Happy Weekend
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I hope you are well
I began this week with a review of A Song I Remember and continued with a preview of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2022. I’ll be reviewing a film playing at it. I took part in a recording of the Heroic Purgatory podcast that covered my favourite films of 2021 – many of which were in my Top Ten of the year. I also posted part one of this trailer round-up!
Here is a reminder that you can watch a plethora of Japanese films at these sites:
DAFILMS – 10 documentaries from the history of the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. It’s a subscription service but good value.
Cinematheque Francaise – a mixture of critically acclaimed features and shorts that are normally only available via festivals and all for free.
What else was released this weekend?
Shiver Image may be NSFW.
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戦慄せしめよ 「Senritsu seshimeyo」
Release Date: January 29th, 2022
Duration: 89 mins.
Director: Toshiaki Toyoda
Writer: Toshiaki Toyoda
Starring: Kiyohiko Shibukawa,
Synopsis: Filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda recorded the collaboration between composer Koshiro Hino and Taiko ensemble Kodo over the course of one month on the small island of Sado. Their collaboration occurred during record-breaking snowstorms on the island and the powerful performance of drumming are combined with shots of the snow-clad village Kodo practice in and also the natural world that surrounds them. The film was produced and then released online with the aim of creating a new musical experience in the midst of the ongoing spread of coronavirus. There is no dialogue, just sounds and images.
The World of You Image may be NSFW.
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麻希のいる世界 「Maki no iru sekai」
Release Date: January 29th, 2022
Duration: 89 mins.
Director: Akihiko Shiota
Writer: Akihiko Shiota (Screenplay),
Starring: Yuzumi Shintani, Marin Hidaka, Airu Kubozuka, Raiju Kamata, Yuuki Yagi,
Akihiko Shiota, director of Harmful Insect and Farewell Song, brings an original script based on the tried and tested formula of schoolgirls making rock bands. Shiota wrote the script after meeting the two girls on the set of Farewell Song.
Synopsis: High school student Yuki has lost all hope of living due to a chronic disease but a renewal happens after she has a life-changing encounter with Aki, her destructive classmate with a beautiful singing voice and a reputation for hanging out with men. After hearing Aki singing on a beach, she approaches her and they decide to form a band and Yuki’s upbeat attitude revitalises Yuki. Meanwhile, Yusuke, a member of the school music club, secretly has feelings for Yuki and tries to protect her but in the end, he gets involved with the band.
Horror Channel Aokigahara Image may be NSFW.
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ホラーちゃんねる 樹海 「Hora-channeru Aokigahara」
Release Date: January 28th, 2022
Duration: 87 mins.
Director: Takafumi Ohashi
Writer: Takafumi Ohashi (Script),
Starring: Miku Tanaka, HARUKA, Minami Wachi, RaiKi, Rin Emasu,
This is another omnibus horror film from “Horror Channel,” a YouTube channel specializing in horror. There are six stories set in the infamous Aokigahara. Each story features a cast made up of idols, cosplayers, models, and voice actors.
Synopsis: A YouTuber named Kaede Yoshioka follows the trail of a high school girl who went into Aokigahara, which is a splendid idea if you want to get got by a ghost… Probably good content for her channel as she ventures into a place that should never be visited.
The World of Shura Image may be NSFW.
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修羅の世界 「Shura no Sekai」
Release Date: January 29th, 2022
Duration: 115 mins.
Director: Kenichi Fujiwara
Writer: Shozen Matsudaira (Script),
Starring: Koji Matoba, Tetsuji Sakakibara, Tsunenori Aoki, Manabu Hamada, Takahiro Kurushii,
A yakuza film where the older generation and the newer one clash over how to do crime.
Synopsis: In the Yokohama, a gang war breaks out between the old-school Ryoan-gumi, who don’t deal drugs, and the Yamagami-gumi, who are flooding the streets with narcotics. The son of the leader of the Ryoan-gumi is caught between following the old ways and a desire to strike a new path and he leaves the care of his father’s gang, but…
Somebody’s Flowers Image may be NSFW.
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誰かの花 「Dareka no Hana」
Release Date: January 29th, 2022
Duration: 115 mins.
Director: Yusuke Okada
Writer: Yusuke Okada (Script),
Starring: Shinsuke Kato, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Choei Takahashi, Misa Wada, Honoka Murakami,
The film was planned and produced for the 30th anniversary of Cinema Jack & Betty, a famous mini-theatre in Yokohama, and the film’s story is set in the same city. The film stars Shinsuke Kato (Ken and Kazu), and was directed by Yokohama native Yusuke Okuda.
Synopsis: Takaaki is a steelworker and a loyal son who visits his parents in their apartment complex. Lately, he suspects that his father Tadayoshi may have dementia as the old man is causing problems for Takaaki’s mother and sometimes confuses Takaaki for his older brother, who passed away a few years ago. When a flower pot falls from a balcony in the parent’s apartment complex and hits someone, it causes a massive scandal and Takaaki worries that his father might be behind it.
Korosuna Image may be NSFW.
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殺すな 「Korosuna」
Release Date: January 28th, 2022
Duration: 52 mins.
Director: Akira Inoue
Writer: Tsutomu Nakamura (Script), Shuhei Fujisawa (Original Story),
Starring: Baijaku Nakamura, Tasuku Emoto, Tamao Nakamura, Hirotaro Honda, Sakura Ando,
This is based on a story included from Shuhei Fujisawa’s short story collection Hashi Monogatari and it was directed by Akira Inoue, a veteran in the film and TV industry who had a long career making jidaigeki before he died from a cerebral infarction and pneumonia on 9 January 2022, at the age of 93. Taking some of the lead roles are husband-wife Tasuku Emoto and Sakura Ando.
This will be screened at Aeon Cinema before it is broadcast by the Jidaigeki Channel, which has produced many period dramas based on Shuhei Fujisawa’s original works, on February 1.
Synopsis: Zenzaemon, a ronin, lives in a tenement building alongside Yoshizo, a boatman, and Yoshizo’s woman, Omine. The couple have eloped and are in hiding but Omine is getting tired of being confined and Yoshizo is getting worried about losing her. Zenzaemon is reminded of his former life and the wife he mistreated…
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テレビで会えない芸人 「Terebi de Aenai Geinin」
Release Date: January 29th, 2022
Duration: 81 mins.
Director: Yoshitaka Yotsumoto, Yuki Maki
Writer: N/A
Starring: Hiro Matsumoto
Synopsis: A documentary that about the comedian Hiro Matsumoto, a performer who embraced stand-up comedy with material drawing upon politics and social issues. It was first broadcast locally in Kagoshima in May 2020 and then nationwide.