Happy weekend!
I hope you are still all feeling good.
Following yesterday’s trailer post, I jumped onto this one and then prepared material for English conversation class and prepped to go back to my regular day job. I really need to restart writing reviews for my blog!
What else is released this weekend?
Doran 
動乱 「Doran」
Release Date: January 15th, 1980
Duration: 150 mins.
Director: Shiro Moritani
Writer: Nobuo Yamada (Script), Mamoru Oshii (Original Manga)
Starring: Ken Takakura, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Masakane Yonekura, Junko Sakurada, Takahiro Tamura, Takashi Shimura, Kei Sato, Kunie Tanaka,
This is a 4K digital remastered version that is in cinemas. Here’s a review of the film by Matthew Legare.
Synopsis: April 1945, in the bitterly cold climes of Sendai, a soldier named Mizoguchi goes AWOL and heads home at the time that his older sister Kaoru (Sayuri Yoshinaga) is about to be sold as a “geisha” for 1,000 yen because of their family’s financial hardship. Captain Keisuke Miyagi (Ken Takakura) goes to apprehend him with some NCOs but a scuffle ensues and Mizoguchi kills one of them. Miyagi hands Kaoru’s family 1,000 yen and tries to defend Mizoguchi but it’s all for nought as the young soldier is executed and Kaoru is sent to a brothel in a Manchuria/Korea border town. For his efforts, Miyagi is sent to the same location and he meets her there…
Railroad Man 
鉄道員（ぽっぽや） 「Poppoya」
Release Date: June 05th, 1999
Duration: 112 mins.
Director: Yasuo Furuhata
Writer: Yoshiki Iwama (Script), Jiro Asada (Original Novel)
Starring: Ken Takakura, Shinobu Otake, Ryoko Hirosue, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Masanobu Ando, Ken Shimura, Tomoko Naraoka, Yoshiko Tanaka, Mitsuru Hirata, Renji Ishibashi,
Here’s a review on Far East Films.
Synopsis: A middle-aged stationmaster on the Horomai Line, a lonely Hokkaido local line, has reached retirement age but still continues to pour himself into his work. One day, he receives news that the line will be decommissioned due to a lack of profitability. As that day approaches, he looks back on his life and remembers the day he lost his beloved wife and daughter. He is then visited by a young woman, who mysteriously appears to cheer him up. She looks like his late daughter Yukiko.
Saitan kyori wa mawarikudokute, rakka ryusui
最短距離は回りくどくて、 落花流水 「Saitan kyori wa mawarikudokute, rakka ryūsui」
Release Date: November 06th, 2020
Duration: 70 mins.
Director: Daisuke Yamanouchi
Writer: Daisuke Yamanouchi (Script), Hideo Tsuchida (Original Novel)
Starring: Riku Mukai, CIMA, Kohei Watanabe, Muo Hattori, Taishi Takemoto,
No trailer, so here is the one from the last instalment.
Synopsis: The third movie in a boys love movie that ties up the romance between Yuuto and Aoyama.
Nekutai o Shimeta Hyakusho Ikki 
ネクタイを締めた百姓一揆 「Saitan kyori wa mawarikudokute, rakka ryūsui」
Release Date: November 06th, 2020
Duration: 147 mins.
Director: Jibeta Kono
Writer: Jibeta Kono (Script), Hideo Tsuchida (Original Novel)
Starring: Yoshihiro Kanno, Hideyuki Chida, Naoyuki Kido, Toshiharu Fujiwara, Yoshitake Obara, Masumi Nakamura,
Synopsis: In the 1970s the Tokaido Shinkansen lines was expanding throughout Japan and Japanese National Railways (JNR) announced the Tohoku Shinkansen basic construction plan which the citizens of Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, expected to be a part of. They were not included due to JNR’s budgetary constraints. However, the citizenry, local businesses and local government launched a petition to get the station. This film charts that story.
Blue Forest 
青い、森 「Aoi, Mori」
Release Date: November 06th, 2020
Duration: 50 mins.
Director: Takuya Uchiyama
Writer: Takuya Uchiyama, Sou Ideuchi (Script), Hideo Tsuchida (Original Novel)
Starring: Hiroya Shimizu, Shutaro Kadoshita, Taketo Tanaka, Koichi Ito, Fushi Iwasaki, Noriyuki Tamada,
Synopsis: Teenager Nami (Hiroya Shimizu) was raised by his grandfather following the death of his parents. When his grandfather dies, he begins to close his heart to the world until he meets Shimura (Shutaro Kadoshita) and Nagaoka (Taketo Tanaka), two young men who become such close friends that they feel like family. To mark the end of their high school years, the three of them decide to hitchhike north but Nami mysteriously disappears. Four years elapse and the mystery remains…
Kansha Hanare Zutto Issho ni 
感謝離 ずっと一緒に 「Kansha Hanare Zutto Issho ni」
Release Date: November 06th, 2020
Duration: 70 mins.
Director: Yuuichi Onuma
Writer: Fumiko Suzuki (Script), Keiichi Kawasaki (Original Novel)
Starring: Isao Bito, Mie Nakao, Arina Sakakibara, Nao Nawa,
Synopsis: Kenzo Kasai worked as a bank clerk until he retired to a nice quiet life with his loyal wife Kazuko. They live in temporary housing as they wait for a new home but, unfortunately, one day, Kazuko collapses due to a cerebral infarction. She has to live in a home for the elderly due to her needing to use a wheelchair but dreams of living in a new home with Kenzo but a few years later, she passes away still living in the facility. When Kenzo began to organise his and Kazuko’s personal belongings at what should have been the couple’s house, hed gradually began to move forward, infusing words of gratitude into each item filled with memories with his wife.