Happy Weekend
Well, this week I started things off with a review of the Yoichi Sai 1985 noir Let Him Rest in Peace. Not necessarily the most exciting film but its old-school heroes and themes of masculinity meshed well with the atmosphere of corruption in an economically broken Okinawa.
I then posted about the Japanese and Korean films at the Cannes Film Festival 2023, which starts the week after next. Excited to hear about the latest Takeshi Kitano. It’s a jidaigeki and it’s reportedly his last film. There are a LOT of interesting Korean films, too.
I’ve had to get my skates on and start watching the latest round of films at the Japan Film Festival + website (all legal and free). I’ve watched What Can You Do About It?, In the Distance, Shiver. I’ve already reviewed On the Edge of Their Seats and interviewed its director. You can read my write-up of the season of films here.
In terms of books, still trying to get through Madame Bovary. Not really enjoying it. I’m still playing The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky – slowly getting into it. I’m reading two-decade-old art and Japan-related magazines. That’s my week. I hope you’re doing something culturally enriching!
What are the films released this weekend? And one on May 01st!
Father of the Milky Way Road Ginga Tetsudo no Chichi 
銀河鉄道の父 「Ginga Tetsudo no Chichi」
Release Date: May 05th, 2023
Duration: 128 mins.
Director: Izuru Narushima
Writer: Riko Sakaguchi (Screenplay), Yoshinobu Kadoi (Original Novel)
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Masaki Suda, Nana Mori, Min Tanaka, Maki Sakai, Yudai Toyoda,
Izuru Narushima, director of the powerful drama Rebirth, is working with best-actor-currently-working-in-Japan Koji Yakusho (Cure, Under the Open Sky) and Masaki Suda (The Light Shines Only There) and Min Tanaka (Haruneko, Twilight Samurai) in adapting an award-winning novel that draws upon famed writer Kenji Miyazawa’s life.
Synopsis: Masajiro Miyazawa (Koji Yakusho) would like to pass on the family-run pawnshop to his son is Kenji (Masaki Suda) but the boy has aspirations beyond their lives in Iwate and would like to attend university, or maybe learn about jewellery-making, or religion. He has options but his father isn’t convinced. When Kenji’s sister Toshi falls ill, Kenji takes up writing. And the rest is history.
PascaLs Shiawase no Youna Mono 
PascaLs しあわせのようなもの 「PascaLs Shiawase no Youna Mono」
Release Date: May 01st, 2023
Duration: 97 mins.
Director: Shinichi Ise
Writer: N/A
Starring: Rocket Matsu, Akane, Taro Kanai, Toshiaki Chiku, Satoshi Hara, Ayumi Matsui, Naon Horiguchi, Utsuo,
Synopsis: This documentary follows the acoustic orchestra band Pascals. I have a friend who is Pascals mad and has followed them around Europe. They have been in operation since 1995 and are pretty famous since they have composed music for dramas and films. One of their members, Miki Kota, passed away, and so this doc also shows a memorial dedicated to him.
Avataro Sentai Donbrothers VS Zenkaiger 
暴太郎戦隊ドンブラザーズVSゼンカイジャー 「Avataro Sentai Don Buraza-zu VS Zenkaija-」
Release Date: May 03rd, 2023
Duration: 97 mins.
Director: Katsuya Watanabe
Writer: Toshiki Inoue, Junko Komura (Screenplay), Yoshinobu Kadoi (Original Novel)
Starring: Kohei Higuchi, Yuuki Peppu, Kohaki Shida, Hirofumi Suzuki
Synopsis from Tokusatsu Network (because I have no idea what is going on: After a trip through parallel worlds, the Zenkaigers return to the Candy Cafe Colorful. However, a new Kashiwa Mochi World has appeared, making the world full of kashiwa mochi addicts. Additionally, Zox has taken control of Zenkaitopia! A new battle to save the world begins for the Zenkaigers.
Meanwhile, one year after the events of Avataro Sentai Donbrothers, Tarou returns to Cafe Donbura to visit the Donbrothers, now enjoying their private lives and being lead by Jiro Momotani. As the team questions Tarou about why he left the team, a new Kikai Hitotsuki appears and attacks once more!
When these incidents occur in the two worlds that are connected by a bond that transcends dimensions, a full-throttle miracle battle between the two Super Sentai’s is about to begin!
Hamada Shogo “A Place in the Sun at Nagisa-en Summer of 1988” 
浜田省吾「A PLACE IN THE SUN at 渚園 Summer of 1988」 「Hamada Shogo “A Place in the Sun at Nagisa-en Summer of 1988”」
Release Date: May 05th, 2023
Duration: 97 mins.
Director: Hiroyuki Itaya
Writer: N/A
Starring: Shogo Hamada, Kanji Choshi, Masakazu Itakura, Kunihiko Ryo, Hiroaki Ezawa,
Synopsis: Another classic concert gets the big-screen treatment. This one is “A PLACE IN THE SUN” from 1988, Shogo Hamada’s third outdoor live concert. It took place at Nagisaen by Lake Hamana in Shizuoka Prefecture and saw 55,000 spectators attend. It has been reproduced in a 4K digital remaster.
Hama no Don 
ハマのドン 「Hama no Don」
Release Date: May 05th, 2023
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Fumie Matsubara
Writer: Toshiki Inoue, Junko Komura (Screenplay),
Starring: Yukio Fujiki, Lily Franky (Narration)
Synopsis: This is a theatrical version of a TV Asahi documentary that was first broadcast in February 2022. It follows 91-year-old Yukio Fujiki, a Yokohama-based conservative politician, known as “Hama no Don,” who led the opposition to the issue of attracting casinos to the city in the mayoral election.
Be Here Now 
ハマのドン 「Hama no Don」
Release Date: May 05th, 2023
Duration: 89 mins.
Director: Tatsuya Nishimoto
Writer: Tatsuya Nishimoto, Ayato Ushijima (Screenplay),
Starring: Yuwa Kitagaki, Kawano Mirei, Yasuyuki Sakurai, Leon Kou Yonekawa, Miharu Tanaka, Momoko Itoh, Tomotada Yotsuyanagi, Chiho Fujii,
This played at the 2021 edition of the Okinawa International Movie Festival.
Synopsis: Omura is a graduate student who lives his life by treating women poorly. When he receives news that an old friend has died, he returns to his hometown and reunites with familiar faces. This is when he begins to rethink his life.
Saihate 
さいはて 「Saihate」
Release Date: May 06th, 2023
Duration: 113 mins.
Director: Michio Koshikawa
Writer: Michio Koshikawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Ayumu Nakajima, Hibiki Kitazawa, Kiyobumi Kaneko, Hikohiko Sugiyama, Mika, Shusaku Uchida, Kimine,
Synopsis adapted from JFDB: One day, a young woman, Momo, and a 40-year-old cram school teacher named, Toudou, meet at an izakaya and their chemistry is off the charts. Sex soon follows and then something darker as Toudou says, “It’s like a road trip (michiyuki*),” while recalling the memories of the previous night. Momo, who understood the meaning of the words, silently cries…
The two, who each have a painful past, decide to escape from this world, aiming for the sea.
*”michiyuki” meaning the scene of a lovers’ (suicide) trip.