Happy Weekend
This is the first of a two-part trailer post so come back tomorrow for more!
What are the first bunch of films released this weekend?
Fragments of the Last Will / From Siberia with Love 
ラーゲリより愛を込めて 「Ra-geri yori Ai o Komete」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 133 mins.
Director: Takahisa Zeze
Writer: Tamio Hayashi (Script), Jun Henmi (Original Novel),
Starring: Kazunari Ninomiya, Keiko Kitagawa, Tori Matsuzaka, Ken Yasuda, Kenta Kiritani, Akira Terao, Kento Nakajima,
This was the opening film for this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, one of those “love will give us succour during agony” war films that is based on a true story. You can read an interview with the director about this film and the wider industry here.
Synopsis: It is 1945 and the end of World War II but for many Japanese soldiers and cinemas who were taken prisoner by the Russians, this was the start of a long internment in some of Siberia’s concentration camps. Forced to work in harsh conditions and freezing temperatures, many people died. One person in this situation was Hatao Yamamoto who tried to rally himself and others with the idea of returning home. His belief in returning to his wife and their four children in Japan keeps hope alive but his health gets worse…
Yoru, Toritachi ga Naku 
夜、鳥たちが啼く 「Yoru, Toritachi ga Naku」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 133 mins.
Director: Hideo Jojo
Writer: Ryo Takada (Script), Yasushi Sato (Original Novel),
Starring: Yuki Yamada, Marika Matsumoto, Shinsuke Kato, Yurika Nakamura, Shohei Uno,
An adaptation of one of Yasushi Sato’s stories following The Sound of Grass and The Light Shines Only There. It comes from Hideo Jojo (On the Edge of Their Seats – interview). The story was adapted into a script by Ryo Takada who adapted Sato’s stories The Light Shines Only There and Over the Fence.
Synopsis: Shinichi was a promising writer but his career has long since stalled and now his girlfriend has left him. Just as he is faced with being depressed and trying to write the novel that will rescue his career, his friend’s ex-wife, Yuko, moves into a neighbouring property that Shinichi used to own. Yuko struggles to provide for her son and deal with her own loneliness which sees her spend the night with random men. Her son begins to like Shinichi and soon Yuko and Shinichi begin to like each other.
Kofuku 
光復 「Koufuku」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 129 mins.
Director: Yoshihiro Fukagawa
Writer: Yoshihiro Fukagawa (Script),
Starring: Miho Miyazawa, Masaaki Nagai, Kyoko Kuranshi, Shin Ikeda, Takashi Ito,
This film is “side B” of the “return to mYselF project,” in which director Yoshihiro Fukagawa and his wife Miho Miyazawa made two different independent films in succession under the titles “side A” and “side B. First part here.
Synopsis: Keiko Oshima has returned to her parents’ home in Nagano after living in Tokyo to care for her father and her mother, who is unable to communicate with her due to dementia. When she is reunited with a high school classmate named Kenji, she finds someone who will help her with her care duties and someone who offers her warmth. However, when her mother dies from an insulin overdose, Keiko’s situation becomes desperate…
Take a Stroll 
散歩時間 その日を待ちながら 「Sanpo Jikan Sono hi o Machinagara」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Akihiro Toda
Writer: Gaku Kawasaki (Script), Akihiro Toda (Original Story),
Starring: Kou Maehara, Karen Otomo, Yurina Yanagi, Ayumu Nakajima, Ryo Shinoda, Kaori Takeshita, Megane,
An ensemble drama set during the Covid-19 crisis.
Synopsis: November 17, 2020. With the Covid-19 pandemic raging, life has ground to a halt for a group of people in a house in the country. They have all gathered there on the night of the Leonid meteor shower for various reasons. Ryosuke and Yukari were meant to wed but are now having a celebration where secrets will come out; a young actor named Kataoka finds himself out of any and all jobs as the entertainment industry shuts down; Awaji is a taxi driver unable to return home for fear of breaking quarantine even though his wife has given birth; junior high school students Koki and Suzu find all school events are cancelled but are still grasping for hope in the future.
Tenjo no Hana 
天上の花 「Tenjo no Hana」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 125 mins.
Director: Ikki Katashima
Writer: Sayaka Goto, Haruhiko Arai (Script), Yoko Hagiwara (Original Story),
Starring: Masahiro Higashide, Noriko Iriyama, Naoki Urasawa, Sakumi Hagiwara, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Narimi Arimori,
The output and life of poet and novelist Sakutaro Hagiwara is adapted for the screen by his daughter Yoko Hagiwara and it has on its cast Yoko’s son Sakumi Hagiwara, a cinematographer by trade. Also on the cast are Masahiro Higashide (The Sound of Grass), Mitsuru Fukikoshi (Cold Fish, The Twilight Samurai), and manga artist Naoki Urasawa (Monster, Master, Keaton).
Synopsis: Tatsuji Miyoshi regards Sakutaro Hagiwara as his teacher. Feelings run deeper since he loves Sakutaro’s youngest sister, Keiko, but she rejects him. A decade later and as the Pacific War rages, Tatsuji finds out that Keiko is recently widowed and he divorces his wife and leaves his children and marries Keiko. They honeymoon quietly Echizen Mikuni but their personalities don’t match as Tatsuji is unable to keep up with the more uninhibited Keiko.
Yuzo the Biggest Battle in Tokyo 
特撮喜劇 大木勇造 人生最大の決戦 「Tokusatsu Kigeki Ooki Yuzo Jinsei Saidai no Kessen」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 88 mins.
Director: Yoshikazu Ishii
Writer: Yoshikazu Ishii, Gen Tanaka (Script),
Starring: Masanori Machida, Takehiko Fujita, Hironobu Nomura, Takashi Toyoda, Daniel Aguilar, Tetsu Saiki,
The Joy of Man’s Desiring (2014)
Synopsis: Director Yoshikazu Ishii has a background in special effects movies and he has created one for the age of Covid-19. Set in 2020, we watch an elite salaryman lose his job and struggle at a new one only to find he is stuck with horrible co-workers. When his girlfriend dumps him, he gets really desperate and it is at this point that an alien makes contact with Yuzo’s co-workers and uses their craziness to cause disasters for the world. It’s all a disaster for our hero and it is up to Yuzo to find the strength to save the day.
Michikusa 
道草 「Michikusa」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 122 mins.
Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Katayama (Script),
Starring: Tappei Aono, Makoto Tanaka, Tao, Keisuke Yanaga, Shoji Omiya,
Synopsis: Michio Enomoto is a struggling painter who earns his living as a rubbish collector. Despite this, he is content with life and things get better when he meets a woman named Sachi who appreciates his art and they start dating. One day, while collecting rubbish, he sees an abstract painting that has been abandoned and he becomes interested in it…
Naniwa Kinyudo Orochi City Money Wars 
ナニワ金融道 大蛇市マネーウォーズ 「Naniwa Kinyudo Orochi-shi Mane- Uo-zu」
Release Date: December 09th, 2022
Duration: 60 mins.
Director: Hirokazu Fujisawa
Writer: Hirokazu Fujisawa (Script), Yuuji Aoki (Original Manga),
Starring: Mahiro Takasugi, Masaya Kato, Saori, Takashi Nishina, Yurina Yanagi,
An adaptation of the manga Naniwa Kinyu Michi which is set in the shady side of the financial world of Osaka. This is the second of three episodes to be released in theatres over three consecutive weeks.
Synopsis: Tatsuyuki Haibara struggled to find a job due to a poor credit score but one place willing to hire him is Teikoku Finance, a “street money” lender that employs dubious methods to get customers to repay their loans. Tatsuyuki is still kind-hearted, despite his struggles.