Happy Weekend
This is the second of a two-part trailer post. The first part is here. This entry is entirely indie and features films from young talents who are on display courtesy of the Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival and, in one case, MOOSIC LAB.
So my week in movies has been Wes Anderson’s early works – Bottle Rocket, Rushmore – and 80s horror classics like Fright Night and From Beyond and some neo-noirs like Blood Simple and Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.
My coverage of the New York Asian Film Festival 2023 is almost at an end. I published an interview with Anshul Chauhan over his film December and a review of the Hong Kong drama A Light Never Goes Out. There’s one more interview to go. I’ll be continuing festival coverage next week with some autumn events.
I also participated in a recording of the Heroic Purgatory podcast and it covered the Hayao Miyazaki film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984). I really like the film/manga and I had fun talking about it.
What are the other films released this weekend?
Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival
The next four films are part of the Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival Selection 2023. They will be screened in Tokyo and Osaka at the following cinemas:
Theatre Shinjuku – August 04th-24th
Cine Libre Umeda – September 01st-7th
They are double-bills from directors Alysa Omori and Sakura Tanaka.
My Bitter Sweet Home 
四人姉妹 「Yonin Shimai」
Release Date: August 11th, 2023
Duration: 32 mins.
Director: Alysa Omori
Writer: Alysa Omori (Screenplay),
Starring: Natsuki Mieda, Yuriko Ono, Alysa Omori, Tsukushi Suzuki, Kaoru Higashide,
This is the directorial debut of actor Alysa Omori (formerly known as Makoto Kikuchi), whose acting credits include Lust In A Karaoke Box (2018) and Tag (2015). It’s quite an effective drama with good acting bringing to life each of the four sisters. Alysa Omori won an acting award for her turn.
Synopsis: Following the death of their mother, four sisters are reunited for the first time in eight years to deal with the question of what to do with the house they grew up in. Each sister has their own life. For example, eldest sister, Hikaru, is in an international marriage and emotionally unstable while third sister Iori ignores men and harbours a trauma. Indeed, each woman hides some hurt and it all comes out as they gather at the house and memories surface.
TOKYO BHUTAN 
Release Date: August 11th, 2023
Duration: 9 mins.
Director: Alysa Omori, Nozomi Fujiwara
Writer: Alysa Omori, Nozomi Fujiwara (Screenplay),
Starring: N/A
This will be screened with My Bitter Sweet Home.
Synopsis: A work by Alysa Omori, who won the Actor’s Award at the 16th Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival for My Bitter Sweet Home, her first film as a director while working as an actor. It is a comment on consumer society.
Yumemiru Petoro 
夢見るペトロ 「Yumemiru Petoro」
Release Date: August 12th, 2023
Duration: 32 mins.
Director: Sakura Tanaka
Writer: Sakura Tanaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Suzuha Maeda, Takehiro Senda, Yukino,
Sakura Tanaka made a grip of films while at Doshisha University and this one won the Special Jury Prize and the Actor’s Award for Suzuha Maeda at the 16th Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival.
Synopsis: Sayuri is drifting along in life while working as a part-timer handing out flyers. Her brother Ritsu is moving on. He has lost his pet parakeet Petro but, he lets her know that he is about to get married. Disturbed and doubtful, Sayuri begins to dwell on the past and a fantasy world that is similar to the real world, but one where Ritsu and his part-time worker friend Minori, are just a little different from reality. Through these thoughts, Sayuri gradually moves forward.
Itsumo Ushiro ni 
いつもうしろに 「Itsumo Ushiro ni」
Release Date: August 12th, 2023
Duration: 36 mins.
Director: Sakura Tanaka
Writer: Sakura Tanaka, Natsumi Ishii (Screenplay),
Starring: Hiroto Ooshita, Kyo Sato, Takeo Arihara, Jinya Nimura, Mayumi Kanetani,
This will be screened together with Yumemiru Petero.
Synopsis: Shota graduated from university two years ago and has now decided it is time to leave his parents’ house and find a new job. Escaping the past isn’t so easy as, when he arrives at his new house, he encounters a mysterious stuffed animal and a woman with the same face as his ex-girlfriend.
Uso to Honto 
ウソトホント 「Uso to Honto」
Release Date: August 12th, 2023
Duration: 82 mins.
Director: Isao Shibaguchi
Writer: Isao Shibaguchi (Screenplay),
Starring: Yuka Gyoten, Rio Tsukamoto, Zentaro Ogawa, Yuuka Nozu, Kyoko Aoki,
This is the posthumous work of director Isao Shibaguchi. Originally an office worker, he transitioned to filmmaking after turning 42 years of age and he put out a couple of shorts before he made his first feature, the musical Whereabouts of Neighbor (隣人のゆくえ あの夏の歌声) in 2017. It became a cult hit. Shibaguchi passed away in 2022 before this film, which also looks like a musical, could be screened.
Synopsis: This film depicts the anger and dismay that young people feel for society in the form of a musical. At its centre is a fourteen-year-old girl named Ai who lives with her domineering parents and finds life a frustrating maze. Freedom is found with her classmate Yu at a place called Rakuchindo, which is where she interacts with the unique residents. It is only there that she feel at home.