Happy Weekend!
I hope you are well.
This week, I’ve watched Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky and Claire’s Knee by Eric Rohmer.
This is the second part of the trailer post (first part here). This week, I posted m- final reviews for this year’s New York Asian Film Festival with coverage of Grown Ups, Shin Ultraman, and Sanka: Nomads of the Mountains. I also interviewed the director of Sanka, Ryohei Sasatani, too.
What else was released this weekend?
ONE PIECE FILM RED 
ウラギリ 「Uragiri」
Release Date: August 06th, 2022
Duration: 115 mins.
Director: Goro Taniguchi
Writer: Tsutomu Kuroiwa (Script), Eiichiro Oda (Original Creator),
Starring: Mayumi Tanaka (Monkey D. Luffy), Akemi Okamura (Nami), Hiroaki Hirata (Sanji), Kazuya Nakai (Roronoa Zoro), Yuriko Yamaguchi (Nico Robin), Kaori Nazuka (Uta), Shuichi Ikeda (Shanks),
Animation Production: Toei Animation
This is the 15th animated feature film based on the One Piece manga. Eiichiro Oda’s work celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
Synopsis: Uta is a singer beloved all over the world due to her otherworldly voice. However, her true identity is a secret. When she fronts a live concert, everybody wants to see her, and that includes The Straw Hat gang. With the Navy keeping a close eye on everybody, you can expect something to go down but little is everyone prepared for the biggest shock of the night: Uta is Shanks’ daughter!
The Riverside and an Endless Night 
明けない夜とリバーサイド 「Akenai Yoru to Riba-saido」
Release Date: August 06th, 2022
Duration: 46 mins.
Director: Asako Natsui
Writer: Ei Sugai (Script),
Starring: Emina Kondo, Hitoe Okubo, Misa Matsuoka, Nanaho Otsuka, Keiko Kamikubo, Kenko Morisaki, Hika Koyama,
Actress Emina Kondo planned and produced this film in which she describes some of the feeling of helplessness that the Covid pandemic engendered. You can watch a talk event here.
Synopsis: The film depicts 18 months in the life of Fujiko and Kazutaka Natsumi, an ordinary sister and brother who are in a world affected by Covid-19. Fujiko moved from Aichi to Tokyo to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a wedding planner but when the pandemic hits, she has to take refuge in Kazutaka’s apartment. Can she realise her dream of being a wedding planner when so many waves of Covid-19 are battering the wedding industry?
Towards Zero 
零へ 「Rei e」
Release Date: August 06th, 2022
Duration: 72 mins.
Director: Takashi Ito
Writer: Takashi Ito (Script),
Starring: Mizuki Kubo, Yuri Sasahara, Mizuno Takahasi, Kimiko Shin, Miwako Matsuda,
Takashi Ito is an experimental filmmaker who made his debut with the short film SPACY in 1981. Towards Zero is his first feature film.
Synopsis: The story of a female student gradually becoming obsessed with violence and death and violence, a woman wandering around in search of a place to discard a man’s wrist 手首, and a man is frightened by visions of a woman wrapped in a black costume while harbouring a sexual obsession. All three become intertwined as they are strangely similar in theme and atmosphere.
Torao 
とら男 「Torao」
Release Date: August 06th, 2022
Duration: 72 mins.
Director: Kazuya Maruyama
Writer: Kazuya Maruyama (Script),
Starring: Torao Nishimura, Sakiko Kato, Ayano Ogata, Tomoya Kono, Masaaki Kono,
This is a beautifully-shot and fascinating cold-case mystery where one of the lead roles is played by Torao Nishimura, a real-life former detective with over 30 years of criminal experience while working in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Synopsis: The murder of a female swimming coach in Kanazawa occurred in 1992. When a university student named Kayako travels from Tokyo to research rare flowers, she comes across Torao, a retired detective from the police force who lives a solitary life and is unable to forget the case. Together, the two investigate it.
According the the synopsis: Through a dual structure of reality and fiction, the mystery and truth of the case buried in darkness is brought to the public’s attention.
Let Me Hear it Barefoot 
裸足で鳴らしてみせろ 「Hadashi de Narashite Misero」
Release Date: August 06th, 2022
Duration: 128 mins.
Director: Riho Kudo
Writer: Kazuya Maruyama (Script),
Starring: Jun Fubuki, Masahiro Komoto, Kaho Ito, Shion Sasaki, Tamari Suwa,
Riho Kudo follows her 2018 Pia Film Festival (PFF) Grand Prix award-winning indie film Orphan’s Blues with Let Me Hear it Barefoot, her commercial film debut which was produced as a PFF scholarship film.
Synopsis: Naoki works for his father’s waste collection company, while Maki works part-time at a public swimming pool and lives with his adoptive mother, Midori, a blind woman who dreams about the far corners of the Earth. When Midori becomes ill, Naoki and Maki set out with a recorder to make tapes filled with their adventures from an imaginary trip. The Sahara Desert, Iguazu Falls (Happy Together – there should be two of us here ;_;), and the grasslands of Canada all feature. As they record their journey, Naoki and Maki become drawn to each other but are only able to translate their inexpressible feelings through joking around and violent struggles.
Horu Onna – Jomon jin no Otoshimono 
掘る女 縄文人の落とし物 「Horu Onna – Jomon jin no Otoshimono」
Release Date: August 06th, 2022
Duration: 111 mins.
Director: Takako Matsumoto
Writer: N/A
Starring: Sachie Otake, Yagi Katsue, Kanako Izawa, Masako Ikeda (Narrator),
That thing belongs in a museum! This is a documentary about women involved in the excavation and research of Jomon ruins.
Synopsis: The Jomon Monuments of Hokkaido and the northern Tohoku region were registered as a World Heritage Site in July 2021 (more here). The mysteries of the oddly designed earthenware and the somewhat cute clay figures created between 16,000 and 3,000 years ago attract many people including Sachie Otake, Yagi Katsue, and Kanako Izawa, three female archaeologists in a male-dominated environment. This documentary was researched and shot over three years and shows how they excavate these artifacts with passion.