Happy Weekend
I hope you are well
This week I have been off work due to illness. I am about to leave for an MRI scan. I hope it can reveal something to help doctors fix my head!
Anyway, this is the second of a two-part trailer post (you can find the first part here).
In terms of film stuff that I’ve done, I did a chunk of festival work and cleared my goals. I posted my review of Sae Suzuki’s short Strangers and an interview with her. I’ve got one more review/interview to come and that closes out OAFF 2022 coverage.
I watched Hellraiser on Amazon and that was about it. Well, apart from Japanese streamers doing Tactics Ogre Reborn.
What else is released this weekend?
The Shaman’s Daughter 
シャーマンの娘 「Sha-man no Musume」
Release Date: November 19th, 2022
Duration: 139 mins.
Director: Yusuke Isaka
Writer: Yusuke Isaka (Script),
Starring: Nagisa Kihara, Kohei Nagano, Akari Sato, Makoto Tezuka, Mizuho Osu,
This was at last year’s Kanazawa Film Festival.
Yusuke Isaka is a graduate of Rikkyo University’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts. While working at an animation production company, he directed his first film, Ghost Idol Koharu, which was selected for the PFF Awards 2015. Since then, he has made a series of short films. This is his debut feature.
Synopsis: Kengo’s girlfriend Sayuri has passed away but that doesn’t stop him from seeing her as becomes clear when he meets Tetsushi, a shaman, and his daughter Umika, a high school girl. Tetsushi allows Umika to host Sayuri’s spirit and a bizarre love triangle between the two girls and Kengo unfolds…
Our House Party, 
ボクらのホームパーティー 「Bokura no Ho-mu Pa-ti-」
Release Date: November 19th, 2022
Duration: 80 mins.
Director: Shuichi Kawanobe
Writer: Shuichi Kawanobe, Hiroaki Nosaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Takashi Hashizume, Keiichi Kageyama, Ryo Matsumoto, Hiroshi Yokoro, Keigo Unohara,
I wrote about this one for Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022. I then reviewed it and interviewed the director, Shuichi Kawanobe. After some summer festivals, it is getting a theatrical run at K’s Cinema in Shinjuku.
Synopsis: Tomoya (HASHIZUME Takashi) is a 21-year-old a university student in Tokyo. A chance encounter with Shoichi (INOURA Ryosuke), a gay bar owner who operates in Shinjuku 2-chome, allows Tomoya the chance to begin articulating his homosexuality. He will have many men to learn from as he is drawn into a house party hosted by Akito (KAGEYAMA Keiichi) and his partner Yasushi (MATSUMOTO Ryo), Naoki (KUBOTA Sho), a gay club owner, and his friend Masashi (UNOHARA Keigo), and Kenichi (YOKORO Hiroshi), a photographer. As the alcohol flows and the party gets exciting, Tomoya works out all is not well with the other guests as their worries and feelings that have been locked away are gradually revealed…
An independently produced film based on director KAWANOBE’s own experiences, he brings to the screen a realistic story of gay life in Tokyo. The film features cinematography from INOMOTO Masami (A Beloved Wife, 2020, Obon Brothers, 2015, Osaka Hamlet, 2008).
Patriotic Confessions: Breaking the Silence Part2 
愛国の告白 沈黙を破るPart2 「Aikoku no kokuhaku chinmoku o yaburu Part 2」
Release Date: November 19th, 2022
Duration: 170 mins.
Director: Toshikuni Doi
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: Documentarian Toshikuni Doi has been covering the conflict between Palestine and Israel for over 30 years since 1985. His latest work features Israeli soldiers who became soldiers of the occupation forces in Palestine became morally and ethically paralyzed as they exercised immense power over the Palestinian people, and some former soldiers, feeling threatened by this, launched the NGO “Breaking the Silence” to denounce the occupation forces. Doi’s 2009 feature debut, “Breaking the Silence,” captured their activities and the reality of the occupied territories. Since then, Israel has been moving further to the right, and the activities of “Breaking the Silence” have become even more important in Israeli society. At the same time, however, the group came under increasing attack from the government and right-wing forces.
Magariya no Koi 
間借り屋の恋 「Magariya no Koi」
Release Date: November 19th, 2022
Duration: 124 mins.
Director: Takatora Masuda
Writer: Takatora Masuda (Screenplay)
Starring: Yuta Hayashi, Yuri Ogino, Ichiro Hashimoto, Hako Oshima, Yota Kawase, Rion Takakhashi, Ippei Osako, Shinji Imaoka, Rosa Yamamoto,
Synopsis: Yasumichi Sugita runs a curry shop in a rented bar in Tokyo. His love life encompasses three women: Ryoko, a fellow student from his college days, Lipi, who delivers food, and Nozomi, the wife of the bar owner. Yasumichi sends his feelings to an independent radio program, confiding them only to the presenter and audiences. One day, he receives an unexpected phone call from Nozomi’s husband…
Restaurant in the Forest 
森の中のレストラン 「Mori no Naka no Resutoran」
Release Date: November 19th, 2022
Duration: 92 mins.
Director: Koichi Izuhara
Writer: Teruyoshi Koda (Screenplay)
Starring: Mei Hata, Yuki Morinaga, Megumi Okina, Takayasu Komiya, Hinako Saeki,
Synopsis: Deep in a forest is a restaurant owned by a hunter named Kinji. In the kitchen is Kyoichi, a man who has tremendous haute cuisine-making skills. He once tried to commit suicide by Kinji saved him. A rumour develops around the place – people who are about to commit suicide head to the restaurant for a “last supper.” One such person is high school girl Saya…