Happy weekend!
We made it through to another one!
I went to work at the start of the week then continued watching and writing about films like a preview of the documentaries at Nippon Connection 2020. I’ve helped programme a couple of small film screenings and reviewed Ice Cream and the Sound of Raindrops, Yalta Conference Online, book-paper-scissors, and An Ant Strikes Back.
As soon as this goes live, I’m going to watch an indie film and write a review.
What is released in Japan this weekend?
Nagi no Umi 
凪の海 「Nagi no Umi」
Release Date: June 08th, 2020
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Takayuki Shibasaki
Writer: Kiyotaka Inagaki (Script)
Starring: Tasuku Nagaoka, Elisa Yanagi, Yuu Kozono, Toshinori Yuzawa, Bunmei Tobayama, Yuu Nakai,
Synopsis: Keisuke left his town of Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, 10 years ago to become a musician, but he has to return when he receives a phone call telling him that the funeral of his older brother will take place. He has been missing since a fishing accident. Keisuke is reluctant to return him because he has been lying about being a successful musician in Tokyo. Waiting for him is his father who has been living alone and his brother’s ex-wife.
Grim Reaper Case Book – Puppet Night Song – 
死神遣いの事件帖 – 傀儡夜曲 – 「Shinigami Tsukai no Jiken Jo – Kugutsu Yakyoku –」
Release Date: June 12th, 2020
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Takayuki Shibasaki
Writer: Yasushi Sudo (Script)
Starring: Hiroki Suzuki, Kentaro Yasui, Tsubasa Sakiyama, Ayane Suzuki, Gaku Oshida, Riho Takada,
Synopsis: Genshiro Kusaka is a detective in Edo city and, when it comes to investigating, he has an ace up his sleeve: he has a contract with the Shinigami Juran. It comes at the expense of part of his life but it’s still a big boost. Genshiro gets involved in a “prostitute serial murder case” which is occurring in the Yoshiwara distract and it ties in with another case where he has to search for a woman with a mole on the edge of her right eye and a dagger….
Suitable For You 
あなたにふさわしい 「Anata ni fusawashii」
Release Date: June 12th, 2020
Duration: 83 mins.
Director: Shunya Takara
Writer: Tomoyuki Takahashi (Script)
Starring: Mayumi Yamamoto, Ichiro Hashimoto, Yuko Shima, Yu Nakamura, Kosuke Kaide, Fukuta Konno,
Synopsis: Never mix business and family. That’s an aphorism Ttwo married couples learn when they rent a vacation cottage. Yoshinori and his wife, Miki, Takako and her husband Mitsuru, had expected a nice time but a business emergency sends Yoshinori and Takako away and this leaves Miki and Mitsuru behind. Soon, infidelities emerge…
Why You Can’t Be Prime Minister 
なぜ君は総理大臣になれないのか 「Naze kimi wa soridaijin ni narenainoka」
Release Date: June 13th, 2020
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Arata Oshima
Writer: N/A
Starring: Junya Ogawa
Arata Oshima is the son of Nagisa Oshima. He has made documentaries like The Sion Sono (2016) and produced Ramen Heads and I Go Gaga, My Dear (both 2018). This is his latest work. A review is up on the Japan Times website.
Synopsis:Arata Oshima joins Junya Ogawa on a 17-year-long journey through Japan’s political landscape. Quitting his job as a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2003, he made repeated attempts to join the House of Representatives and made it in 2009 but he finds that his drive to become Prime Minister, his ideals and his talents and support from his family amount to nothing when the political world of Japan is run by wily deal-makers and party horse trading.
There Was You At That Time 
君がいる、いた、そんな時。 「Kimi ga iru, ita, son’na toki.」
Release Date: June 13th, 2020
Duration: 85 mins.
Director: Kosuke Sakoda
Writer: Kosuke Sakoda (Script)
Starring: Tadashi Masamayoru, Iroha Sakamoto, Fujiko Kojima, Shizue Oda, Futoshi Suetake,
Synopsis: A heart-warming drama set in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, involving two elementary school students and a female librarian they loved by them. Masaya Kishimoto, a 6th grader, is half-Filipino and has been given the name “gaijin” by bullies in his class. The only source of relief is hanging out at the library where he spends time with a new librarian, Shoko Yamazaki, who is kind enough to watch over him. There is also Ryota Kayama, a member of the broadcast who is in the same class. He calls himself “DJ Kayama” and he tries to get Masaya and Shoko involved in a special broadcast. Masaya reluctantly agrees because Shoko says she will help but she has a secret…
Bystander or Casual Terrorist 
傍観者あるいは偶然のテロリスト 「Bōkan-sha aruiwa gūzen no terorisuto」
Release Date: June 13th, 2020
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Kazuo Goto
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kazuo Goto
Synopsis: Kazuo Goto, who appeared in Nagisa Oshima’s film The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970), has worked in moves and as a news producer in the television industry which is when he went to Palestine. Now, armed with a script about a man who happens to be a terorrist in Palestine, he returns to the country as a location hunter and meets people whilst revisiting memories of a conflict zone he saw 20 years ago.