Happy Weekend!
I hope you are well.
This week, I have been covering films at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021. My reviews include International Competition winner Inside the Red Brick Wall, Afternoon Landscapes, and Transform!. All of these were fascinating and I am really happy that I got the chance to see them. I have a few more reviews to come from the fest so please stay tuned to this site!
What is released this weekend?
Whole 
ホール 「Ho-ru」
Release Date: October 15th, 2021
Duration: 45 mins.
Director: Bilal Kawazoe
Writer: Usman Kawazoe (Screenplay),
Starring: Usman Kawazoe, Aoi Ibuki, Kai Hoshino Sandy,
Bilal Kawazoe’s film, WHOLE looks at as one of the few recent Japanese efforts to look at this issues surrounding being biracial in a homogeneous society. Here’s my review.
Synopsis: There are two protagonists living in the pretty cosmopolitan city of Kobe that make the whole of the movie. The first is Haruki, a biracial student from the suburbs who has quit his overseas college course and returned to Japan to find his identity. Unfortunately, this has been something he has long struggled with and having parents who, judging by the dialogue, are mostly absent even if they are there, don’t take the time to support him, he bottles things up as can be seen on his downhearted face. Haruki then meets Makoto, a construction worker raised in the projects of Kansai who is also biracial. Ostensibly more confident, he has two guys he hangs out with and he shows less fear when travelling in public, laughing off accusations he is a foreigner and joining in with the “banter”. Although Haruki and Makoto are complete opposites in terms of personality and class, they quickly form a friendship full of understanding and sympathy which helps them bridge the gap across the emptiness of being an outsider so they can go from being half a person to a whole.
Lupin’s Daughter 
ルパンの娘 劇場版 「Lupin no Musume: Gekijouban」
Release Date: October 15th, 2021
Duration: 110 mins.
Director: Hideki Takeuchi
Writer: Yuichi Tokunaga (Script), Dai Yokozeki (Original Novel),
Starring: Kyoko Fukada, Koji Seto, Maju Ozawa, Louis Kurihara, Atsuro Watabe, Akaji Maro,
Synopsis: Hana Mikumo is the daughter of a legendary family of thieves but she breaks from tradition to marry Kazuma Sakuraba, the son of a family of police officers. Now with a child together, they live happily despite the odd family conflict but when Hana’s father, Takeru, decides to retire from thievery, he gives Hana and Kazuma a late honeymoon as a gift. What the young’uns don’t know is that the honeymoon is a front as Hana’s family are searching for a treasure…
Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai 
春燃えよ剣 「Moeyo Ken」
Release Date: October 15th, 2021
Duration: 148 mins.
Director: Masato Harada
Writer: Masato Harada (Script), Ryotaro Shiba (Original Novel),
Starring: Junichi Okada, Kou Shibasaki, Ryohei Suzuki, Hideaki Ito, Ryosuke Yamada,
Synopsis: It is the late 19th Century and the end of the Edo period. To stem the tide of the rise of the pro-Emperor faction, the Shogunate creates the Shinsengumi, a special force made up of warriors who weren’t all samurai. The second in command of this group is Hijikata Toshizo (Junichi Okada), a man born from farming stock and a vicious fighter. Aside from a romance with a widow (Kou Shibasaki), Toshizo’s life is filled with fighting.
Skeleton Flowers 
かそけきサンカヨウ 「Kasokeki Sankayou」
Release Date: October 15th, 2021
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: Rikiya Imaizumi
Writer: Kaori Sawai (Script), Misumi Kubo (Original Short Story),
Starring: Sara Shida, Arata Iura, Ouji Suzuka, Hikari Ishida, Akiko Kikuchi,
Synopsis: High school student Yo (Sara Shida) lives with her father, Sunao (Arata Iura), after her mother left home when she was a child. When her father remarries, she gains a step-mother, Miko, and step-sister, Hinata. Yo confides in her friend Riku about how confused she feels over this new life and also her developing curiosity about her biological mother.
Gekijouban Otoppe Papa Don’t Cry 
劇場版オトッペ パパ・ドント・クライ 「Gekijouban Otoppe Papa Donto Kurai」
Release Date: October 15th, 2021
Duration: 60 mins
Director: Takashi Iitsuka
Writer: Kunihiko Mukoda (Screenplay),
Starring: Kurumi Inagaki (Lilu), Yuka Iguchi (Windy), Hidetoshi Nishijima (wesy), Misaki Kuno (Sina), Takumi Saitou (Minister Rararatta), Noriko Fujiwara (UtauneXVI),
Animation Production: pH Studio/Robot
Synopsis: The NHK E-TV show Otoppe gets a movie version.The story is about a girl who wants to be a DJ and spends her time hanging out with Otoppe, mysterious creatures born from sound. In this show, a baby Otoppe enters the scene and is raised by the characters and then the comet “Utaune” approaches Otoppe Town and causes a big commotion.
Aruki hajimeru kotoba-tachi hyouryuu posuto 3.11 O tazunete 
歩きはじめる言葉たち 漂流ポスト3.11をたずねて 「Aruki hajimeru kotoba-tachi hyouryuu posuto 3.11 O tazunete」
Release Date: October 16th, 2021
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Nobuyo Nomura
Writer: N/A
Starring: Takeshi Masu, Mitsunori Isaki, Takahiro Miura, Nami Higami, Yuuichi Nakamura, Kiyoshi Sasabe,
Synopsis: A documentary about a “drifting postbox” that continues to receive letters from people who have lost loved ones in an area hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The director found out about this when he was volunteering in the area. It was going to be fictional film but changed to a documentary when it encountered difficulties with funding and content. Director Kiyoshi Sasabe of Love and the Grand Tug-of-War was helping out in this project and brought his cast from that film to this one.
Bunshi no Neiro A scientist and a Musician 
分子の音色 A scientist and a musician 「Bunshi no Neiro A scientist and a Musician」
Release Date: October 16th, 2021
Duration: 54 mins.
Director: Nobuaki Sugimoto
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kavka Shishido (Narration), Eiichi Nakamura, Yoshio Watanabe,
Synopsis: This documentary follows Eiichi Nakamura, a special professor at the University of Tokyo and an organic chemist, and Yoshio Watanabe, a classical instrumentalist, who were classmates in junior high and high school and are now both 70 year’s old. In August 2020, the two played Bach’s music together for the first time in a small music hall. What connects these two men who have followed different paths in life? This film describes it and shows how they grew up from their school days, through tumultuous times to know…
Pretenders 
プリテンダーズ 「Puritenda-zu」
Release Date: October 16th, 2021
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Izuru Kumasaka
Writer: Izuru Kumasaka (Script),
Starring: Karin Ono, Ai Mikami, Kanji Furutachi, Eita Okuno, Kaito Yoshimura, Yurina Yanagi, Ryo Sato,
Synopsis: Hanashi and her best friend Fuko try to change society by adding fiction to reality. Calling themselves the “Pretenders,” they create unexpected situations in moments of normality and post the results on social networking sites. So, a flash-mob made up of zombies etc. The two become more popular but they soon face a backlash…
MIRRORLIAR FILMS plus 
Release Date: October 15th, 2021
Duration: 110 mins.
Director: Tomo Ikeda, Soh Ideuchi, Yuki Ito, Seiji O’Hara, Haruna Tanaka, Yuto Tamura, Noboru Suzuki, Seki Tsubasa, Keitaro Fujimori, Yutaka Maemichi, Yu Tamura,
Writer: N/A
Starring: Ryota Miura, Akira Endo, Yuki Ito, Natsuko Nagaike, Keisuke Sonoyama, Michiko Yamagata, et al
No Trailer
Synopsis: In 2017, actors Takayuki Yamada, Shinnosuke Abe, and film producer Chikara Ito, set up a short film production project in the form of MIRRORLIAR, a service designed to support people who aspire to become actors, film directors, and so forth. The project aims to take films that transcend the boundaries between indie and mainstream works and a previous edition was put out in September. 407 works were produced and will be released in an omnibus format in four seasons. Stories include interactions between reclusive boys and enigmatic girls, wandering into a forest where the dead can be seen, a documentary deer hunting, and conversations between men and women at coffee shops.