Happy Weekend
This is the second of a two-part trailer post. You can find the first part here.
This has been a very busy movie week with around 30 films watched. Highlights were:
Rumble Fish, The Fugitive, Silver Streak, ExistenZ, The Guard From Underground
This week began with a news item on the Third Window Films Blu-Ray release of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s The Guard From Underground. That was followed by a preview of the Japanese Films at the San Sebastian Film Festival 2023 and the Kanazawa Film Festival 2023.
What are the other films released this weekend?
Saga Saga 
緑のざわめき -Saga Saga- 「Midori no Zawameki – Saga Saga –」
Release Date: September 01st, 2023
Duration: 115 mins.
Director: Aimi Natsuto
Writer: Aimi Natsuto (Screenplay),
Starring: Rena Matsui, Sae Okazaki, Sara Kurashima, Naoya Kusakawa, Noa Kawazoe,
Synopsis: In her sophomore feature film, Aimi Natsuto departs entirely from the dynamics of Rohmeresque anti-romance comedy of Jeux de Plage (OAFF2019) and creates a quiet, considered, and sensitive female relationship drama set in Kyushu. We watch 28-year-old Kyoko return to her hometown of Ureshino in Saga Prefecture from Tokyo after a stint as an actress. It is here that she “runs” into Nahoko, her half-sister. Nahoko is secretly stalking Kyoko. Things get a lot more complicated when another half-sister is revealed. Plot points and themes of women, family, nature, sex, and urban dislocation are broached but not in ways one might expect. An air of mystery hangs over everything as secrets are slowly revealed but there is no melodrama, just the gradual movement towards a family reconciliation.
MAD CATS 
Release Date: September 01st, 2023
Duration: 88 mins.
Director: Reiki Tsuno
Writer: Reiki Tsuno (Screenplay),
Starring: Sho Mineo, Yuya Matsuura, So Yamanaka, Chiyuki Kanazawa, Moka Kodama,
Synopsis: Is this a bit of borderless action? Shot across Japan, we watch the adventures of Taka as he searches for his missing brother Mune and meets mysterious and dangerous people on the road – particularly the MAD CATS, a group of monster cats determined to execute unscrupulous pet shop owners.
Blue Porno 
ブルーポルノ 「Buru- Poruno」
Release Date: September 01st, 2023
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Goro Kawasaki
Writer: Goro Kawasaki (Screenplay),
Starring: Karen Yuzuriha, Kana Morisawa, Ayu Sakurai, Mitsuki Maya, Moa Ando,
Synopsis: Real-life AV actresses draw upon their own experiences in love and life to make this film which also draws upon cult and classic films. Clothes, hair, and makeup reflect the style of the time period each story takes place in and the actors opposite them bear a close resemblance to the people they were involved with.
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Whale Restaurant 
鯨のレストラン 「Kujira no Resutoran」
Release Date: September 02nd, 2023
Duration: 77 mins.
Director: Keiko Yagi
Writer: N/A
Starring: Mitsuo Tani, Eugene Lapointe, Sandra Hafelin, Nobuyuki Yagi, Hidehiro Kato, Shinji Higuchi, Yuko Jackson, Kaori Tomita,
Synopsis: Documentarian Keiko Yagi has covered the piscine hunting/food habits of Japan with Behind the Cove, and now she looks at whales from the perspectives of “food” and “science” as the film covers the decline of the whaling industry, the international condemnation faced by the industry, and also the appeal of the food. We are also given a look inside a whaling restaurant with Ichinoya in Kanda, Tokyo.
Mendona Hitobito 
メンドウな人々 「Mendouna Hitobito」
Release Date: September 02nd, 2023
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Mana Yasuda
Writer: Mana Yasuda (Screenplay),
Starring: Sennosuke Kataoka, Kanon Fujishima, Asuna Yanagi, Ibuki Osako, Sho,
Synopsis: Yudai us a dull high school freshman who’d rather play hooky than be isolated at school. He gains a friend when he accidentally injures a Western-style restaurant owner and helps out as recompense. Yudai’s neighbour takes an interest in the two and soon the high school udon club comes a calling to make use of the restaurant…
Watashi to, Watashi to, Watashi to, 
わたしと、私と、ワタシと、 「Watashi to, Watashi to, Watashi to,」
Release Date: September 02nd, 2023
Duration: 72 mins.
Synopsis: An omnibus film consisting of three short films.
Tada no Natsu no Hi no Hanasu
ただの夏の日の話 「Tada no Natsu no Hi no Hanasu」
Duration: 25 mins.
Director: Yoshika Matsuoka
Writer: Yoshika Matsuoka (Screenplay),
Starring: Mai Fukagawa, Kanji Furutachi, Yoshika Matsuoka,
A young woman waking up in a drunken haze discovers that she ain’t in Tokyo anymore and she is with a mystery older man. A summer day will be spent with with a stranger in a strange place.
Natsu
春 「Natsu」
Duration: 27 mins.
Director: Ayumi Omori
Writer: Yoshika Matsuoka (Screenplay),
Starring: Kotone Furukawa, Osamu Kao, Sakiko Kato,
A year in the life of an art student who lives with her grandfather who suffers from dementia. As she grows into adulthood, he regresses into childhood. She wrestles with artist’s block until she listens to the old man and hears an inspiring story.
Fuyuko no Natsu
冬子の夏 「Fuyuko no Natsu」
Duration: 20 mins.
Director: Ayumi Omori
Writer: Natsumi Kemuyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Hana Toyoshima, Itsuki Nagasawa, Tomohiro Seki
During the last summer of their high school lives, two friends struggling to decide on career paths and academia find themselves at a crossroads in life in a field full of sunflowers in full bloom.