Happy Weekend
I have been involved with lots and lots of film things. I’ve started coverage of the New York Asian Film Festival 2023 with a Heroic Purgatory episode dedicated to the festival. Yesterday I posted a review of their opening film, Killing Romance. I will post a review of Egoist tomorrow and there will be more reviews to follow. If you are interested, keep coming back over the next few weeks.
What are the new films released this weekend?
The Quintessential Quintuplets ∽ Special 
映五等分の花嫁∽ 「 Gotoubun no Hanayome ∽」
Release Date: July 14th, 2023
Duration: 61 mins
Director: Yukihiro Miyamoto
Writer: Keiichiro Ochi (Screenplay), Negi Haruba (Original Creator)
Starring: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Futaro Uesugi), Ayana Taketatsu (Nino Nakano), Ayane Sakura (Yotsuba Nakano), Inori Minase (Itsuki Nakano), Kana Hanazawa (Ichika Nakano), Miku Ito (Miku Nakano),
Animation Production: SHAFT
This film depicts episodes from the original story that were not used in the previous anime series or last year’s movie.
Synopsis: A poor high school student named Futaro Uesugi tutors five of his classmates, the Nakano sisters, each of whom is a gorgeous girl who hates studying. So far, after lots of chaos and fun, he’s gotten them to hit the books and improve their grades and a love match is on the horizon with one of them. However, Uesugi decides to take a break in order to study for his own entrance examinations. The five girls are sad that they won’t see him but then they get a call from Uesugi.
Ice Cream Fever 
アイスクリームフィーバー 「Aisukuri-mu Fi-ba-」
Release Date: July 14th, 2023
Duration: 103 mins.
Director: Tetsuya Chihara
Writer: Masashi Shimizu (Screenplay), Mieko Kawakami (Original Story)
Starring: Riho Yoshioka, Serena Motola, Utaha, Marika Matsumoto, Yumi Adachi, KOM_I, MEGUMI, Momo,
Famous writer Mieko Kawakami;s original short story gets adapted for the screen and it has the former and current singer for Wednesday Campanella in the cast.
Synopsis: The titular ice cream fever finds it locus point at an ice cream shop where four particular female customers from different generations find their lives meeting.
Natsumi completed art college and scored a job at a design company but she gave it up to work in the ice cream parlour. It is there that she meets Saho, a shy writer who is a regular at the shop. Menawhile, a teen named Takako works part time at the shop and watches Natsumi with mixed emotions. Then there is Yuu, a woman who visits the store since it is in the neighbourhood of her estranged sibling’s house.
How Do You Live? 
君たちはどう生きるか 「Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka」
Release Date: July 14th, 2023
Duration: 125 mins
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki (Screenplay)
Starring: N/A
Animation Production: Studio Ghibli
This is the first animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 10 years since “The Wind Rises”. No trailer, no voice actor details, just a synopsis. Advertising and promotion on this has been minimal.
Synopsis: The title is borrowed from the book HOW DO YOU LIVE? That book concerns a teenager in pre-war Japan named Copper who lives in Tokyo and his uncle’s diary in which he gives advice to the boy about how the world works.
Umui – Guardians of Traditions 
ウムイ 芸能の村 「Umui Geinou no Mura」
Release Date: July 15th, 2023
Duration: 75 mins.
Director: Daniel Lopez
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Daniel Lopez is a Swiss-born filmmaker who studied filmmaking in Okinawa and was fascinated by local traditions.
Synopsis: An anthropological documentary that focusses on the people keeping ryukyu dance and sanshin music alive in Ginoza Village, Okinawa Prefecture. People of various generations and families continue to perform lion dances, karate etc. but the numbers involved are declining…
THEATERS 
Release Date: July 15th, 2023
Duration: 114 mins.
Director: Yuuya Yamaguchi, Kimihiko Nakamura, Taichi Suzuki, Masato Aki,
Writer: N/A
Starring: Honoka Yahagi, Shota Takasaki, Tomonori Kono, Ryosuke Otani, Yoshio Saiga, Hiroki Konno, Misa Wada, Tetsu Watanabe,
Synopsis: This is an omnibus film where the stories are connected by the theme of movie theatres. It seems like the settings are various mini theatres across Japan – Fukaya Cinema in Saitama, Yokogawa Cinema in Hiroshima, Onariza cinema in Akita – and includes stories of the people who are in the audience and the filmmakers travelling with their works.
Tamatsuki no Yume 
たまつきの夢 「Tamatsuki no Yume」
Release Date: July 15th, 2023
Duration: 61 mins.
Director: Keita Taguchi
Writer: Keita Taguchi (Screenplay),
Starring: Chie Tsuji, Hiroto Kanai, Mutsumi Sato, Daichi Yamaguchi, Masatoshi Kihara,
The story for this film was inspired by director Keita Taguchi’s grandfather’s memories.
Synopsis: It is World War II and a woman named Kishino is the mistress of a man who owns a munitions factory owner. After hearing about her brother’s death on the frontline, she tries to commit suicide with her lover. Just before she can do it she meets a man who looks a lot like her brother. His name is Asajiro and he is a widower who suffers from tuberculosis. He runs a billiard hall, which authorities have clamped down on, but he still has a dream of becoming a world billiard champion.
Maruki Iri Maruki Toshi Okinawa-sen no zuzen 14-bu 
丸木位里 丸木俊 沖縄戦の図 全14部 「Maruki Iri Maruki Toshi Okinawa-sen no zuzen 14-bu」
Release Date: July 15th, 2023
Duration: 88 mins.
Director: Atsunori Kawamura
Writer: N/A
Starring: Narise Arakaki, Bunyo Ishikawa, Yumiko Shimabukuro, Osamu Taira, Etsumi Taira,
Synopsis: Maruki Iri and Maruki Toshi are painters who created a work of 14 paintings based on “The Battle of Okinawa,” 15 paintings based on “The Atomic Bomb,” “The Nanking Massacre,” and “Auschwitz”. Their preparation included listening to the testimonies of those who had experienced the war and visiting locations.
Watashi-tachi no Kokuritsu Seiyou Bijutsukan Kiseki no Korekushon no Butaiura 
わたしたちの国立西洋美術館 奇跡のコレクションの舞台裏 「Watashi-tachi no Kokuritsu Seiyou Bijutsukan Kiseki no Korekushon no Butaiura」
Release Date: July 15th, 2023
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: Atsushi Oogaki
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
This was the museum I frequented most when I lived in Tokyo. You can find all of the major names in the development of European art and even some of the unsung heroes.
Synopsis: This documentary covers the National Museum of Western Art which is located in Ueno, Tokyo. The film takes a look at the workings of the place at a time when it was undergoing work on its building to bring it closer to the original form Le Corbusier envisioned. Caught on camera are the staff who care for and display parts of the collection which runs to approximately 6,000 works of art. It also introduces different pieces from the collection and, through talking to staff, gives audiences an understanding of the challenges involved in running a museum.