Happy weekend, everyone.
I hope you are all well.
Since my last trailer post, I have watched two b-movies Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell and Matango, and three Hong Kong crime thrillers – the Infernal Affairs trilogy. I posted reviews for The Mistress/Wild Geese and Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell. Also, the latest episode of the Heroic Purgatory podcast is up and it is about Bong Joon-ho’s sophomore feature Memories of Murder!
I hope you are all listening to interesting podcasts and watching interesting films.
What Japanese films are released this weekend? 19 films so I’m splitting the trailer post up into three parts. Thankfully, I’ve written about some of these which played at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
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,
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.
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.
Sora wa doko ni aru 
空はどこにある 「Sora wa doko ni aru」
Release Date: November 25th, 2020
Duration: 38 mins.
Director: Miyo Yamaura
Writer: Miyo Yamaura (Script),
Starring: Sei Ando, Haru Asada, Koki Sawada, Kosei Kudo, Haruna Hori, Satoru Nogawa, Reiko Asano,
Synopsis: Miki grew up without knowing her mother due to her parent’s death and now she is a mother herself with a daughter named Chihiro. She tries to balance childcare and work but Miki feels uneasy about herself as a mother.
Mogura 
もぐら 「Mogura」
Release Date: November 25th, 2020
Duration: 36 mins.
Director: Miyo Yamaura
Writer: Miyo Yamaura (Script),
Starring: Sakiko Kato, Satoshi Mitsu, Haru Kawakubo, Seijiro Konno, Nenji Nagase,
Synopsis: Ever since her mother disappeared Aoi has lived alone in the city of Kawasaki. She is a sex worker who goes under the name “Haru”. One day, she meets a new driver sent by her agency, Kei. These are two lonely people travelling around the city at night…
Songs of Triumph 
凱歌 「Gaika」
Release Date: November 28th, 2020
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Katsumi Sakaguchi
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kimie Yamauchi, Sada Yamauchi, Kenichi Nakamura, Kurumi Saito, Moe Nakajima, Osamu Sagawa,
Hansen’s disease, something perhaps more commonly known as leprosy, has been the subject of a number of films such as Naomi Kawase’s Sweet Bean and an important element in the classic story Castle of Sand. It is the latest work from director Katsumi Sakaguchi, who released the award-winning documentary Walking My Mother.
Synopsis: A documentary set in the “National Sanatorium Tama Zenseien“, a facility for people with Hansen’s disease that is located in in Higashi-murayama, Tokyo. The crew of the film interviewed former Hansen’s disease patients who were forcibly admitted by the government’s life isolation policy. One of these people was Kimie Yamauchi, who entered Tama Zenseien at the age of 21 in 1951. While there, she met and married Sada, another person with Hansen’s disease. However, in order for Hansen’s disease patients to get married in the hospital, her husband had to undergo “sterilization surgery”, a policy at the time. Through meeting them, the documentary goes into details about a number of inhumane measures taken in the facility such as surgery and abortion and asks why discrimination and prejudice are repeated.
Sasaki in My Mind 
佐々木、イン、マイマイン 「Sasaki, In, Mai Main」
Release Date: November 27th, 2020
Duration: 118 mins.
Director: Takuya Uchiyama
Writer: Takuya Uchiyama, Gaku Hosokawa (Script),
Starring: Kisetsu Fujiwara, Gaku Hosokawa, Minori Hagiwara, Sakurako Konishi, Yusako Mori, Yuya Shintaro,
Synopsis: Yuji reunites with his high school classmate Tada after trying to make it as an actor in Tokyo. They recall their high school days with Sasaki, who was a hero when he was in school and the film slips between past and present.
One in a Hundred Thousand 
10万分の1 「10 Man-bun’no 1」
Release Date: November 27th, 2020
Duration: 112 mins.
Director: Koichiro Miki
Writer: Chieko Nakagawa (Script), Kaho Miyasaka (Original Novel)
Starring: Eiji Okuda, Alan Shirahama, Jin Shirasu, Yuna Taira, Mio Yuki,
Synopsis: Rino Sakuragi is a high school student who is the manager of the high school kendo club which Ren Kiritani, the most popular boy in school, is a part of. They have known each other since junior high school and Rino harbours a crush on him but lacks the confidence to ask him out because he is so popular. Then, one day, Ren confesses to Rino that he likes her and they begin to date and a sweet high school romance ensues that makes them the envy of everybody. They enjoy their time together, but Rino is diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a cruel fate that only occurs with a probability of “1 / 100,000” people.