What a week! Work was hectic despite the good weather and I managed to get more overtime done. I have almost finished sorting through y things. I tossed even more things into the trash/recycling and made the solemn promise to not buy a physical copy of a magazine again. Not sure about books. With my Kindle Fire, that should be an easy enough promise to keep – subscription to Sight & Sound sorted! Haruki Murakami collection ported over. Very few Banana Yoshimoto titles on Kindle, though… This is problematic.
Anyway, I spent this week reliving The Walking Dead (hasn’t the TV series improved!!!) while watching my sister playing the game. Tears filled my eyes whenever Clementine spoke. That game still has a hold on me. I did some film related stuff like interviews and scoped out a potential Japanese film for the Cannes Film Festival. I posted some “Shady” related articles because it gets released on Monday and my heart won’t stop racing at the thought of owning it. I also posted about a Terracotta Film Club screening of the Korean film “Mother” (also net week) and some trailers yesterday.
This set of trailers has two interesting titles, “Walking with a Friend” and “Tokyo Doppelkonzert”. Both are low-budget people focussed titles and while the former is a comedy about how guys are totally silly, the latter looks to be a decent and inventively shot relationship film.
This post was put together listening to Tricot
Japanese Title: The lion dance しあわせ獅子あわせ 
Romaji: The Lion Dance Shiawase Shishi Awase
Release Date: March 22nd, 2014
Running Time: 105 mins.
Director: Tomohisa Kamatsugu
Writer: Tomohisa Kamatsugu (Screenplay),
Starring: Noboru Ishigaki, Ado Kumaoka, Kazue Kusumoto, Sayoko Motoki,
The story takes place in in Osaka and focusses on Yuya Kita, a boy who lived with his mother, a nurse, after she got a divorce. However, in order to raise enough money to send Yuya to a private junior high school, his mother opts to work a more difficult but better paying shift at an emergency ward and leaves him in the care of her father Matsujiro Kita, an artisan who crafts traditional Japanese lion masks using the unique papier mache and lacquer techniques of the Kagawa area. Matsujiro tells Yuya, ‘The lion in your dreams wants you to make it dance. If you make the lion dance, it will make your wish come true.’
Zero Black Blood Black Chapter 
Japanese Title: 絶狼 ZERO BLACK BLOOD 黒ノ章
Romaji: Zero -Burakku Buraddo Kuro no Sho
Release Date: March 22nd, 2014
Running Time: N/A
Director: Ryu Kaneda
Writer: Yasuko Kobayashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Ray Fujita, Riria, Naoki Takeshi, Karia Nomoto, Guadalcanal Taka, Thane Camus, Shogen,
Earlier this month we saw the release of the first part of Zero: Black Blood, a spin-off miniseries from the Garo television series which was the first in a two-parter that collected three of the six episodes of the miniseries. That title went under the title White Chapter. This is the Black chapter. In this miniseries, Rei Suzumura, the Silver Fanged Knight Zero is back to investigated the joint human and Horror commune led by the Horror Ring.
Tokyo Doppelkonzert 
Japanese Title: 東京戯曲
Romaji: Tokyo Gikyoku
Release Date: March 22nd, 2014
Running Time: 83 mins.
Director: Hiranami Wataru
Writer: Hiranami Wataru (Screenplay),
Starring: Mio Dazai, Kenta Enya, Takuya Fuji, Takehiko Fujita, Ran Fukuda, Keiko Furuuchi
Fumi is a writer who has seperated from his wife Kozue. As their relationship hits ups and downs, their connections with the people around them also change… Ah, the drama of relations between men and women…
Walking with a Friend 
Japanese Title: 友だちと歩こう
Romaji: Tomodachi to Arukou
Release Date: March 22nd, 2014
Running Time: 89 mins.
Director: Akira Ogata
Writer: Kenji Aoki (Screenplay),
Starring: Koichi Ueda, Choei Takahashi, Yoichiro Saito, Satoshi MAtsuda, Kinuo Yamada, Shingo Mizusawa
Four men, two elderly, two who cling to their youth, depart from their suburban housing complex on a walk which will make them, and the audience, consider life, death, friendhsip and other stuff.
