Happy Weekend
This is the second part of a two-part trailer post (first part here). We’re a week away from Christmas and temperatures have dropped enough for it to feel like winter. I’ve been staying in most evenings and watching films. On Netflix I watched The Game (1997), The Sting (1973), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Lost Bullet (2020), Werewolves Within (2021), Clear and Present Danger (1994), and the Fear Street films. Outside of Netflix I watched Eternal Waltz (1995) and Hibiki (2018).
This week I wrote about the high-quality indie films that will be streamed on JFF+ and I will be watching those over the next coming months! For free! Check the post out for more details!
What are the other films released this weekend?
Bokura wa Mi-nna Ikiteiru 
僕らはみーんな生きている 「Bokura wa Mi-nna Ikiteiru」
Release Date: December 16th, 2022
Duration: 116 mins.
Director: Tomoaki Kaneko
Writer: Tomoaki Kaneko (Script),
Starring: Yutaro, Noa Tsurushima, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Maki Kuwahara, Kazuhiko Nishimura, Haruka Kodama,
Synopsis: Shun Miyata is a struggling novelist who has moved to Tokyo to start a new job at a bento shop in a shotengai. It seems promising at first because everyone is friendly and his co-worker Yuka is hot but then shotengai chairman decides to implement a new plan that causes chaos for every business in the district…
MADO 
窓 MADO 「MADO」
Release Date: December 16th, 2022
Duration: 82 mins.
Director: Mao
Writer: Mao (Script),
Starring: Masahiko Nishimura, Yoko Oshima, Meu Ninomiya, MEGUMI, Ryoko Kobayashi,
This is apparently based on the true story of a trial that took place in Yokohama about the effects of second-hand smoke imbibed by some from neighbours puffing away on their balconies. Is this it? Anyway, the director is the son of the man who was sued in the actual trial and this is his feature-length directorial debut in which he tries to capture both sides of the story.
Synopsis: In an apartment complex in Yokohama, a family sues a family living on the floor below because they have developed chemical sensitivity from all the smoking that goes on from their downstairs neighbours. They get a medical certificate and sue the downstairs family, claiming 45 million yen in compensation!
EROSION 
Release Date: December 17th, 2022
Duration: 82 mins.
Director: TOOWA2
Writer: TOOWA2 (Script),
Starring: Kaori Tsubaki, Chika Arakawa, Lily, AKIE, Shunsuke Inuzuka, Ryohei Okabe,
Director TOOWA2 expands the short film ENSEMBLE, in which the emotions of the characters are expressed through the sounds of musical instruments rather than dialogue, into a feature film with changes to costumes and the setting.
Synopsis: MIYABI lives amongst a tribe who communicate their feelings through the tones of their musical instruments and struggles with it. This has left him isolated in the village. When a man with a different way of communicating passes through, MIYABI travels with him. Years later, MIYABI returns with a new ability and tries to tell the others in the tribe.
Urayasu Fish Market 
浦安魚市場のこと 「Urayasu Uoichiba no Koto」
Release Date: December 17th, 2022
Duration: 98 mins.
Director: Tatsuhito Utagawa
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Director Tatsuhito Utagawa makes his feature-length debut with this film after a career making short and medium-length documentaries in Cambodia.
Synopsis: This documentary was shot in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture, and concentrates on a fish market, which closed in March 2019, and its customers. The reason for its closure was due to the effects of contaminated factory water. The documentary keeps alive the people who went to the market, from fishmongers who moonlight as rock stars, to the old women the deshell various crustaceans.
Kensuke Ashihara Short Film Special
The next two films are playing at Cinema Rosa in Ikebukuro.
Pet Shop 
ペットショップ 「Petto Shoppu」
Release Date: December 17th, 2022
Duration: 25 mins.
Director: Kensuke Ashihara
Writer: Kensuke Ashihara (Script), Masahiko Iida (Original Story),
Starring: Kohei Tsuchiya, Emiri Kosaki, Harumi Shuhama, Manae Hara, Noriyuki Tokunaga, Yukari Nemoto,
Synopsis: Keisuke works at a welfare office where he spends his days dealing with welfare recipients and he is sick of his job. Mari, his boss at work, is equally sick of him. When Keisuke complains about his job, Mari decides to do something…
Manibus Seeds 
マニブスの種 「Manibusu no Tane」
Release Date: December 17th, 2022
Duration: 25 mins.
Director: Kensuke Ashihara
Writer: Kensuke Ashihara (Script), Masahiko Iida (Original Story),
Starring: Takao Kanno, Ayano Kojima, Takayuki Meguro, Ai Eguchi,
Synopsis: Katsuo Adachi works at a factory in downtown Tokyo. When receives an envelope from an unknown sender, he finds plant seeds inside. Despite his suspicions, he tries to grow a plant using them. This gives him a hobby and his co-worker, Ayu, becomes interested. Things get dicey when a human hand sprouts from the from the soil.
Kaguya-sama: Love is War – The First Kiss That Never Ends – 
かぐや様は告らせたい ファーストキッスは終わらない 「Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Fa-suto Kissu wa Owaranai 」
Release Date: December 17th, 2022
Duration: 90 mins
Director: Mamoru Hatakeyama
Writer: Yasuhiro Nakanishi (Screenplay), Aka Akasaka (Original Creator)
Starring: Aoi Koga (Kaguya Shinomiya), Makoto Furukawa (Miyuki Shirogane), Haruka Fukuhara (Tsubame Koyasu), Kana Ichinose (Maki Shijo), Konomi Kohara (Chika Fujiwara),
Animation Production: A-1 Pictures
This film follows the third series of the TV anime.
Synopsis: Kaguya and Miyuki may be geniuses who run the student council and they may have shared their first kiss but they still haven’t confessed their feelings over their relationship. It remains ambiguous. As Christmas approaches, the two share a stronger awareness of each other.