Happy Weekend
This is the second part of the two-part trailer post. You can find the first part here.
So, as stated, in that aforementioned post, I’m playing The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky on the PSP after completing Persona 3. I’ve got the rest of the Legend of Heroes series for the same console but they are in Japanese. Indeed, with the exception of Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, the remaining PSP games that I have yet to complete are all Japanese-language – Valkyria Chronicles 3, Umineko no Naku Koro ni 1 & 2, Star Ocean 2: The Second Departure, Grand Knights History, Summon Knight 3, La Pucelle Tactics. My Japanese is terrible, though, since I haven’t practised seriously over the last two years due to illness and so I may not get around to ever playing them.
That written, I’ve made more of an effort over the last month and do kanji for two hour’s a day!
In film terms, I watched four John Carpenter films – Prince of Darkness, The Fog, In the Mouth of Madness, and Big Trouble in Little China – and finished watching the Japan Film Festival Plus line-up of free films. This week I reviewed What Can You Do About It and Shiver. I’m also watching V-Cinema films from the 90s.
What are the other films released this weekend?
Izure Anata ga Shiru Hanashi 
いずれあなたが知る話 「Izure Anata ga Shiru Hanashi」
Release Date: May 13th, 2023
Duration: 68 mins.
Director: Takeshi Furusawa
Writer: Noriko Kohara (Screenplay),
Starring: Hiroshi Oyama, Noriko Kohara, Ichika, Keiko Hasuike, Kentaro Okouchi,
This is billed as a noir-suspense thriller. Actors Hiroshi Oyama and Noriko Kohara, served behind the camera as producer and writer respectively.
Synopsis: A single mother named Yasuko lives with her daughter Aya in an old apartment. Supporting two people on the wage of a bento-box seller is hard and so Aya goes into the sex industry. When Aya is kidnapped, Yasuko does nothing and carries on with her life. However, a man is observing her…
Origin of Lies “Drawing Song / White Lie” 
嘘の起源 「Uso no Kigen」
Release Date: May 13th, 2023
Duration: 60 mins.
Director: Tomoya Sugioka (Drawing Song), Yuya Taniguchi (White Lie)
Writer: Tomoya Sugioka, Yuya Taniguchi, Nanase Mori (Screenplay),
Starring: Drawing Song: Dai Goto, Kaito Okano, Kengo Hata, Narumi Koga; White Lie Coco, Manaka Taguchi, Hiroki Kawata, Kentaro Yasui
Origin of Lies is part of a bigger project involving up-and-coming filmmakers. This film consists of two shorts based on the theme of “lies.” It was recently screened at the Okinawa International Movie Festival 2023
Synopsis: Drawing Song features a portrait painter named Kaoru. He is able to show the true feelings of the sitter in his work. Someone calls upon his talents…
White Lie features a music school student named Kaede who receives a letter of recommendation to study at a university in Vienna. She should be happy but she has long been troubled by an incident that happened to her childhood friend Mayu…
Alone Together Tokyo Kumikyoku 2020 
東京組曲2020 「Toukyou Kumikyoku 2020」
Release Date: May 13th, 2023
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Yukiko Mishima
Writer: N/A
Starring: Ryo Ikeda, Mihoko Kamo, Takahiro Konishi, Yoko Ootaka, Shiho Sasaki, Marika Matsumoto,
Synopsis: Drama. Documentary. Covid-19 portraits. Film by director Yukiko Mishima (Dear Etranger) works with actors and their partners/friends to show life as lived by creatives during the state of emergency. We see their daily lives during “lockdown.”
Mita mono no Kiroku 
見たものの記録 「Mitamono no Kiroku」
Release Date: May 13th, 2023
Duration: 70 mins.
Director: Takeshi Furusawa
Writer: N/A
Starring: Husen Akimoto, Atsuko Kikuchi, Shiho Fukasawa, Miyu Fuchino, Hiromi Matoba, Takeshi Furusawa,
Synopsis: An experimental film shot over four years. The story begins in 2019 and features a time slip experiment in an abandoned building in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. At the same time, in an abandoned house in a residential area of Kokubunji City, Tokyo, a group of actors have gathered to produce an independent film even though the script has not been completed. The actors gathered at the house begin having disturbing experiences and then one of them mysteriously disappears.
Rohen Kasou 
路辺花草 「Rohen Kasou」
Release Date: May 13th, 2023
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Michio Koshikawa
Writer: Michio Koshikawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Mayu Sakuma, Shintaro Yuya, Kurumi Nakata, Tasuku Nagaoka, Naoko Kawai,
Recently screened at the Okinawa International Movie Festival 2023
Synopsis: A painter named Nazuna finds herself falling apart when she is with her boyfriend Kitamura and so she leaves him and shacks up with Kotaro, a nice guy who works for a publishing company. Things are initially sweet but when he loses his job, their relationship begins to flounder…