I remember the morning of the Great East Japan Earthquake quite vividly. I finished work early and watched the unfolding disaster online. It was terrifying and it was bewildering and it seemed so overwhelming. I also remember the (ani)blogging community coming together quick sharp to relay news and to set up charity appeals. The charity appeals are still needed as rebuilding is moving slowly and people are still displaced which is why I posted about a Japan Foundation film event on the anniversary earlier this week. It is strange to think that the disaster was two years ago because it seems closer and I suspect that the reason it still seems so close is because of the many films that have use it as subject matter.
One of the things I do on my blog is write up trailer posts for most of the Japanese films released in cinemas and for the films touring the festival circuit. Through doing this I have seen that Japanese filmmakers are intensely interested. Not a month goes by without two or three titles and with the recent anniversary the number of films has intensified. The range of filmmakers covers documentarians, directors who are better known for horror films and bleak dramas (bleakies as Alua calls them), veterans and directors making their debuts. It stands in complete contrast to other disasters and countries. How many films are there directly or indirectly about Hurricane Katrina? There are probably more because The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans isn’t present in that list but still it just does not compare to the efforts that the Japanese filmmaking community has made to highlight document disaster and the continuing problems.
Here are some of the films:
A Gentle Rain Falls for Fukushima
Director: Atsushi Kokatsu, Writer: Atsushi Kokatsu, Uichiro Kitazato
Starring: Kosuke Toyohara, Chieko Matsubara, Jurina, Shono Hayama, Gitan Otsuru, Hitomi Sato
This was the directorial debut of Kokatsu. When preproduction of the film was finished in early 2011 and funding was secured from the Fukushima government the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami struck. After initially suspending the film the filmmakers continued with production and donated some of the profits to charity. The film is a mix of heartfelt drama and light comedy that comes with the role-swapping like finding out a girl younger than you used to be your mother in a past life. It centres around a diverse group of people who are all lonely and struggling in life. They meet in Fukushima where they discover that they were a family in a previous life. At first uneasy with each other, the more they talk the better they feel about their problems and their bond grows but their time together remains short as they must soon leave.
Himizu
Director: Sion Sono, Writer: Sion Sono (script adaptation), Minoru Furuya (manga)
Starring: Shota Sometani, Fumi Nikaidō, Tetsu Watanabe, Denden, Jun Murakami, Makiko Watanabe, Ken Mitsuishi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Megumi Kagurazaka, Asuka Kurosawa, Taro Suwa,
Himizu is Sion Sono’s adaptation of Minoru Furuya’s manga of the same name and the only film on this list I have seen. I was in tears at the end. Sono takes a manga already full of anger and tough subject matter like child abuse and murder, and weaves in the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami to create a film which is ultimately a moving exploration of life, identity, redemption and the will to live. I’m quoting my review now. Here are more quotes “Sono hammers the references home with scenes of actors wandering around the disaster hit areas complete with the skeletal remains of buildings and mounds of rubble surrounding them. The sight of the destruction is a terrifying testament to the power of the disaster. The scenes are accompanied by the sound of Geiger counters and a menacing rumbling reminding us the events even more. It feels like a natural part of the film and added to the theme of enduring whatever life throws at you.” I would consider Himizu to be one of the best films I saw last year.
Junior high school kid Yuichi Sumida (Sometani) wants a quiet life but his mother (Watanabe) comes home with different men every night, and his drunken, hate-filled father (Mitsuishi) only pays him visits when he needs money. Yuichi carries on running the family boat rental business and lives surrounded by homeless people who are victims of the tsunami. Meanwhile at school he is ignoring class-mate Keiko Chazawa (Nikaidō) who has a massive crush on him. Things get tough when his mother abandons him and Kaneko (Denden), a Yakuza loan-shark, shows up looking for Yuichi’s father and ¥6 million. Pushed to breaking point by his situation Yuichi finds himself unable to control his anger and a series of events leads him to the brink of madness.
Women on the Edge
Director: Masahiro Kobayashi, Writer: Masahiro Kobayashi
Starring: Miho Fujima, Yuko Nakamura, Makiko Watanabe
Masahiro Kobayashi, writer and director of grim films like Bashing is back with Women on the Edge which stars Miho Fujima (Ju-On: The Grudge, Tajomaru), Yuko Nakamura (Blood and Bones), and Makiko Watanabe (Himizu, Love Exposure).
The three Onodera sisters return to the home of their deceased parents’ in Kesennuma, Miyagi, a place affected by the Tohoku Earthquake. The house has survived the earthquake and tsunami and the three are looking to claim an inheritance. Nobuko (Nakamura) moved to Tokyo and is a divorcee, Takako (Watanabe) moved to New York and works as a butoh dancer. Third sister Satomi (Fujima) stayed behind. There are deep resentments and over the course of the film they will come out.
Odayaka
Director: Nobuteru Uchida, Writer: Nobuteru Uchida (Script),
Starring: Kiki Sugino, Yukiko Shinohara, Takeshi Yamamoto, Ami Watanabe, Ami Watanabe, Yu Koyanagi, Makiko Watanabe, Maho Yamada, Susumu Terajima, Maki Nishiyama, Kotaro Shiga, Kanji Furutachi, Yuko Kibiki, Yuya Matsumura,
This is a film which covers the March 11th earthquakes. This is another fiction film addressing the March 11th Earthquake and Tsunami following Women on the Edge, The Ear Cleaner and The Land of Hope. It is written and directed by Nobuteru Uchida (Love Addiction).
Saeko (Sugino) and Yukako (Shinohara) are neighbours in a Tokyo apartment complex. Following the March 11th Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami both find their lives affected by newfound fears. Saeko is undergoing a divorce and fears her daughter may get radiation exposure. Yukako also fears the radiation and asks her husband to move. When Saeko saves Yukako from suicide, the two become close.
The Intermission
Director: Naofumi Higuchi, Writer: Naofumi Higuchi, Minato Takehiko (Screenplay),
Starring: Kumiko Akiyoshi, Shota Sometani, Kyoko Kagawa, Akiko Koyama, Kumi Mizuno, Naoto Takenaka, Shiro Sano,
An indie film which deals indirectly with the effects of March 11th as we get the real life story of an old movie theatre in Ginza, Tokyo called the Ginza Shinepatosu which will be closed in March. It stars Shota Sometani (Himizu), Kumiko Akiyoshi (Deep River), Kyoko Kagawa (Shall We Dance?) and Kumi Mizuno (Godzilla Final Wars).
Kumiko (Akiyoshi) is the manager of the Ginza Shinepatosu and she has a younger husband named Shota (Sometani). The movie theatre faces closure following the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 due to safety fears. As the final day approaches, Kumiko’s anxieties over earthquakes and radiation grow.
Japan’s Tragedy
Director: Masahiro Kobayashi, Writer: Masahiro Kobayashi
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Shinobu Terajima, Kazuki Kitamura, Akemi Ohmori
Masahiro Kobayashi has another film which deals with March 11th earthquake and tsunami as well as disease, mourning and death in general. I guess you can say Japan’s Tragedy looks like the ultimate bleakie.
Fujio Murai (Nakadai) is unemployed and a widower. Although living with his son Yoshio (Ohmori) life seems bleak as he has been diagnosed with lung cancer and Yoshio’s wife and daughter have not been seen since the 2011 earthquake. Fujio decides to lock himself in his room and mummify himself. Trapped in the room, he thinks back over the course of his life.
Reunion
Director: Ryoichi Kimizuka, Writer: Ryoichi Kimizuka (Screenplay), Kota Ishii (Original Book)
Starring: Toshiyuki Nishida, Naoto Ogata, Ryo Katsuji, Jun Kunimura, Wakana Sakai, Koichi Sato, Shiro Sano, Ikki Sawamura, Mirai Shida,
This is based on Kota Ishii’s non-fiction book “Itai Shinai, Tsunami no Hate ni” which covers a story of morgue workers over the course of 10 days after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami.
After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the morgue in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture is overwhelmed with the bodies of the dead. Retired funeral worker Tsuneo Aiba (Nishida) volunteers to help reunite the dead with their families.
It’s Shaking
Director: Yasuomi Kawahara, Writer: Oka Daichi
Starring: Sachi Jinno, Tsutomu Honda
This is one of two short films that deal with the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami from 2011.
Akemi (Jinno) is living in Tokyo following her escape from Osaka but an ex-boyfriend named Masao (Honda) tracks her down and asks her to get marry him regardless of radiation.
Come Give
Director: Oka Daichi, Writer: Yasuomi Kawahara (Screenplay),
Starring: Masao Nakamura, Tadashi Kaizu,
This is the second short film dealing with the Great Eastern Earthquake of Japan. It follows a couple who have moved from Tokushima in Shikoku to Tokyo and the anxiety the move inspires in Izumi (Nakamura), the wife.
The Land of Hope
Director: Sion Sono, Writer: Sion Sono
Starring: Isao Natsuyagi, Naoko Otani, Jun Murakami, Megumi Kagurazaka, Yutaka Shimizu, Hikari Kajiwara, Denden, Mariko Tsutsui, Yusuke Iseya, Mitsuru Fukikoshi,
Sion Sono makes another appearance on this list with a film which is apparently inspired by a true story and deals with a family of farmers struggling to survive after radiation forces the break-up of their community.
An old couple named Yasuhiko and Chieko (Natsuyagi and Otani) live on a farm near a peaceful village in Nagashima prefecture with their son Yoichi (Murakami) and his wife Izumi (Kagurazaka). When an earthquake strikes the nearby nuclear power plant explodes and the village’s residents are forced to evacuate since the village is in the twenty-kilometre evacuation radius. The family are soon faced with a tough decision: evacuate with the rest of the village or stay on the land that generations of their family have lived on. Yoichi and his wife decide to head to a nearby urban community while Yasuhiko and Chieko remain on the farm. Both couples are beset by doubts and problems.
Since Then
Director: Makoto Shinozaki, Writer: Makoto Shinozaki (Screenplay)
Starring: Aya Takekō, Yasuhiro Isobe, Mie Ohta
Makoto Shinozaki has is back with Since Then which is described as a human drama. The subject matter is the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 but the focus is on Tokyo. It stars Aya Takekō (Lonely Planet), Yasuhiro Isobe (11:25: The Day Mishima Decided His Own Fate), and Mie Ohta (Kamikaze Girls).
Sachiko (Takekō) lives in Tokyo. When the quake strikes and she sees the devastation in eastern Japan she is concerned about her lover Masashi (Isobe) who lived in an affected area. She tracks him down in a hospital but his family refuse her permission to see him.
Cold Bloom
Director: Atsushi Funahari, Starring: Asami Usuda, Takahiro Miura, Yurei Yanagi, Taro Suwa, You Takahashi
Atsushi Funahari was at last year’s Berlin Film Festival with his documentary Nuclear Nation which looked at nuclear power after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tusnami. This drama is another one that deals with the disaster and it screened at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. It looks at the economic and emotional impact as felt by a group of workers at a factory. It stars a collection of new and old actors like Asami Usuda (The Woodsman & the Rain), Takahiro Miura (Ninja Kids!!!), Yurei Yanagi (Boiling Point, Ring) and Taro Suwa (Cold Fish, Himizu). The film will get a release in April 2013.
Ever since the tsunami struck the workers of a metal factory in the industrial town of Hitachi have been in something of a malaise, the only thing keeping them afloat being a skilled worker named Kenji (Takahashi) who has secured them a contract. Then he dies on the first day at the client’s site. His colleague Takumi (Miura) is responsible and the factory worker turn on him, taking sides with Kenji’s widow Shiori (Usuda) but her hatred turns to love.
Documentaries
Sketch of Mujo
Director: Omiya Koichi
Mujo means impermanence and it seems like a fitting title. This documentary was apparently the first to be filmed in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the Tohoku region of Japan in March 2011 and was released in Japan three months after the disaster. The focus is on the devastation wrought on the people as well as the region with people relaying accounts and going through the horror of loss as they return to the region. It also looks at the endurance and resilience of these people and to the future with the promise of reconstruction.
Roots
Director: Kaoru Ikeya,
This documentary follows a woodcutter and carpenter named Naoshi whose house managed to withstand a lot of damage wrought by the tsunami. Unfortunately he lost his son. Naoshi is determined to rebuild his house and live the remaining days of his life there. Things are not so simple as his wife has misgivings, local authorities impose construction restrictions and his prostate cancer has only recently gone into remission. The festival page describes it as a “ tender portrait of a quietly stubborn man opens out into a complex study of the many ambivalences the reconstruction process brings with it: a tangled web of family duty, traditional customs, community spirit and municipal legislation.” It goes on theatrical release next week in Tokyo.
Become Ancestors
Director: Kaoru Ikeya
77-year-old Naoshi Sato lives in Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture. The film follows his struggle to recover from the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. He lost his son and house but has since fought to build a new one. Things are not so simple as his wife has misgivings, local authorities impose construction restrictions and his prostate cancer has only recently gone into remission. It was another film that played at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
A Record of Ishinomaki’s Kadowaki Elementary School a Year After the Tsunami
Director: Kenji Aoike
This film focusses on Kadowaki Elementary school in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture which was hit by the disaster and hit hard as the school was devastated and lives lost. Over the course of a year we see how the school and its pupils and staff recover from the disaster with stories of renting a new school, reconstructing lives and the city as a whole. No trailer but here is the site for the film.
Life After 3.11
Director: Hideo Nakata
We all know Hideo Nakata as the genius director that turned Koji Suzuki’s creepy supernatural chillers Ringu and Dark Water into bloody scary films. He has made a documentary that visits the areas affected by the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11th and it explores the reality of the victims of towns washed away. Hideo Nakata studied journalism at university which means he should have some grounding to get some insights into what is happening.
Fukushima Hula Girls
Director: Masaki Kobayashi,
Fukushima Hula Girls is a documentary following the real-life hula girls from the Spa Resort Hawaiians in the Fukushima Prefecture. The resort suffered damage from the Tohoku earthquake of March 2011 and the film shows the Hula Girls’ efforts to revive their business through the resort’s national hula dance tour. It is narrated by ‘Hula Girls’ star Yu Aoi, and shows the girls’ determination and resilience in building a brighter future for Fukushima.
Japan Lies: The Photojournalism of Kikujiro Fukushima, Age 90
Director: Saburo Hasegawa,
This documentary follows the work of photographer Kikujiro Fukushima, a man who served in the Japanese army and narrowly avoided the atomic bomb and with the end of the war became disillusioned with Japanese state and began documenting its darker aspects such as discrimination against people of Korean ancestry, violent protests against the Japan’s involvement with the Vietnam war and the Japan-U.S. security alliance, and his most recent work photographing the farming communities in Fukushima prefecture after the meltdown at the local plant following the March 11thEarthquake and Tsunami. Ren Osugi reads Extracts from Fukushima’s writings.
Friends After 3.11
Director: Shunji Iwai
Shunji Iwai (April Story) comes from Sendai, one of the areas affected by the March 11th disaster. His documentary (which played at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival) gathers together his friends who comment on the disaster and the meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. We meet young school-girl activists, former architects of nuclear power plants and actors/actresses who talk about the issues surrounding the disaster, nuclear safety and political failings in Japan. In the second half of the film Iwai travels to the harbour town of Sendai and sees the disaster for himself.
Nuclear Nation
Director: Atsushi Funahashi
Atsushi Funahashi was at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. He attended last year’s event with this documentary dedicated to the town of Futaba, in Fukushima Prefecture which was devastated by the tsunami and then what remained of the town was coated with nuclear fallout from Fukushima Daiichi. 1,400 of Futaba’s population were housed in a suburb of Tokyo and we follow one of them, the mayor of Futaba, as he tries to keep the community together. Once supporter of nuclear energy he finds himself being a victim of it and having to negotiate ineffectual and uncaring officials and policies. We also see how the residents cope with returning to town for only a short period of time to check on their homes.
Fukushima Not Forgotten
Director: Hiroshi Shinomiya
Documentarian Hiroshi Shinomiya has previously shot films about the slums and garbage dumps of the Philippines (Sons of God/Basura) but now he turns his camera lens on Japan and documents the lives of people displaced from Fukushima Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. It was filmed over one and a half years from April 2011 just after the accident and we see a variety of people including children trying to recover from loss, dairy farmers who lost their livestock and others resisting being forced to cull their livestock because of radiation fears and a Filipino woman who lost her husband in the disaster.
And that’s about it for the trailers and films. There are probably more (like this one which will be added later) but this is a strong list to start with. While looking for a trailer for the film Eclair for my last post I found a YouTube channel which charts the recovery efforts in one of the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. It acts as a good news story and reminds us that the disaster might not be on our television/computer screens but it is far from over.
