Happy Weekend
This is the second of a two-part trailer post. The first part is here.
This week, I’ve been trying to get into the second streaming session of the Japan Film Festival+ online fest. To that end, I wrote about Lonely Glory, a fine family drama with allusions to depopulation and the problems with individualism taken to extremes. Expect more reviews.
I wrote preview articles for L’Etrange 2023, the Vancouver International Film Festival and the London Film Festival.
In terms of films I have watched:
Trans-Europ Express (1967)
Network (1976)
Stir Crazy (1980),
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997).
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Boogie Nights (1997)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
What other films are released this weekend?
Senritsu Kaiki World Kowasugi! 
戦慄怪奇ワールド コワすぎ！ 「Senritsu Kaiki Wa-rudo Kowasugi!」
Release Date: September 08th, 2023
Duration: 78 mins.
Director: Koji Shiraishi
Writer: Koji Shiraishi (Screenplay),
Starring: Akari Fukunaga, Chika Kuboyama, Keisaku Kimura, Rie Kuwano, Kotomi Nanjo, Koji Shiraishi,
Koji Shiraishi (Noroi, Sadako vs. Kyayako) revives his fake documentary format with this feature where he acts as well as directs/writes the action. It is billed as a sequel to two films released eight years ago.
Synopsis: New footage is submitted of a building haunted by a red woman covered in blood, and the cries of a mysterious baby. The team sets out to uncover the background behind this haunting.
Hotsureru 
ほつれる！ 「Hotsureru」
Release Date: September 08th, 2023
Duration: 84 mins.
Director: Takuya Kato
Writer: Takuya Kato (Screenplay),
Starring: Mugi Kadowaki, Kentaro Tamura, Haru Kuroki, Shota Sometani, Kanji Furutachi, Kentaro Tamura,
Mugi Kadowaki (Double Life Love’s Whirlpool), Shota Sometani (Himizu), and Haru Kuroki (Okiku and the World) take the lead in the second feature film from Takuya Kato (Grown-ups).
Synopsis: Watako and her husband Fuminori have grown distant with each other and meeting and liking a man named Kimura seems to be an indication of her breaking away. Then, an event happens that affects Watako’s relationship with Kimura and her life begins to change…
YOSHIKI：UNDER THE SKY 
Release Date: September 08th, 2023
Duration: 92 mins.
Director: YOSHIKI
Writer: N/A
Starring: YOSHIKI, Sarah Brightman, HYDE, Scorpions, SixTONES, Nicole Scherzinger,
Synopsis: Music superstar YOSHIKI has made a documentary about a project he produced involving famous musicians from all over the world in 202, during the COVID pandemic. YOSHIKI’s film shows the collaborative process, interviews the artists, and shows the live performances.
Eiga Seiken Housou 
映画 政見放送 「Eiga Seiken Housou」
Release Date: September 09th, 2023
Duration: 92 mins.
Director: Kenji Tani
Writer: Kumi Tawasa (Screenplay),
Starring: Ryoma Baba, Toshiki Seto, Arisa Komiya, Takeshi Nadagi, Takashi Kitadai,
This is based on a stageplay and it is brought to the screen by the director and lead actor and a number of cast who brought the theatrical version to life.
Synopsis: A TV debate during a mayoral election in a local city show the spin of a variety of candidates running for office. Their number includes an arrogant town official, a single mother, and an unsuccessful actor. Meanwhile, in the waiting room, the reality behind the candidates emerges and the director of the TV debate finds that the discussion goes in an unexpected direction.
DAIJOBU 
映画 政見放送 「Eiga Seiken Housou」
Release Date: September 09th, 2023
Duration: 98 mins.
Director: Mamoru Kimura
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kosho Murakami, Hidekazu Kawaguchi, Yosuke Kubozuka (Narrator),
Synopsis: This is a documentary that follows the seven-year spiritual journey of a Zen master who wanders deep in the mountains and his ex-yakuza apprentice, a man who spent 22 years in prison At first, the Zen master rejected the former gangster but when the two men each experienced the bereavement of a loved one, they embarked on a seven-year spiritual journey for the life of the Buddha.
Manji 
卍 「Manji」
Release Date: September 09th, 2023
Duration: 104 mins.
Director: Kishu Izuchi
Writer: Kaori Kotani (Screenplay), Junichiro Tanizaki (Original Novel)
Starring: Manami Shindo, Noriko Kohara, Shima Ohnishi, Hisao Kurozumi, Yumeka Akashi,
Manami Shindo (Far Away, Further Away) stars in the latest adaptation of the Junichiro Tanizaki story that was arguably last most famously brought to life by Yasuzo Masumura and Ayako Wakao and Eiji Funakoshi.
Synopsis: Sonoko runs a clothing boutique. She has help from her husband Kotaro, a dentist. His trips to a coffee shop introduce him to a waitress named Mitsuko and he figures she will be a good model for clothes. What he doesn’t figure on is that Mitsuko and Sonoko will develop a relationship and it gets passionate. Then, Eiji, a man claiming to be Mitsuko’s boyfriend enters the scene. He knows about the affair and proposes to Sonoko that they share Mitsuko. This, just as Kotaro discovers what is going on…