Happy Weekend
This is the second of a two-part trailer post. First part here.
So far this week, I’ve covered the New York Asian Film Festival 2023 in interviews and reviews:
An Interview with Junji Sakamoto on Okiku and the World,
An Interview with Takeshi Fukunaga on Mountain Woman,
Reviews of The Abandoned and Nomad. More to come next week.
I hope to have two more interviews to cap off this festival over the coming weeks.
Well, I’ve been indulging in 80s and 90s American films like The Howling and Silver Bullet rather than the French films I had hoped. I also watched Princess Mononoke ahead of a Heroic Purgatory podcast recording.
As mentioned yesterday, I am really enjoying Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and am continuing to play it.
What are the other films released this weekend?
17-sai wa Tomaranai 
17歳は止まらない 「17-sai wa Tomaranai」
Release Date: August 04th, 2023
Duration: 96 mins.
Director: Miyuki Kitamura
Writer: Miyuki Kitamura (Screenplay),
Starring: Akana Ikeda, Yua Shiraishi, Hiyori Katada, Ayumu Nakajima, Ayu Okuma, Saya Miyoshi,
Synopsis: Ruri is a student at an agricultural high school and the daughter of a single mother. She balances being a dutiful daughter with her love for animals and nature. She also has feelings for her teacher. When she attends another school’s festival, she is introduced to Masaru and he falls in love with Ruri at first sight but Ruri decides to act on her feelings for her teacher…
Hakobune 
はこぶね 「Hakobune」
Release Date: August 04th, 2023
Duration: 99 mins.
Director: Ryo Onishi
Writer: Ryo Onishi (Screenplay),
Starring: Tomoki Kimura, Kokoro Takami, Bunmei Tobayama, Shungiku Uchida, Miki Igarashi,
Ryo Onishi’s debut feature has won notable awards:
The Benkei Grand Prix, Audience Award, and Filmmation Award at the 16th Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival, as well as a Special Mention for lead actor Tomoki Kimura,
The Grand Prix and Best Actor Award at the 23rd TAMA NEW WAVE.
Synopsis: Yoshinori Nishimura lost his eyesight in an accident but tries to live an independent life with some assistance from an aunt. His former school classmate. Aoi, works as an actor in Tokyo but finds the contrast between ideals and reality tough to deal with. When the two meet again, their respective memories and imaginations are superimposed on the scenery.
Yumemiru Kouchou Sensei 
夢みる校長先生 「Yumemiru Kouchou Sensei」
Release Date: August 04th, 2023
Duration: 82 mins.
Director: Vin Oota
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kihei Maekawa, Naoki Ogi, Kyoko Koizumi (Narration)
Synopsis: This is a documentary that focuses on the principals of six public schools from across Japan that have reformed their schools in a “children first” manner and cut down on paperwork, tests, and homework.
Kaze no Yukue 
風のゆくえ 「Kaze no Yukue」
Release Date: August 04th, 2023
Duration: 74 mins.
Director: Shingo Ishii
Writer: Shingo Ishii (Screenplay),
Starring: Goichi Mine, Chiaki Saito, Ryo Toyomitsu, Yuki Kobayashi, Shingo Takeda,
Synopsis: After leaving an orphanage, Shinji took up work in a warehouse in Tokyo and decided to live a life reading books and writing his feelings in a notebook and half-heartedly dating a woman named Maya. After he breaks up with her, he books a trip to Taipei, one he had thought he would take Maya on as their final trip together…
The Path – Parvathy Baul Fukyo no Utagoe 
The Path パルバティ・バウル 風狂の歌ごえ 「The Path – Parubatei Pauru Fukyo no Utagoe」
Release Date: August 05th, 2023
Duration: 76 mins.
Director: Sakurako Abe
Writer: N/A
Starring: Parvathy Baul, Toshiyuki Tsuchitori,
Synopsis: A music documentary about Parvathy Baul, an Indian minstrel who director Sakurako Abe stayed with when she was studying in India. The film features footage of performances and also Abe’s journey to West Bengal as she learns more about minstrelsy.
Zoku Sensha Tousou (Sensou) o Tesudzukeru to Iu Koto 
続 戦車闘争 [戦争]を伝え続けるということ 「Zoku Sensha Tousou (Sensou) o Tesudzukeru to Iu Koto」
Release Date: August 05th, 2023
Duration: 76 mins.
Director: Kazuhiro Koike
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: A few years ago there was a documentary about how people mobilised to stop the US military sending tanks from Japan to Vietnam in 1972. That film featured testimonies from demonstrators, police, and experts. This one looks at the same events but from the perspective of the media.
Matataki Made 
瞬きまで 「Mabataki Made」
Release Date: August 05th, 2023
Duration: 78 mins.
Director: Tomofumi Hasegawa
Writer: Tomofumi Hasegawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Hitomi Maki, Ryo Ikeda, Karin Nishina, Yusuke Takahashi, Haruhi Ito,
Synopsis: Ami Tokita is a novelist whose latest work is about child abuse. Now, in the middle of a custody battle with her ex-husband, she takes in a lodger who carries with him a telescope. It is through this telescope that she spies a neighbour who is abusing their child.