Happy Weekend
I hope you are well
There are a LOT of Japanese films released this weekend and they come amidst a Wong Kar-Wai retrospective and some other foreign films. So, this is a two-part trailer post.
Here are the first batch. Tomorrow is stacked with lots of documentaries.
Haw 
ハウ 「Hau」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 118 mins.
Director: Isshin Inudo
Writer: Isshin Inudo (Script), Hiroshi Saito (Original Novel/Screenplay),
Starring: Kei Tanaka, Elaiza Ikeda, Toru Nomaguchi, Makiko Watanabe, Renji Ishibashi, Nobuko Miyamoto, Itsuki Nagasawa,
Isshin Inudo Zero Focus (2009) and Maison de Himiko (2005) follows his well-received documentary on dancer/actor Min Tanaka with what looks like a crowd-pleaser/tear-jerker of a drama.
It is based on the writer Hiroshi Saito’s (Samurai Marathon, Your Friends) own experiences with a rescue dog.
Just looking at the trailer and having a dog I can recommend that you take your hankies if you go and see it.
Synopsis: Tamio Akanishi is a civil servant in Yokohama who is shy and, when we meet him, heartbroken as his fiancée has broken up with him. When his boss encourages him to take care of a shelter dog, Tamio is given a big dog with white hair who doesn’t bark and only makes a sound similar to “haw.” Slowly, Tamio grows fond of the dog but, one day, it suddenly disappears and ends up far away from Yokohama…
Violence Action 
バイオレンスアクション 「Baiorensu Akushon」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 111 mins.
Director: Toichiro Ruto
Writer: Toichiro Ruto, Itaru Era (Script), Renji Asai, Shin Sawada (Original Webcomic),
Starring: Kanna Hashimoto, Yosuke Sugino, Win Morisaki, Jiro Sato, Fumika Baba, Yuuri Ota,
Synopsis: Kei Kikuno is a pink-haired girl who attends a vocational school and has a part-time job where she works as an assassin for hire. One day, when going home from school on a bus, she meets and falls for a businessman. It turns out that he’s her next target as a yakuza turf unfolds…
SABAKAN 
サバカン SABAKAN 「SABAKAN」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 96 mins.
Director: Tomoki Kanazawa
Writer: Tomoki Kanazawa, Jun Hagimori (Script),
Starring: Ichiro Banka, Kounosuke Harada, Machiko Ono, Pistol Takehara, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Shihori Kanjiya, Momoko Fukuchi, Ryo Iwamatsu, Eri Murakawa,
Synopsis: A coming-of-age drama set in Nagasaki in 1986 about a boy named Hisada who lives with his affectionate parents, who always bicker with one another, and his younger brother. One day, Hisada goes to Boomerang Island to see the dolphins with Takemoto, a classmate who is shunned by others because he is poor. The two become friends as their journey turns into an adventure.
THE POWER OF LIFE FROM NAGASAKI 
生きる FROM NAGASAKI 「Ikiru FROM NAGASAKI」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 96 mins.
Director: Kazumi Matsumoto
Writer: N/A
Starring: Shinichi Taketatsu, Kazuo Hirayama, Masako Tsubakiyama, Kyoko Nakamura, Naomichi Kinosaki,
Synopsis: This is a documentary film featuring new testimonies from survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. These survivors, known as Hibakusha, show their power by continuing to live.
Wolf Hunter Go! – American Civil War 
ウルフハンターが行く！ アメリカ南北戦争編 「Urufu Hanta- ga Iku! Amerika Nanbokusensou-hen」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 91 mins.
Director: Akihito Sasaki
Writer: Yasumasa Osada, Yoichi Takahashi, Akihito Sasaki (Script), N/A
Starring: Reiko Nakajima, Shinba Tsuchiya, TAKA, Ryoko Maekawa, Shinobu Mogi,
Synopsis: This is a film based on the “werewolf game” and it is set in the year 2148, a time when most of the human race in the U.S. has been exterminated by werewolves. Wolfhunter 005 is dispatched to the United States in the 1860s to stop a plot to assassinate a key figure in the Union Army who, it turns out, is a werewolf spy sent by the evil Confederates. Aboard the steamboat New Orleans, which is traveling up the Mississippi River, 005 ascertains that the werewolf is one of the seven passengers aboard and he has to find it to change the course of history.
Okagesama de Hawaii ~ Nikkei Women’s Trajectory ~ 
Okagesama de ハワイ日系女性の軌跡 「Okagesama de Hawai Nikkei Josei no Kiseki」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 112 mins.
Director: Hiroyuki Matsumoto
Writer: Yasumasa Osada, Yoichi Takahashi, Akihito Sasaki (Script),
Starring: Reiko Nakajima, Shinba Tsuchiya, TAKA, Ryoko Maekawa, Shinobu Mogi,
Synopsis: This is a documentary that has testimonies of Nikkei (Japanese-American) women in Hawaii that reveals the many immigration stories, working in the sugarcane fields, the role of mothers in the family, how mothers felt about sons going to war, becoming politicians and much more. The stories stretch from the 1800s to now and shows the many contributions that they have given to Hawaii. Through their stories, the film asks what it means to be truly Japanese.
Gekijouban Tsurune: Hajimari no Issha 
劇場版ツルネ はじまりの一射 「Gekijouban Tsurune: Hajimari no Issha」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 102 mins.
Director: Takuya Yamamura
Writer: Takuya Yamamura (Script), Kotoko Ayano (Original Creator),
Starring: Shintaro Asanuma (Masaki Takigawa), Yuto Uemura (Minato Narumiya),
Animation Production: Kyoto Animation
A film version of the 2018 TV anime all about boys and archery. It is by Kyoto Animation. Another season of the TV anime has been announced for January next year.
Synopsis: Minato Narumiya joins the Japanese archery club at Kazemai High School despite suffering from a disease that stops him from drawing a bow. He overcomes his negative feelings and takes up the bow after a fateful encounter with Masaki Takigawa, a skilled archer. Masaki mentors Minato who grows close to everyone in the club but Minato’s close friend comes to believe that he is no longer necessary to Minato.
Super Legend God Hikoza 
超伝合体ゴッドヒコザ 「Chouden Gattai Goddo Hikoza」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Minoru Kawasaki
Writer: Minoru Kawasaki, Akihiko Kigawa (Script),
Starring: Ren Yagami, Sara, Shota Minami, Kyoka Isohara, Hiroyuki Taniguchi,
Minoru Kawasaki creates many DIY tokusatsu special effects comedies and this is his latest. It is his second work in 2022 following President Tanuki.
Synopsis: Tadao Okubo, a descendant of Tadataka/Hikozaemon Okubo, a military commander who served Ieyasu Tokugawa, works as a scientist in Aichi Prefecture. Both he and his fellow researcher Takaho find a mysterious kokeshi doll in Honko-ji Temple and this doll allows them to combine and transform into the kokeshi-shaped robot God Hikoza. Seems like it’s fate because in the Edo period, Hikozaemon fought evil aliens using that same doll and the same thing happens to Tadao who was to protect the Earth from aliens.
Tokyo Drift Ice COOL IT DOWN 
東京流氷 COOL IT DOWN 「Toukyou Ryuuhyou COOL IT DOWN」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 78 mins.
Director: Koei Kadoya
Writer: N/A
Starring: Natsuki Hanae, Yui Ishikawa, Kenjiro Tsuda (Narration)
Synopsis: This documentary reveals a horrific project in which large amounts of drift ice and snow from the coast of Abashiri, Hokkaido, and from Toyama Prefecture were transported to Tokyo to cool the surroundings of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. This and during the Covid-19 pandemic! When the games are delayed, the ice and snow is stuck with nowhere to go and members if the project depart.
Nagi’s Island 
凪の島 「Nagi no Shima」
Release Date: August 19th, 2022
Duration: 107 mins.
Director: Masahiko Nagasawa
Writer: Masahiko Nagasawa (Script),
Starring: Chise Niitsu, Rosa Kato, Hana Kino, Haruka Shimazaki, Kousei Yuki, Kyusaku Shimada,
A coming-of-age story set in Setouchi.
Synopsis: Nagi and her mother Mao have moved back to a small island in the Setouchi area where Nagi’s grandmother, Yoshiko, runs the only clinic. Nagi may seem cheerful but she is dealing with the traumatic memories of her alcoholic father beating up her mother. These memories trigger panic attacks which cause her to hyperventilate. The islanders, aware of her condition, show warmth despite having their own problems. Nagi tries to support them just as they support her but all healing is put in jeopardy when Nagi’s father arrives on the island and requests that they start over as a family…