Happy weekend, people!
I hope you are all feeling fine!
After a busy couple of weeks with Nippon Connection 2020, I took it nice and slow with writing. I posted reviews for Shell and Joint, Flowers and Rain and East of Jefferson and I also posted a look at the Japanese films at the Udine Far East Film Festival 2020 which is online so it is possible for people around the world to watch some of the films that have been programmed. Check out the post to see what’s available.
In terms of non-Japanese films, I watched Season of the Witch, The Duellists and Outbreak.
What is released this weekend in Japan?
Hero 2020 
Release Date: June 19th, 2020
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Mitsutoshi Saijo
Writer: Mitsutoshi Saijo (Script)
Starring: Tomoki Hirose, Rie Kitahara, Rin Asuka, Shunsuke Kobayakawa, Ami Maeshima,
Director Mitsutoshi Saijo and his theatre company TAIYO MAGIC FILM have put together a heart-warming comedy that depicts the turmoil that occurs on the very last day of an agreed dating period for two lovers.
Synopsis: Hiroki and Asami fell in love with each other but Hiroki asked that they keep their time together to just two years. With the deadline approaching, Asami visits Hiroki in hospital after he suffers an injury. She is depressed knowing that Hiroki will break up with her but things may change as some turmoil at the hospital unfolds…
His Bad Blood 
いつくしみふかき 「Itsukushimifukaki」
Release Date: July 19th, 2020
Duration: 107 mins.
Director: Koichiro Oyama
Writer: Koichiro Oyama, Fumiya Yasumoto (Screenplay),
Starring: Ikkei Watanabe, Yu Toyama, Sakura Enomoto, Ryo Ushimaru, Naoki Goto,
Synopsis: When a stranger with conflicting values joins a village whose inhabitants are closely knit, communal harmony may be affected. This is the case with Hiroshi. When he takes off with the family nest egg, just when his wife is giving birth to their first son, the villagers chase him down and violently beat him. He’s only spared at the last minute by the Reverend’s good graces. Thirty years later, Hiroshi’s scars are still present, except now they’re being borne by his son Shinichi. Depressed, traumatized and lazy, even his family sees his father’s bad blood within, persecuting him to the point of banishment from the village. He seeks shelter with the same Reverend who saved his father’s life years ago. Meanwhile, not far away, the latter continues his degenerate life. As the head of a small band of hoodlums, Hiroshi commits petty con jobs. One failed job too many forces him to hide out at the Reverend’s too. Shinichi and Hiroshi are totally clueless about their shared lineage and the man of the cloth plans to keep it that way, if only to move one and reason with the other.
Gone Wednesday 
水曜日が消えた 「Suiyoubi ga kieta」
Release Date: June 19th, 2020
Duration: 104 mins.
Director: Kohei Yoshino
Writer: Kohei Yoshino (Script)
Starring: Tomoya Nakamura, Natsumi Ishibashi, Mai Fukagawa, Ayumu Nakajima, Kyujitsu Kacho, Kitaro,
Synopsis: A man suffering from dissociative identity disorder looks like a regular guy but he has seven personalities sharing his body and each personality comes out on a different day of the week and leaves notes for the others, although the Tuesday personality gets TWO whole days because Wednesday has disappeared. Things get dicey for Tuesday when he starts to black out. Could he disappear like Wednesday? Will the people around the young man even notice??