Happy Weekend
I hope you are well
Only one trailer post this week so this is it. In terms of reviews and interviews, my review for Angry Son and interview with its director, Kasho Iizuka, were published on V-Cinema. On this blog, I posted two reviews, The Residents and Melting Sounds, both for Kahori Higashi films and both released ahead of their screening at this year’s Nippon Connection. Also, a new episode of Heroic Purgatory dropped, this one covering Parasite by Bong Joon-ho.
I didn’t cover that festival due to fatigue from a chronic illness from last spilling over into this one. The illness is gone. I’ve started exercising again and stopped drinking alcohol and lowered my sugar intake. I feel mentally sharper but still far from my best physically and mentally.
In terms of films, I’ve watched
The Big Lebowski
Rome, Open City
Belle de Jour
Cowboy Bebop (live-action Netflix)
Come Drink with Me
Tomorrow, I’ll be recording a new episode of Heroic Purgatory, this one dedicated to Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
What films are released this weekend?
Made in Yamato 
Release Date: May 28th, 2022
Duration: 120 mins.
Director: Masanori Tominaga, Yui Kiyohara, Akira Yamamoto, Risa Takeuchi, Daisuke Miyzaki,
Writer: Risa Takeuchi, Daisuke Miyzaki, Masanori Tominaga (Screenplay),
Starring: Yukino Murakami, Yohei Yamazaki, Takashi Omoto, Wan Marui, Natsuki Hori, Elisa Yanagi
This project is an omnibus film that was made in response to the cancellation of the Yamato Film Festival and the children’s film classes held every year in Yamato due to Covid-19. The directors have all be associated with Yamato and children’s film classes and with this film they hope to bring the joy of filmmaking and the potential of local cities to the public.
Directors include:
Masanori Tominaga (Vengeance Can Wait, Rolling, Dynamite Graffiti)
Yui Kiyohara (Our House, winner of a Pia Film Festival award)
Daisuke Miyzaki (Videophobia (interview), Tourism (interview), Yamato (California), North Shinjuku 2055 (interview))
Synopsis: That Day, This Day, One Day (dir: Akira Yamamoto) portrays various city office workers recording a video letter for a colleague who’s about to retire. In
The Fourth Lie (dir: Masanori Tominaga), a father meets his daughter whom he lives apart from and is perplexed when he’s introduced to her stepfather.
Makie’s Adventure (dir: Risa Takeuchi) depicts the daily life and miniature journey of a woman who works at a municipal sports complex.
Eri and Kumi’s Long and Mediocre Day (dir: Daisuke Miyazaki) follows the journey of the titular girls as they head into a forest to bury a time capsule.
The Light of March (dir: Yui Kiyohara) is about a young pregnant woman wandering on the outskirts of town who comes across an odd biker gang.
Inu-Oh 
犬王「Inu Oh」
Release Date: May 28th, 2022
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Writer: Akiko Nogi (Script), Hideo Furukawa (Original Novel – Heike Monogatari – Inu-Oh no Maki)
Starring: Avu-chan (Inu-oh), Mirai Moriyama (Tomona),
Animation Production: Science SARU
This is an adaptation of Heike Monogatari – Inu-Oh no Maki by Hideo Furukawa and is based on the true story of 14th-century Sarugaku Noh performer and playwright Inu-Oh. The film is billed as a musical that will incorporate both modern song and dance which is all being produced by animation outfit Science SARU with ASMIK Ace working as distributor.
Manga artist, Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet, Ping Pong, Sunny), who previously worked with Yuasa on Ping Pong: The Animation, is credited as the character designer. The screenplay comes from Akiko Nogi who has adapted manga into live-action films like Library Wars and I Am a Hero.
Synopsis from Asmik Ace: “You should make a song of my life with Biwa.”
Inu-Oh was a real person who lived in the 14th century. He was a Noh dancer and extremely popular in that era. However, he is all but unknown to people nowadays, because only few documents about his life remain. This film imagines his life.
Born with deformities that shocked people who saw him, his parents covered his body with garments and a mask. When he meets a boy named Tomona, a blind biwa player, Inu-Ou discovers an incredible ability to dance. The two become business partners and inseparable friends, using their creative gifts to survive on the margins of society, as song after song gain them notoriety and propel them to stardom. Through the songs, Inu-Ou mesmerizes his audiences on stage, and gradually begins to transform into someone of unequalled beauty. But why is Tomona blind? Why was Inu-Ou born with unique characteristics? It is a story about the friendship of Inu-Ou and Tomona, who dance and sing to get to the truth and break each other’s curse.
Hatachi no Soru 
20歳のソウル 「Hatachi no Souru」
Release Date: May 27th, 2022
Duration: 136 mins.
Director: Jun Akiyama
Writer: Yuriko Nakai (Script/Original non-fiction work),
Starring: Fuju Kamio, Machiko Ono, Riko Fukumoto, Masaya Sano, Koki Maeda, Koichi Sato,
Based on a true story.
Synopsis: Taigi Asano (Fuju Kamio), a trombone player for the Funabashi High School Brass Band, is regarded as bright and kind by those who know him. Under the influence of music teacher Kenichi Takahashi (Koichi Sato), Taigi composes a cheer song for the high school baseball team and calls it “Ichifune Soul.” It’s a hit on the pitch. After graduating high school, Taigi enters a university and dreams of becoming a teacher like Takahashi. However, he is struck by cancer…
Setouchi Jakucho: 99 Years of Life 
瀬戸内寂聴 99年生きて思うこと 「Setouchi Jakuchou 99-nen ikite omoukoto」
Release Date: May 27th, 2022
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Yutaka Nakamura
Writer: Yuriko Nakai (Script),
Starring: Jakucho Setouchi
Synopsis: Writer and nun Jakucho Setouchi died in November 2021 at the age of 99. She may be familiar from her appearance in A Dedicated Life as the lover/muse of Mitsuharu Inoue, but she was so much more as she lived through four eras – Taisho, Showa, Heisei, and 2021 – and published works based her own experiences of elopement, adultery, love triangles, and public scandals. She remained a public figure up until her final years and this documentary captures that aspect of her as well as her way of life over the last 17 years of her existence.
Owari ga Hajimari 
終わりが始まり 「Owari ga Hajimari」
Release Date: May 27th, 2022
Duration: 78 mins.
Director: Yuuji Nakamae
Writer: Yuuji Nakamae (Script),
Starring: Masakazu Nemoto, Minami Minegishi, Gouki Maeda, Kyoko Hinami, Shota Takasaki,
Synopsis: Kashiwagi moved to Tokyo with big dreams but got caught up in the nightlife as a scout for a club. Maiko Yoshida used to work at the club but seems to have escaped and now has a boyfriend. The two reunite just as Kashiwagi decides to change his ways but people from his past are ready to hold him back…
Koi Kogare Utae 
恋い焦れ歌え 「Koi Kogare Utae」
Release Date: May 27th, 2022
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Izuru Kumasaka
Writer: Izuru Kumasaka (Script),
Starring: Yu Inaba, Kenshin Endo, Honami Sato, Rion Takahashi, Takuya Matsunaga,
Synopsis: Kiritani works as a temporary teacher at an elementary school and it looks like he will be made a permanent full-time teacher until a mysterious man named KAI appears in his life and dredges up traumatic memories through rapping. Can Kiritani overcome his trauma and what is KAI’s involvement in all of this?
HE-LOW THE FINAL 
HE-LOW THE FINAL ヒーロゥ ザ・ファイナル 「HE-LOW THE FINAL Hi-rou Za Fainaru」
Release Date: May 27th, 2022
Duration: 84 mins.
Director: Hassei Takano
Writer: Kei Taguchi (Script),
Starring: Takeshi Yoshioka, Takamasa Suga, Takaya Aoyagi, Taiko Kato, Nao Oikawa,
Synopsis: This is the third and final film in the “HE-LOW” series of independent tokusatsu. Hero Satoshi Takami, who can transform into the giant hero Ult-roman, shrinks in the middle of a fierce battle with a monster and struggles to regain his power. Meanwhile, another hero, Shusuke Akagi, becomes a successful streamer, and another hero, the gambling addict Hiroshi Motooka, disappears just as a new alien invades Earth. Will the three be able to regain their powers and sense of justice to rescue the Earth?
Orera no Tadomatsuri 
おれらの多度祭 小山地区・三年間の記録 「Ore-ra no tado matsuri Koyama chiku san-nenkan no kiroku 」
Release Date: May 28th, 2022
Duration: 60 mins.
Director: Yuki Ito
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This documentary records the Tado Festival which is held every May in Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture. This triannual event has been running since the Muromachi period (1338-1341), and has only stopped once and that was after the Tado Taisha Shrine was burned down by Oda Nobunaga’s forces in 1571. Since then, it has gone on without a break, even during the Second World War. During the event, which takes place over the two days of May 4 and 5, horses and riders selected from each of the six districts try to climb over a 2-meter cliff. Director Yuki Ito is a native of the area and has documented many aspects of it and now this festival.