Merry Christmas
I hope you are festive and well.
It’s my first proper Christmas with my family but I am taking time out to organise things and quickly do this trailer post. As I write this, I am waiting to hand out/receive presents and eat Christmas food. So far, I got some Japanese whiskey from Akashi, a small city I visited a couple of years ago.
In terms of films and TV, I finished watching Wolf’s Rain and I am about to start Vinland Saga and I plan on watching nine Japanese films hosted by Cinematheque Francaise – all free and with English subs! I posted one trailer post yesterday. I’ll try and do a Top Ten Films for the end of the year.
What else was released on this Christmas weekend?
Red Post on Escher Street 
エッシャー通りの赤いポスト 「Essha- dori no akai posuto」
Release Date: December 25th, 2021
Duration: 146 mins.
Director: Sion Sono
Writer: Sion Sono (Script),
Starring: Mala Morgan, Sen Fujimaru, Canon Nawata, Taro Suwa, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Tetsu Watanabe, Tomoko Fujita, Matsuri Kohira, Marina Kozawa,
Synopsis: Sion Sono worked with 51 actors who participated in a workshop to create this film. It’s a meta film where the story draws upon people auditioning for a film by a famous director named Tadashi Kobayashi but it’s a struggle for the man to just get his ideas in order and production going. As he works on this project, people with and without acting experience join Kobayashi to make the project work.
Otto to chotto hanarete shima kurashi 
夫とちょっと離れて島暮らし 「Otto to chotto hanarete shima kurashi」
Release Date: December 25th, 2021
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Aya Kunitake
Writer: N/A
Starring: Chazu
Synopsis: Actress Aya Kunitake takes up directing with this documentary that follows the life of an illustrator named Chazu, who moved to Kakeroma Island in the Amami Islands, to escape the stress of Tokyo. It’s only for a limited time but she finds some sort of creative freedom and posts a manga about her life on the island during her separation from her husband on social media. As Aya Kunitake records Chazu’s experiences, we get to see the unique lifestyle of the island, the villagers and its natural world.
Tomose 
灯せ 「Tomose」
Release Date: December 25th, 2021
Duration: 24 mins.
Director: Ryo Anraku Assistant Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Anraku (Script),
Starring: Wan Marui, Hiroki Sato, Ryo Katayama, DEG, Nagiko Tsuji,
Wan Marui, of Kontora fame, has worked on this short with a tight crew who brought us Tailwind, a great drama. There’s also Nagiko Tsuji who is very active on the indie scene and a fantastic(!) comedic actress.
Synopsis: It is the rainy season of 2021 and in the hot and humid Tokyo urban landscape are a filmmaker, a stage actor, and a rapper who are struggling through another Covid-19 state of emergency. In these trying times, they work hard to express themselves!