Happy Weekend
I hope you are well.
This week, I posted about the online theatre that the Osaka Asian Film Festival is running. It contains 10 Japanese films which are available to watch internationally. The festival’s programme went live (including with synopses written by me ;)) and so you can see what films will be screened in cinemas in Osaka. I also broke down the trailer posts into three parts due to 19 Japanese films getting a release of the weekend. Here are part one and part two. What films are in this part?
Code-D Majo-tachi no Kieta Ie 
CODE-D 魔女たちの消えた家 「Code-D Majo-tachi no Kieta Ie」
Release Date: March 05th, 2022
Duration: 104 mins.
Director: Kyoichi Komoto
Writer: Ako Suizu (Script/Story),
Starring: Ako Suizu, Asuka Shingu, Sufa, Ryoko Uchida, Yoshie Nishioka, Maari Fuju, Kanade Ishizuki, Jill, Kita, Makiko Kawai,
Tsuyoshi Sone, the cinematographer of One Cut of the Dead, has a new film out where comedy is used to overcome tragedy.
Synopsis: A near-future dystopian survival movie set in the year 2057, where, for some reason, the government has divided all citizens into five classes from A to D and given them serial codes that restrict their movement. At the “Higashi Chichibu Girls’ D Villa, where a group of Class D women are confined, chaos ensues when a man from class B enters the house and one of the women dies mysteriously and another goes missing. Will they all be killed?
Intimate Stranger 
親密な他人 「Shinmitsuna tanin」
Release Date: March 05th, 2022
Duration: 96 mins.
Director: Mayu Nakamura
Writer: Mayu Nakamura (Script/Story),
Starring: Asuka Kurosawa, Fuju Kamio, Yu Uemura, Shogen, Shiro Sano, Mitsuko Oka,
Mayu Nakamura, director of the documentary Alone Again in Fukushima, and Covid-19 short film Among Four of Us, for which she gave me an interview, shot this post-Covid psychological thriller which is led by Asuka Kurosawa (A Snake in June, Cold Fish).
Synopsis: Megumi Ishikawa is a 46-year-old part-time salesperson at a clothing store. It seems like her routine is simple except she has been waiting for her son, Shinpei, who went missing a year ago. When a cash-strapped 20-year-old young man named Yuji claims to know Shinpei’s whereabouts, Megumi invites him to stay with her and the two develop a mysterious relationship like a lover like a parent and child. Their close proximity to each other reveals hidden secrets.
Street o Tantei Shite Mita 
ストリートを探偵してみた 「Sutori-to o Tantei Shite Mita」
Release Date: March 05th, 2022
Duration: 32 mins.
Director: Seiji Chiba
Writer: Seiji Chiba (Script/Story),
Starring: Kaoru Masaki, Yuichiro Hirose, Takumi Anbo, Eki Okubo, Ryuta Kudo,
No Trailer
Synopsis: This is a short comedy-suspense film made by Seiji Chiba (Alien vs Ninja) about a detective named Yoshihito who investigates fake videos and urban legends. When Yoshihito finds a video that shows a person from his past, he discovers a surprising crime.
Yamato Detective Diary Madoka and Mahoro 
ヤマト探偵日記 マドカとマホロ 「Yamato Tantei Nikki Madoka to Mahoro」
Release Date: March 05th, 2022
Duration: 23 mins.
Director: Daisuke Miyazaki
Writer: Daisuke Miyazaki (Script/Story),
Starring: Natsuko, Ayu Kitaura,
Director Daisuke Miyazaki hails from Yamato City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and frequently films there; Yamato (California), TOURISM, and last year’s are set there (or begin there in TOURISM‘s case). This short film, which is set in Yamato City, tells the story of a young female detective.
No trailer
Synopsis: Madoka is a detective and she is searching for a woman who ran away from home. She’s so committed to the job that when her older sister Mahoro arrives from their hometown in Nagano, Madoka keeps searching and this leaves Mahoro wandering the streets of Yamato in search of Madoka.
Moonlight Diner 
ムーンライト・ダイナー 「Mu-nraito Daina-」
Release Date: March 05th, 2022
Duration: 107 mins.
Director: Kyoji Kamui
Writer: Kyoji Kamui (Script/Story),
Starring: Irie Suga, Miko Nakagawa, Mitsunari Sakamoto, Chiaki Hirotsuka, Hiroyuki Hagita,
Synopsis: A ‘borderless’ action film split into multiple stories that gradually connect. “The Story of a Runaway Girl and a Detective” finds a girl named Ai shows up at Ray’s diner on a mountain road, and accept a job there. “The Incident at Diner” sees a robber break into the diner only to find a dead man lying on the floor, a wad of money stained with blood, a strong man with a gun in his hand, and a woman covered in bruises. “The Story at an Illegal Casino” begins when a blind man talks to one man about the treasure that a wealthy man has hidden in his grave.