaede enters beauty contests and participates in LGBT employment support activities. Through these activities, she questions the stereotypes surrounding transgender people in the world, and tries to push their image forward as being real individuals. However, as she tries to do this, she still thinks of her family and how they will respond to her changes… 

Goodbye CP

さようならCP 「Sayonara CP」

Release Date: June 18th 1972

Duration: 82 mins.

Director: Kazuo Hara

Producer: Sachiko Kobayashi

Writer: N/A

Starring: Hiroshi Yokota, Koichi Yokozuka, The Green Lawn Association,

 IMDB

Goodbye CP (1972) was the first artistic collaboration between Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi, two photographers who became a husband-and-wife director-and-producer team who have spent the last 50 years documenting the lives of people living on the margins of Japanese society and agitating against its strictures. Through recording those who live differently, their works have shone a light onto points of conflicts based on identity, history, and class, and they reveal the social fault lines that the establishment chooses to ignore. With Goodbye CP, the conflict is between the able-bodied and the disabled.

Shot at a tumultuous time of student protests and when disability rights campaigns were taking on long-standing prejudices, and also when public awareness of Minamata disease was high, Goodbye CP was made to be different. While other documentaries might try to curry audience sympathy through depicting their subjects with sentimentality or lionising their struggle to live while disabled, Hara and Kobayashi’s film addresses audiences in a confrontational way in order to shake up views.

Shot with a 16mm handheld camera on black-and-white film, Goodbye CP was a collaborative work created with its subjects, an activist group made up of cerebral palsy sufferers led by a poet named Hiroshi Yokota. We watch as he and other members of his group, The Green Lawn Association, battle against public apathy through fundraising, street demonstrations, and poetry readings. There is a sense of rawness and exhibitionism given to proceedings as we follow this fearless group out onto the streets of Tokyo and meet with all of the difficulties that entails. We are also jump cut into interviews with individual members where they explain with directness how they feel shame and discomfort when out in public and also how they are unable to participate in society.

Yokota, a particular focus of the film, allows his body to be emblematic of their ostracization. This is seen as he tries to traverse urban terrain while forgoing using a wheelchair despite suffering from severe CP. He allows himself to be filmed dragging himself around Shinjuku amidst huge crowds of people who avoid him, past cars that roar by at close proximity, and off trains that won’t wait for his frail frame to exit. During these sequences the camera is positioned at his height and the soundtrack is full of the din of urban noise so it all feels overwhelming. These techniques translate moments of physical stress. Behind the sensation is an overwhelming awareness of how impractical and limiting urban spaces are for the disabled. As for the public, they are shown through interviews to be, at best, pitying. This may also be the response of viewers watching from the comfort of a cinema or their home but pity alone can be insulting, especially in a society that dehumanises the disabled as we soon learn from the group. 

The interviews with Yokota and others, sometimes done direct to camera, sometimes overlaid on scenes of public gatherings, complicate the subjects and also make them understood on a universal level. We get an insight into their private lives and see them as they go on group trips to the countryside or when one, Koichi Yokozuka, welcomes the birth of his child. We also get testimonies of their first experience with sex. This is a basic human desire that many viewers will relate to in some way, only then to get examples of how the subjects found themselves restricted by society’s boundaries. Some recollections are plaintive, others are amusing, one is disturbing in that a rape took place. They remind us that the people on display are human and this should short-circuit the performative empathy that we may resort to, the thing that allows us to conveniently avoid any deep engagement with others. This convenient escape is stripped away gradually as the images and testimonies make us reflect on how our own behaviour relates to the disabled.

Also caught on film are moments of defiance from individuals who argue about direction of the project, revealing that the group have some co-authorship of what is happening. While it shows they have agency, it also leads to a particularly moving and rather poignant aspect of the film as we become aware of the deleterious effects that the project is having on Yokota’s family. His wife is fully understanding of his campaign and yet she feels a sense of profound shame over being recorded like exhibits for others to leer at. It is a deeply uncomfortable moment to reckon with as a viewer but one that the filmmakers should be respected for keeping in, even if we feel that some moral boundary has been crossed, for it intensifies the sense that this group are desperate and a film might be their way to push the conversation surrounding disabilities forward.

By allowing these moments to be filmed, by collapsing the walls between the private and the public and by dragging these issues into the public consciousness and allowing the subjects the chance to express their own opinions, the film creates public ownership over this confrontation between the able-bodied and the disabled and a new way to discuss disability. Hara and Kobayashi capture a multi-faceted picture of their subjects without patronising or oversentamentalising them, by focussing on them and by forcing us to look (subjects are often looking directly at the camera) and by forcing us to listen (the original Japanese screenings didn’t have subtitles). Yokota imparts a sense of despair in an emotionally devastating ending but his efforts and the filmmaking choices of Hara and Kobayashi have the force to make people think.

Goodbye CP plays as part of a season of films made by Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi that is available to stream in North America until July 02nd.

Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974   

極私的エロス　恋歌１９７４ 「Gokushiteki erosu renka 1974」

Release Date: June 18th 1972

Duration: 98 mins.

Director: Kazuo Hara

Producer: Sachiko Kobayashi

Writer: N/A

Starring: Miyuki Takeda, Sachiko Kobayashi, Kazuo Hara

IMDB

Released two years after Goodbye CP, Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 finds Kazuo Hara turning the camera on his own life by filming Miyuki Takeda, a radical feminist, the mother of his son, and his ex-wife. Hara narrates this documentary, which he describes as an attempt to stay connected to Takeda, and films her in intimate situations to work through his unresolved feelings, going so far as to invite his collaborator/girlfriend Sachiko Kobayashi as an actor used to stimulate drama.

Once again using a handheld camera and black-and-white film, Hara spent periods from 1972 to 1974 documenting Takeda’s life as she moves from Tokyo to Okinawa with their infant son, embarks upon relationships with a woman named Sugako and then a Black American G.I. with whom she gets pregnant, then returns to Tokyo to give birth in Hara’s apartment completely unassisted.

Shot chronologically with jump cuts and intertitles to facilitate time/geographical shifts, the camera lingers obsessively on Takeda who describes herself as too tough to elicit much sympathy from others. She is right in that she doesn’t inspire sympathy but, rather, a lot of awe as she strides forth from a background of the student movement and women’s liberation with a tremendous degree of self-confidence and a fierce intelligence. She shows possession of her body and mind as she allows her personal/sexual life to be recorded – indeed, at one point we get a grainy first-person shot of Hara perspective as he is making love to Takeda – and a fearlessness that carries her into different places and situations that across class and regions. Through her exploration, she shows ways of living and femininity that disrupt traditional gender roles as well as giving a taste of the sexual liberation of the time.

Hara documents the different environments with enough skill to make each time and place evocative and finds topical focal points via the evolving mindset that Takeda displays with her conversations that expose us to ideas of women’s liberation, communitarianism, and anti-colonialism. The people she converses with, such as hard-bitten go-go dancers, are lively, their personalities and intelligence coming through via impromptu interviews with Takeda and friends. Hara’s camera even acts as a catalyst for tension and revelation rather than just a tool for observation. People respond to it, playing up a persona or awkwardly avoiding being recorded. When his presence exacerbates tensions in Takeda’s relationships, it spurs on drama.

An interesting section of the film comes in the love triangle that turns into a quadrangle as Hara, jealous of Takeda’s sexual exploration, brings Kobayashi, his then pregnant girlfriend, into the situation. While his jealousy initiates this twist (and Hara has the balls to show himself a crying wreck), the women eventually build bridges and this leads to is an amusing scene where compare notes on Hara and Takeda ruthlessly critiques her ex. Their relationship develops on film leading to Takeda supporting Kobayashi in her own pregnancy via a women’s commune which is a recurring theme in the film, one of reducing male influence and pointing to a female-led future.

The biggest talking point of the film might be the birthing sequence (shown in full but captured out of focus by a nervous Hara), what is returned to and what the film culminates with is the sense of female unity in environments free from men. Whether it is a lesbian relationship, the support group set up for bar girls in Okinawa, or the women’s commune in Tokyo, Takeda continually tries to establish a positive way of living that defies the way traditional society is set up. It is often positive and it stands in stark opposition to the men who are shown as jealous and manipulative (Hara), exploitative (the G.I.s looking for an easy lay and gangsters who harass Takeda and Hara) and, ultimately, the patriarchal power structures that exploit women.

Once the film was over it was easy to see why this “self-documentary” was created because Takeda is an inspiration. From the first moments when still photographs show her as an artist, wife, mother, and in the nude, to seeing her in motion and in argumentative form, she is a larger than life presence who is the centre of gravitational pull whenever she is on screen. She demonstrates a set of personal politics that evolves over the course of the film that offer an alternative vision to Japan’s conservatism, something directly challenging social mores and restrictions faced by women, revealing it through the universal lens of sex and the libertarian attitudes to it at the time. It culminates with Takeda giving birth on screen as she takes control of her own body and brings another life into the world with all the hope of change that must have been felt at the time by herself and others. The confidence with which she does it all is infectious and makes her a notable character in cinema.

Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 plays as part of a season of films made by Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi that is available to stream in North America until July 02nd.

This is the first in a three-part trailer post because 18 films have been released this weekend.

Ito   

いとみち 「Itomichi」

Release Date: June 25th, 2021

Duration: 92 mins.

Director: Satoko Yokohama

Writer: Satoko Yokohama (Script), Osamu Koshigaya (Original Novel)

Starring: Ren Komai, Etsushi Toyokawa, Mei Kurokawa, Yoko Nishikawa, Mayuu Yokota, Ayumu Nakajima, Daimaou Kosaka, Shohei Uno,

Website IMDB OAFF

Winner of the Grand Prix and Audience Award at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021, Ito is the first solo feature film from director Satoko Yokohama since her 2015 drama The Actor. Her cinematic return is set in Aomori Prefecture, the birthplace of Yokohama and also of the film’s lead actress Ren Komai.

I saw this as part of the Osaka Asian Film Festival earlier this year. I found it a charming film. You can read my review here and my interview with the director, Satoko Yokohama, here.

Synopsis: High schooler Ito Soma (Ren Komai) is a gangly girl who hails from Itayanagi, a small town outside Hirosaki city. She has a timid nature and a thick Tsugaru accent which makes her sound a bit like a hick. However, far from being a hayseed, Ito is very knowledgeable about her local culture and dialect and she can also play the shamisen, a three-stringed instrument that is particularly popular in Aomori. This skill is something she picked up from her grandmother (Yoko Nishikawa) and a massive part of the few memories she holds of her late mother, a talented shamisen player in her own right. Alas, Ito refuses to practice and stays silent due to her embarrassment over her country roots and also her melancholy over never having known her mother. However, it is through fully embracing these factors that Ito can eventually unlock her ability to express herself. What puts the girl on the path of self-acceptance and self-expression is an unlikely job at a maid café in Hirosaki City. 

The Goldfish: Dreaming of the Sea   

海辺の金魚 「Umibe no Kingyo」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 76 mins.

Director: Sara Ogawa

Writer: Sara Ogawa (Script)

Starring: Miyu Ogawa, Runa Hanada, Tateto Serizawa, Nayuta Fukuzaki, Kinuo Yamada,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: 18-year-old Hana (Miyu Ogawa) is on the verge of leaving the foster home she has lived in ever since she was taken from her mother. As the oldest there, she helps take care of newcomers and this includes an 8-year-old girl named Harumi (Runa Hanada) who is deeply introverted and prickly. The two gradually bond and open up to each other as they see their similarities and they share the secret scars they hold inside… 

The Dream Manipulator Mugen: Ningyo Jigoku   

夢幻紳士　人形地獄「Mugen Shinshi Ningyou Jigoku」

Release Date: June 26th, 2021

Duration: 90 mins.

Director: Misako Unakami

Writer: Ayumi Sato, Kazuhiro Tokage, Takashi Suganuma (Screenplay), Yousuke Takahashi (Original Manga)

Starring: Masazumi Minaki, Kana Yoko, Yumiko Oka, Suwaro Ryu, Kiriko Kina, SARU, Fumio Sugiyama,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: Based on the manga Dream Gentleman Mugen Shinshi by Yousuke Takahashi, the story takes place in the Showa era and follows mysterious and famous detective Mugen Mamiya who has travelled from Tokyo to a mountain village where he investigates the case of a girl who was discovered stuffed in a wooden box. The girl, Nayuko Mishima, had been in the service of a local lady with a mysterious reputation named Hinako  before she disappeared. Now in a clinic, the girl lies comatose or maybe she is behaving exactly like a doll. Mugen will have to use his special ability to manipulate dreams to find out what lies at the heart of the case…

Body Remember   

Release Date: June 25th, 2021

Duration: 85 mins.

Director: Keita Yamashina

Writer: Ippei Miyake, Keita Yamashina (Script), 

Starring: Yume Tanaka, Yohei Okuda, Ryuta Furuya,
Takaya Shibata, Momoka Ayukawa, Keita Yamashina,

Website IMDB

Body Remember is the directorial debut by actor Keita Yamashina. In between appearing in indie films like Swaying Mariko (2017), My Lovely Days (2018), and Stay (2019), he took to the stage and was inspired by the actors he met to craft this film. You can read my review here.

Synopsis: Told through a series of nested stories, Body Remember opens with a bang as we gaze upon the aftermath of a double-shooting which has resulted from a love triangle gone tragically wrong. We watch as the history of this compelling scene is recounted by a sexy woman named Yoko (Yume Tanaka) in an interview with her cousin, a young novelist named Haruhiko (Takaya Shibata), and his artist girlfriend Ririko (Momoka Ayukawa) at a café. She relates a tale of friends who fell out over her, the details of which Yoko’s two listeners intend to turn into a novel. But over the course of the film we question what is truth and what is fiction.

BanG Dream! Episode of Roselia II：Song I am. 

BanG Dream! Episode of Roselia I：約束　 「BanG Dream! Episode of Roselia I：Yakusoku」

Release Date: June 25th, 2021

Duration: 70 mins.

Chief Director: Koudai Kakimoto, Director: Atsushi Mimura

Writer: Yuniko Ayana (Series Composition) Ko Nakamura (Original Story)

Starring: Aina Aiba (Yukina Minato), Haruka Kudou (Sayo Hikawa), Kanon Shizaki (Rinko Shirokane), Megu Sakuragawa (Ako Udagawa), Yuki Nakashima (Lisa Imai)

Animation Production: Sanzigen Animation Studio

Website ANN MAL

BanG Dream! is a project in which the voice actors acting the characters actually form a band to play musical instruments and sing. This is the second in a two-part release focussed on the band Roselia. The first part was released in April.

Synopsis: Minato Yukina decides to form the band Roselia to participate in a music festival. She recruits four other girls, all of whom are aiming for success.

The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On 

ゆきゆきて、神軍　 「Yuki yukite, shingun」

Release Date: August 01st, 1987

Duration: 122 mins.

Director:  Kazuo Hara

Producer: Sachiko Kobayashi

Writer: N/A

Starring: Kenzo Okuzaki, Shizumi Okuzaki,

IMDB

The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On is regarded as one of the finest documentaries ever made. It derives its power from its subject, a World War II veteran and political agitator named Kenzo Okuzaki who is on a quest to expose war crime as well as hold Emperor Hirohito, the military, and the establishment to account. The idea of a documentary about him was first envisaged by Shohei Imamura but due to the refusal of television companies to touch the subject, it fell to Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi to film it.

Okuzaki is quite a character to follow. Within the opening five minutes we learn he is an anti-authoritarian who served jail time for murder, for hurling pachinko balls at the Emperor, and for distributing flyers  featuring pornographic images of the Emperor around Tokyo. While he has always been an anti-authoritarian (he’d rumble with his officers while in the army), that jail time (including 10 years in solitary!) led to a mean moralistic streak that has enhanced his fighting capabilities. He shows no signs of slowing down at the age of 62, which is when we join him, as he sidelines his plot to assassinate an ex-prime minister to search for the truth of a dark chapter in his past.

During World War II, he was in the 36th Regiment of Independent Engineers which was stationed in New Guinea. Towards the end of the war, good fortune saw him captured by Allied forces while the rest of his fellow soldiers who continued to fight were forced to retreat into a small area and were almost completely cut off from food and water. At a time when soldiers were suffering from starvation there were dubious “executions” including those of privates Tetsunosuke Yoshizawa and Jinpei Nomura. Indeed, they were shot 23 days after the Emperor gave his radio address announcing that the war was over.

Okuzaki wants to find out the truth behind the murders and so with Kazuo Hara and a documentary film crew in tow he shuttles from his home in Kobe to various places the length of Honshuu. From Hyogo Prefecture to Hiroshima, Tokyo to Saitama, he tracks down and interviews all who were involved in the killings. What he gets are excuses, equivocations and elusiveness as the former soldiers lie and demonstrate a convenient collective amnesia that allows them to dodge responsibility. Lines like, “it was a military order. Orders always came first”, and, “for the sake of these souls, we shouldn’t dig up the past”, are uttered which infuriates Okuzaki who, through dogged unearths evidence of cannibalism.

Okuzaki’s rebelliousness and violence hovers over each interview and with the truth just out of grasp he resorts to bizarre tactics such as hiring actors and inflicting violence on the interviewees, meanwhile the camera crew continues recording everything. Watching men in their sixties fight each other in bursts of violence is alarming and Hara emphasises the sense of shock with moments of slow motion as Okuzaki moves to judo his targets. It seems immoral and yet, as the awful details of the crimes committed come to light, audience members may find themselves willing Okuzaki getting confessions out of men bound to the more socially acceptable action of forgetting and parroting a sanitised version of events.

Moral quandaries emerge over how the filmmakers become part of the action as the tension mounts, Hara being forced to step in front of the camera to caution Okuzaki who shows the degree of his mania and need for control by trying to direct the crew. Okuzaki clearly uses the camera crew to get into people’s lives and the camera crew use him for material but it is fascinating watching how the presence of the camera goads people on to more extremes or inhibits them from confessing scenes.

What stands out more is how Okuzaki’s irreverent attitude to authority allows things descend into slapstick, bouts of wrestling coming amid formal Japanese greetings and reticence. The camera records everything without bias and so the absurdity comes out naturally. Seeing the reactions of families and nonplussed police officers standing around scuffles equally comes off as amusing as they ask for Okuzaki to stop. In truth, as funny as Okuzaki is to watch, his domineering behaviour points to a disturbing level of violence.

Shizumi, Okuzaki’s wife, soon emerges as a hero by demonstrating how she puts up with her husband’s actions with the patience of a saint. More importantly Hara, through Okuzaki, shows that the Japanese character is not the quiet and calm stereotype and he has exposed some uncomfortable truths that the Japanese state would rather forget with regards to the way the military brutalised and cannibalised its own people and others. It’s a really compelling mixture of contradictory elements that makes the film an absolutely gripping watch!

The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On is a powerful film about violence and obsession. Although the film was recorded over a number of years, the filmmakers chart Okuzaki’s behaviour with intelligent editing to create a focused narrative full of smart staging and interactions to make it as visceral as possible. Both the filmmakers and Okuzaki root out the truth from a horrific episode in Japan’s past and pose difficult questions for the audience watching their work, forcing people to fully confront the horrors of war. Their work will always be relevant because armed conflicts, unthinking obedience, and blind nationalism are ever present threats for humanity.

The Emperor’s Naked Army plays as part of a season of films made by Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi that is available to stream in North America until July 02nd.

This is a rewrite of a review from a couple of years ago.

This is the second of this weekend’s trailer posts. One went up yesterday and the other will go up tomorrow.

What was released this weekend???

KAWASAKI BRAVE THUNDERS 2020-21 SEASON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTARY “OVER TIME” Conflict, Joy, and Gratitude.　

KAWASAKI BRAVE THUNDERS 2020-21 SEASON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTARY “OVER TIME” 葛藤と、歓喜と、感謝と  「KAWASAKI BRAVE THUNDERS 2020-21 SEASON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTARY “OVER TIME” kattou to, kanki to, kansha to.。」

Release Date: July 25th, 2021

Duration: 87 mins.

Director: Shusuke Fukada

Writer: N/A

Starring: N/A

Website   

Synopsis: The Kawasaki Brave Thunder basketball team get another documentary, this one culled from 400 hours of footage that shows them in action in the B.League professional basketball league. Expect the usual behind-the-scenes footage and on-court action as well as interviews with players and officials.

Arc   

アーク 「A-ku」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 127 mins.

Director: Kei Ishikawa

Writer: Kei Ishikawa, Kaori Sawai (Script), Ken Liu (Original Short Story)

Starring: Kyoko Yoshine, Shinobu Terajima, Masaki Okada, Jun Fubuki, Kaoru Kobayashi, Kai Inowaki, Yuri Nakamura, Chieko Baisho,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: Some time in the near future, a 30-year-old woman named Rina (Kyoko Yoshine) abandons her baby boy and lives a wandering life. When she meets Ema (Shinobu Terajima), Rina takes a job at a cosmetics company where she performs “body work.” This role sees her plasticize dead bodies for people to preserve their loved ones. Meanwhile, Ema’s younger brother, a genius scientist named Amane (Masaki Okada), has been developing technology that bestows immortality on people. Both he and Rina undergo the immortality procedure and it soon becomes the norm in the world, dividing humanity and causing confusion and change.

Gaia Symphony No. 9   

地球交響曲　ガイアシンフォニー　第九番 「Chikyuu koukyou kyoku gaia shinfoni- dai kyuu ban」

Release Date: June 22nd 2021

Duration: 123 mins.

Director: Jin Tatsumura

Writer: N/A

Starring: Kenichiro Kobayashi, Steven Mithen, Tasuku Honjo, Etsuko Hori, Keiko Yumino,

Website

Synopsis: This is the ninth and final film in the “Gaia Symphony” series of documentaries. The whole series has recorded the words and actions of wise people working in various fields with beautiful images and music. This film records the “Kobaken and Friends Orchestra” led by world-renowned conductor Kenichiro Kobayashi and the “Gaia Symphony Ninth Chorus” formed for this film as they rehearse for the year-end “Ninth Concert.” An emotional and uplifting performance is edited into a 14-minute scene for the film. The cognitive archaeologist Steven Mithen, who has theorized that Neanderthals may have used their singing voices for advanced communication, visits Japan, and Tasuku Honjo, a medical doctor who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2018, gives his thoughts.

The Door into Summer To the future with you   

夏への扉　キミのいる未来へ 「Natsu he no Tobira: Kimi no Iru Mirai E」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 118 mins.

Director: Takahiro Miki

Writer: Tomoe Kanno (Script), Robert A. Heinlein (Original Novel)

Starring: Kento Yamazaki, Kaya Kiyohara, Naohito Fujiki, Natsuna Watanabe, Kenta Hamano, Tomorowo Taguchi, Rin Takanahsi,

Website IMDB

Synopsis: It is the year 1995 and scientist Soichiro Takakura (Kento Yamazaki) is developing technology in the fields of robotic and batteries based upon the wishes of his father’s late friend Matsushita. Soichiro is engaged to Matsushita’s daughter Riko. Everything seems fine until he is betrayed by his business partner and Riko. Devastated, Soichiro decides to leave his present world and places himself into a cold sleep in the hopes of finding a better future. When he wakes up, he discovers that he is in the year 2025.

Ai ni tsuite kataru toki ni Ikeda no kataru koto   

愛について語るときにイケダの語ること 「Ai ni tsuite kataru toki ni Ikeda no kataru koto」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 58 mins.

Director: Hidehiko Ikeda

Writer: Katsunori Mano (Script), 

Starring: Hidehiko Ikeda, Satomi Mori,

Website

Synopsis: Hidehiko Ikeda was born with achondroplasia and has a height of 100 cm. When he is diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer, he decides on a number of things, including that he wants to have lots of sex while he is still alive, as well as to show his true self to show to the world. He enlists his best friend of 20 years, he screenwriter Katsunari Mano, and starts shooting a film that is a mixture of truth and fiction.

Bittersand   

愛について語るときにイケダの語ること 「Ai ni tsuite kataru toki ni Ikeda no kataru koto」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 99 mins.

Director: Tomoya Sugimoto

Writer: Tomoya Sugimoto (Script), 

Starring: Yuki Inoue, Riku Hagiwara, Ayane Kinoshita, Misato Morita, Reiya Masaki, Karin Ono, Nana Mizoguchi,

Website

Synopsis: A fateful reunion occurs for Akito (Yuki Inoue) and Eriko (Ayane Kinoshita), two adults who are just about coping with life. At one point they had feelings for each other when they were in high school but a mystery person drew a chart of their personal relationships based on lies on their class on the blackboard, and their daily lives took a dark turn. Now, finally reunited, the truth about the “blackboard incident” that caused their feelings to diverge is finally revealed.

Happy weekend!

I hope you are well.

This is the third and final trailer post for this weekend – part one here, part two here. This week I have also been posting about the Japan Society’s season of films by Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi, specifically reviews for their early works Goodbye CP, Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974, and The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On.

The Hara-Kobayashi films have made up my viewing schedule and I covered everything except MINAMATA Mandala. I also finished Psycho-Pass Season III.

What else was released this weekend?

Houki ni Onegai o   

ほうきに願いを 「Houki ni Onegai o」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 75 mins.

Director: Toshihiro Goto

Writer: Toshihiro Goto (Script),

Starring: Momoka, Uta Izumi, Moro Morooka, Akiko Iwase, Chieko Misaka, Mitsunori Isaki,

Website

Synopsis: In Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture, there lives Akira Ishibashi, a craftsman of brooms. This is a job that has been handed down from generation to generation since the Edo period. However, in our modern era, he cannot make a living from the family business alone and runs a cram school on the side in order to support himself and his daughter, Miyuki. Despite the need for cash, at the cram school there is one student who gets free tuition. She is Sora and she is preparing for her high school entrance exam but she finds it tough. The reason for that is she moved to Kanuma from Miyagi Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake and still bares emotional scars from the disaster. Meanwhile Miyuki is upset that her father treats other girls with kindness but is stern with her…

Boku ga Kimi no Mimi ni Naru   

僕が君の耳になる 「Boku ga Kimi no Mimi ni Naru」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 86 mins.

Director: Jiro Enomoto

Writer: Ryuta Kawasaki (Script), 

Starring: Yoshinari Oribe, Mizuki Kajimoto, Eri Hamada, Io Utou, Mrs Hiroko, Asuka Shingu,

Website

This is a coming-of-age love story based on a true story, adapted from the song of the same title by the vocal and sign language performance group “HAND SIGN”.

Synopsis: In between university lectures, Junpei takes his guitar on to the streets and does busking. This is how he meets Misaki, who is deaf. When he runs into her again and again, he discovers that she attends the same university and does dancing. Through his interaction with Misaki, Junpei learns about the world of people with disabilities for the first time, and as he spends time with her, he becomes attracted to her. 

Cinema Rosa (in Ikebukuro) is showing two shorts by filmmaker Haruna Tanaka. I’ve seen one. Both have been played at international festivals. Trailer for both below:

Lifelike   

いきうつし 「Ikiutsushi」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 30 mins.

Director: Haruna Tanaka

Writer: Haruna Tanaka (Script), 

Starring: Keiko Oka, Chihiro Kasahara,

Website

Synopsis from the Filmmaker: Kamehachi, a jobless carver of Buddhist statues, earns his living by making lifelike figures for freak shows. A member of a local well-to-do family requests Kamehachi to make a doll of his fatally ill daughter Tsubaki to copy her mortal beauty as is.

Nukegara   

ぬけがら 「Nukegara」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 14 mins.

Director: Haruna Tanaka

Writer: Haruna Tanaka (Script), 

Starring: Yo Hasegawa, Ippei Tanaka, Keigo Oka, Soichiro Nakajima,

This film has strong visuals that are quit haunting – traditional buildings, rainy season atmosphere.

Synopsis: One morning, a woman named Hibari wakes up as if someone was next to her and finds the shedded skin of a snake in the garden. Her husband, Seiji, doesn’t think too deeply about this but Hibari is profoundly moved. We learn that it has been six months since her son Tatsumi died in a traffic accident and the couple are struggling to live with their loss. When Hibari visits the site of her son’s accident, one rainy day, she takes his umbrella. When meets a man sheltering from the rain, Hibari lends him Tatsumi’s umbrella. A memory of seeing the mother and son together is passed on also… 

Yodogawa Ajiru sa do Yan no seikatsu to iken   

淀川アジール　さどヤンの生活と意見 「Yodogawa Ajiru sa do Yan no seikatsu to iken」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 14 mins.

Director: Yukio Tanaka

Writer: N/A

Starring: Naoyuki (Narration)

Website

Synopsis: The minimalist and simple life of Sado Yan is given the documentary treatment. He has lived in a shack on the banks of the Yodogawa River in Osaka for 20 years and he earns a living by collecting aluminium cans, cleaning houses, and other odd jobs. He is also something of a craftsman who makes what he needs. To the eyes of the world, he looks just another homeless person, but he lives a consistently clean and uncomplicated life. People, objects, and even animals gather around him, but Sado Yan continues to live as he always does. We watch footage shot over three years, during which unpredictable events occur, such as a typhoon tidal wave that washes everything away and forces him to start from scratch. Through Sado Yan’s way of life, the film explores hints for living in a time of confusion.

Journey: Taiko Arabia Hantou de no Kiseki to Tatakai no Monogatari   

ジャーニー 太古アラビア半島での奇跡と戦いの物語 「Journey: Taiko Arabia Hantou de no Kiseki to Tatakai no Monogatari」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 110 mins.

Director: Kobun Shizuno

Writer: Atsuhiro Tomioka (Script), 

Starring: Toru Furuya (Aus), Kotono Mitsuishi (Hind), Hiroshi Kamiya (Zurara), Kazuya Nakai (Musab), Takaya Kuroda (Abraha),

Animation Production: Toei Animation

Website   ANN  MAL

Synopsis: This is a Japanese–Saudi Arabian animated film co-produced by Toei Animation and the Saudi company Manga Productions. It is set in the ancient Arabian Peninsula. The people of the trading city of Mecca are in the path of the invading army of Abraha. A young man named Aus holds the fate of everyone in his hands but he has an unlikely backstory for a hero…

Sore Ike! Anpanman: Fuwa Fuwa Fuwaly to Kumo no Kuni   

それいけ！アンパンマン　ふわふわフワリーと雲の国 「Journey: Taiko Arabia Hantou de no Kiseki to Tatakai no Monogatari」

Release Date: June 25th 2021

Duration: 110 mins.

Director: Jun Kawagoe

Writer: Shinzo Fujita (Script), Takashi Yanase (Original Novel)

Starring:  Keiko Toda (Anpanman), Ryuusei Nakao (Baikinman), Kyoko Fukada (Fuwari), Hironari Yamazaki (Cloud Elder), Ren Umezawa (Hinotama Kozo)

Animation Production: TMS Entertainment

Website  ANN  MAL

Synopsis: In order for flowers and plants to be healthy, Cloud Country travels to different lands to distribute clouds that can make rain and rainbows for various towns and stars. Anpanman, his friends, and the cloud child Fuwari must save Cloud Country.