Happy weekend, again.
I hope that you are all well this Saturday!
This is the second part of my weekend trailer post. You can find the first part here.
What else was released this weekend?
Green Jail 
緑の牢獄 「Midori no Rogoku」
Release Date: March 27th, 2021
Duration: 101 mins.
Director: Huang Yin-yu
Writer: N/A
Starring: Yoshiko Hashima, Louis Leslie Kimura,
This played at Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021 and I wrote the synopsis for it which I’ve used here. I wanted to get a review out before the 27th but I’ve been a bit busy…
Synopsis: Iriomote Island, Okinawa, Japan. a place once known as “Green Jail” due to the coal mining village that was located deep in its mangrove jungles. It held thousands of miners, some of whom were from Japan, some from the colonies Taiwan and Korea. This island community developed its own currency, schools, and life based around the mine which we learn about in this documentary.
Grandma HASHIMA, a 90-year-old woman, is our guide. She can tell some of the stories of “Green Jail”. She is the final eyewitness to this history and uniquely positioned since her adoptive father YANG Tien-fu was the head of colonial Taiwanese miners. We watch her final days on the island as she fades away but finds the strength to recount her life. We also see archive footage, photos, and listen to the voices of the actual miners narrate their own stories while shown atmospheric reconstructions. Most powerfully, Grandma HASHIMA’s vital testimony forms the thread to understand this hidden history before it is forgotten.
Ogawa Dorama Tokugawa ☆ Ieyasu 
小河ドラマ 徳川☆家康 「Ogawa Dorama Tokugawa ☆ Ieyasu」
Release Date: March 27th, 2021
Duration: 110 mins.
Director: Toru Hosokawa
Writer: Toru Hosokawa, Yuugo Kagiya, Kazuaki Miyagawa (Script),
Starring: Hiroki Miyaki, Ken Matsudaira, Rina Takeda, Miyu Irino, Akihiro Sode,
The third instalment of the “Ogawa Drama” series, directed and written by Toru Hosokawa and starring Hiroki Miyake, which depicts historical figures with funny historical facts. Following the first instalment depicting Nobunaga Oda and the second instalment featuring Ryoma Sakamoto, this work depicts Ieyasu Tokugawa as the main character.
Synopsis: Ieyasu Tokugawa time slips from winning the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 to 2021 where he gets involved in the planning meeting of “Ogawa Drama Tokugawa Ieyasu” and finds out that he his character isn’t that popular a role and that casting is difficult as big-name historical drama actor Shintaro Shirakawa turns down the role. When Tokugawa asks him directly, however, Shirakawa agrees and becomes enthusiastic about creating a realistic story incorporating unknown details from the life of the real man. However, audience figures are low throughout the series…
Searching for the Wolf 
狼をさがして 「Ookami o Sagashite」
Release Date: March 27th, 2021
Duration: 74 mins.
Director: Kim Mi-re
Writer: N/A
Starring: Masakuni Ota, Chiharu Daidoji, Hiroshi Ikeda, Mariko Arai, Tomoko Arai,
Synopsis: The East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front was a militant group that launched a series of bombings in Japan in the mid-1970s. Their targets were companies involved with the Japanese colonial enterprises across East Asia as well as places symbolically connected to Japanese colonialism and places associated with the Japanese military dead. The most infamous attack was on the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in central Tokyo that killed eight and wounded hundreds. Members of the group were arrested in 1975 and violence subsided but they have remained misunderstood. This documentary aims to paint a true picture of the group by uncovering the activities of the group as well as the backgrounds of its members by interviewing the survivors of the group, a rare opportunity considering that some are still imprisoned or on the run while others are very reluctant to talk to the media.
If you want to find out more, check out this review at Throw Out Your Books.
Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider MetsubouJinrai 
ゼロワン Others 仮面ライダー滅亡迅雷 「Zero Wan Others Kamen Raida- Metsuboujinrai」
Release Date: March 26th, 2021
Duration: 55 mins.
Director: Yuya Takahashi
Writer: Masaya Kakehi (Script),
Starring: Daisuke Nakagawa, Shunya Sunagawa, Daichi Yamaguchi, Satsuki Nakayama, Hiroe Igetea, Noa Tsurushima, Yui Narumi,
Website Kamen Rider Fandom (from which all of this info came from)
This is the first instalment of the Zero-One Others series of V-Cinema films set within the continuity of Kamen Rider Zero-One.
Synopsis: ZAIA Enterprise CEO Leon Arkland has kidnapped Jin from Metsuboujinrai.net to create an army of Humagears “Sold” to sell them as weapons all over the world. Naki and Ikazuchi rescue Jin and they, along with the other members of Metsuboujinrai.net, fight to free the “Solds” and use their Kamen Rider powers. However, something unexpected happens and it seems like something happened to Jin when he was in Leon’s clutches…
Hitsuji to Mikan to Nichiyoubi 
羊と蜜柑と日曜日 「Hitsuji to Mikan to Nichiyoubi」
Release Date: March 26th, 2021
Duration: 48 mins.
Director: Sadahito Takenaka
Writer: Sadahito Takenaka (Script),
Starring: Yumiko Fujita, Shiori Nozawa, Tomohiro Waki, Chizuro Asano, Chieko Misaka
A fantastical novella road movie where an old lady who lost her husband and a mysterious girl who has the memories of her dead husband.
Synopsis: Tamae Fujiki (Yumiko Fujita) has lived alone in a rural town since she lost her husband Kiyoshiro. One day, she meets Sakura Sasayama (Shiori Nozawa), a girl who was born with the memories of Tamae’s deceased husband. Tamae cannot believe the girl at all, but Sakura knows things that only Kiyoshiro would and so Tamae is convinced but Sakura’s parents are not sure what is going on and think that their daughter has been kidnapped…
Lost Fist 
迷子になった拳 「Maigo ni Natta Ken」
Release Date: March 26th, 2021
Duration: 110 mins.
Director: Satoshi Imada
Writer: N/A
Starring: Daiki Kaneko, Kohei Tokeshi, Saw Gaw Mudo, Daryl Lokoku, Yuta “Cat” Hamamoto,
Synopsis: A documentary that follows athletes and tournament officials who participate in Myanmar’s traditional martial arts of lethwei. It is said to be “the most dangerous martial art on the planet” as well as the most beautiful martial arts. Through watching Japanese fighters, we learn why they fight.