This year’s Cannes Film Festival will run from May 14th to the 25th and the official line-up of films has been announced so I can write something about the films from East Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea.
The festival leans heavily on Japan in many regards, one of which is the poster which pays tribute to Akira Kurosawa and his film Rhapsody in August (you can see the poster at the bottom of the post). The festival will also hand out a special Honourary Palme d’Or to Studio Ghibli, the first time it has been awarded to a group (source).
The main competition is packed with familiar names like Yorgos Lanthimos (Kinds of Kindness), Francis Ford Coppola (Megalopolis), David Cronenberg (The Shrouds), Sean Baker (Anora), Andrea Arnold (Bird) and Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez) bringing trans-led musicals, animation, epic cinematic visions and more all vying for the Palme d’Or.
Amidst them is veteran Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke with Caught by the Tides, a drama about a woman looking for her lost love after he goes to another province for work.
Jia Zhangke has been nominated for the Palme d’Or twice – Mountains May Depart, A Touch of Sin – so it will be interesting to see how he compares with other heavy hitters.
His presence is the biggest of the Chinese delegation and this year’s Cannes, aside from Lou Ye (Suzhou River) who has the title An Unfinished Film getting played as a Special Screening. Indeed, this is the most expansive list of Chinese films for quite a while.
Un Certain Regard
Two Asian titles to mention are Viet and Nam by Minh Quý Trương and Black Dog by Guan Hu but everyone might want to get excited for…
My Sunshine
ぼくのお日さま 「Boku no Ohisama」
Release Date: September, 2024
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Hiroshi Okuyama
Writer: Hiroshi Okuyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Keitatsu Kohiyama, Kiara Takanashi, Sosuke Ikematsu, Ryuya Wakaba, Maho Yamada, Yunho,
Website Twitter: @bokuno_ohisama IMDB
So Hiroshi Okuyama directed the feature coming-of-age comedy Jesus (2018), which netted him Best New Director at San Sebastian, and won the praise of a lot of critics. Since then, he was involved in directing an episode of The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House (2023), a TV show on Netflix overseen by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
Okuyama becomes the youngest Japanese director to be selected for Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section and this film, dedicated to figure skating, features two emerging talents in Keitatsu Kohiyama and Kiara Takanashi (a trained dancer) along with excellent support from veterans like Sosuke Ikematsu, Ryuya Wakaba, and Maho Yamada.
Apparently, this same-named song served as something of an inspiration for this, Okuyama’s commercial film debut.
Synopsis: Takuya and Sakura live in a snowbound town but are polar opposites in abilities as she is a talented and dedicated figure skater while he is hopeless on the ice, especially with his ice hockey skates fouling him up. Arakawa, a former figure skater who coaches Sakura, sees Takuya trying to mimic her moves and senses the boy has feelings for the girl so he supports Takuya by lending him figure skates and helping him practice until he can begin practicing with Sakura. As the two train together, a love blurs the relationship between the young skaters.
Out of Competition
George Miller will present Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and it should be action-packed fun. There’s even a Guy Maddin film(!) but all eyes will be on Quentin Dupieux (Mandibles, Rubber, Deerskin, Incredible But True) who has The Second Act at the festival – it will be the opening film – and features a fantastic cast of French thespians.
As for Asian titles, She’s Got No Name by Hong Kong director Peter Chan is on the slate. He is best known for the utterly sublime Comrades, Almost A Love Story.
The story follows a woman (played by Ziyi Zhang) who starts a revolution in women’s rights in China. It is described as “the biggest Chinese production of the year” and “it required the streets of Shanghai to be blocked for several months to capture the magnitude of this historic moment” according to this site!
Midnight Screenings
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In by Hong Kong director Soi Cheang is earning a lot of attention for its cast and early word is that it’s a heater of a title. Cheang is a big name already because he has been responsible for delivering nerve-wracking and nasty experiences like Motorway, Limbo, and Mad Fate.
This section features one South Korean film and it is…
I, the Executioner 
베테랑 2 「Beterang 2」
Release Date: 2024
Duration: N/A
Director: Ryoo Seung-wan
Writer: Ryoo Seung-wan (Screenplay),
Starring: Hwang Jung-Min, Jung Hae-In, Oh Dal-Su, Jang Yoon-Ju, Oh Dae-Hwan, Kim Shi-Hoo, Park Gun-Ha,
I, the Executioner is from Ryoo Seung-wan (No Blood No Tears, The Berlin File, Escape from Mogadishu, Smugglers – which was at Cannes 2023) and it is the sequel to his film Veteran. It looks like that it goes under the name Veteran 2 in Korea and it is said to have a much darker atmosphere. (source) Hwang Jung-Min (A Bittersweet Life) returns from the first film as does Oh Dal-Su (Bearman, Thirst), Jang Yoon-Ju (Three Sisters), Oh Dae-Hwan, and Kim Shi-Hoo (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance).
Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des cinéastes)
A new People’s Choice award has been established, in partnership with The Fondation Chantal Akerman, for this section and so audiences will get to pick a winner.
Desert of Namibia 
ナミビアの砂漠 「Namibia no Sabaku」
Release Date: 2024
Duration: 137 mins.
Director: Yoko Yamanaka
Writer: Yoko Yamanaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Yuumi Kawai, Daichi Kaneko, Kanichiro, Yuzumi Shintani, Erika Karata,
Website Twitter: @namibia_movie
Yoko Yamanaka of the kooky and wonderful Amiko (2017) returns with her third feature and it stars Yuumi Kawai (In Her Room, Plan 75). In press notes, Kawai has stated that she “was a student when Amiko was released and that she wanted to become an actress after watching it. (source)
Kawai is joined by Daichi Kaneko (colorless), Kanichiro (Okiku and the World), Yuzumi Shintani (Blue Imagine) and Erika Karata (Asako I & II).
Synopsis: Yuumi Kawai plays the role of Kana, a woman with an energy that is on the verge of exploding.
Ghost Cat Anzu 
化け猫あんずちゃん 「Bakeneko Anzu-chan」
Release Date: July, 2024
Duration: 90 mins. (approx.)
Director: Yoko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita
Writer: Shinji Imaoka (Screenplay), Takashi Imashiro (Original Manga),
Starring: Mirai Moriyama (Anzu), Noa Goto (Karin),
Animation Production: Shin-Ei Animation, MIYU Productions
Website Twitter: @ghostcat_anzu ANN IMDB
Nobuhiro Yamashita (Hard-Core, The Drudgery Train) is co-directing with Yoko Kuno, who is making her directorial debut if IMDB is right. Her credits feature many animation production roles such as animation director of rotoscope on The Murder Case of Hana and Alice (2015) and animator/designer positions on various Crayon Shin-chan films. Anzu will combine 2D digital animation with rotoscope animation.
Shinji Imaoka (Reiko and the Dolphin (2020) interview with director Imaoka, Far Away, Further Away) adapted Takashi Imashiro’s manga into screenplay form.
In terms of cast, ghost cat Anzu is voiced by Mirai Moriyama, lead of The Drudgery Train, while Noa Goto voices Karin. Both actors had their movements and facial expressions captured in footage by the live-action team led by director Yamashita and this footage will serve as a reference for the rotoscoping, which will be handled by Shin-Ei Animation (responsible for Doraemon and Shin-chan films) and French studio Miyu Productions.
Synopsis: Karin is taken by her father to the family-run temple which is where she meets a cat named Anzu. He isn’t an ordinary cat. He lives like a human and speaks like a human and rides a moped around town and earns his keep as a part-time masseuse like a human. This jovial bipedal creature was found by Karin’s grandfather over 30 years ago and has a strong personality. Karin has a strong personality too, but after initial clashes…
Extremely Short
とても短い 「Totemo Mijikai」
Release Date: 2024
Duration: 5 mins.
Director: Koji Yamamura
Writer: Hideo Furukawa (Original Story),
Starring: Hideo Furukawa (Text and Voice)
Website Twitter: @Koji_Yamamura
A graduate from Tokyo Zokei University, Koji Yamamura has been making animated films since the 1980s and has racked up more than 90 prizes, including the grand prizes of major international animation festivals such as Annecy, Ottawa and Hiroshima. His most famous work is Mount Head (2002) which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short. Other titles include Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor (2007), and Muybridge’s Strings (2011).
According to Yamamura’s website, this work was produced as the first instalment of the “Bungaku Bideo,” a project where contemporary Japanese literature and animation intersect. Writer Hideo Furukawa recited his story “Totemo mijikai” and Koji Yamamura animated it.
Synopsis: A man who was looking for the shortest thing in Tokyo uttered the word “da” at the last moment of his life.
The films Mongrel 白衣蒼狗 by Chiang Wei Liang and You Qiao Yin and Mulberry Fields by Nguyễn Trung Nghĩa are also programmed.
International Critics’ Week
Blue Sun Palace by Constance Tsang gets screened and it’s set in the Chinese immigrant community in New York.
Cinéfondation
The Cinéfondation section is dedicated to student films and it features the Korean short Forest of Echoes by director Lim Yoo-ri, a student at National University of Arts. This 22-minute long film is Lim’s debut and tells the story of a woman who flees into a forbidden forest to escape drunken men and it is there that she encounters a woman married to an older man from a nearby neighbourhood, and who lives next door to her. (source)
In the same section is Banished Love 将爱放逐 by Xiwen Cong, a student at Beijing Film Academy.
Speaking of shorts – in the Short Film Competition is Viv Li’s Across the Waters, a Chinese-French co-production (website) which runs at 15 minutes and is set in a mining community beset by sandstorms and low water. Li is a Chinese filmmaker who has done fiction and self-documentary, judging by her website.
Cannes Classics
Cannes Classics has some great titles in its line-up (like Army of Shadows) and there are two Asian titles here.
Shanghai Blues (1984) 上海之夜 Tsui Hark Hong Kong
Seven Samurai 
七人の侍 「Shichinin no Samurai」
Release Date: April 26th, 1954
Duration: 207 mins.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writer: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni (Screenplay),
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Isao Kimura, Yukiko Shimazaki, Daisuke Kato,
Toho have been releasing Akira Kurosawa’s films on 4K Ultra HD blu-rays over the last year (source) so expect other film labels with rights to the films, like Criterion, to do the same. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the film, the 4K version on 35mm will be screened.
Synopsis: A group of farmers besieged by bandits turn to samurai to help free them from tyranny.
Shanghai Blues 
上海之夜 「Shang Hai zhi yen」
Release Date: September, 1984
Duration: 102 mins.
Director: Tsui Hark
Writer: Chan Koon-Chung, Szeto Cheuk-Hon, Raymond To (Screenplay),
Starring: Sylvia Chang, Kenny Bee, Sally Yeh, Loletta Lee,
Tsui Hark and producer Nansun Shi have overseen the 4K restoration of Shanghai Blues from original an negative and the film will be presented at Cannes to celebrate the 40th anniversary.
Synopsis: In 1937 Shanghai, war rages around the populace. Two people thrown together are a soldier named Tun Kwok-man (Kenny Bee) and a young woman named Shu=Shu (Sylvia Chang) who meet and fall for each other while under a
bridge during a Japanese air raid. They vow to meet again after the war ends, but when they part they are unable to remember each other’s name or face. Ten years later, the young woman, is a nightclub singer and he is an aspiring songwriter and they are reunited time and again through various twists and turns of fate.
Information on the upgrade states that:
“Besides new grading, the restoration project features new dubbing, with each character speaking in their native dialects – Mandarin, Shanghainese, Cantonese and other from various regions – adding an extra layer of authenticity and depth to the entertaining script.”
Sylvia Chang will be present at the screening!
Other Asian titles include the documentary Walking in the Movies (IMDB), by Kim Lyang, which presents a portrait of Kim Dong-ho, the founder of the Busan International Film Festival.
There are a number of VR works in the Immersive Competition with a Taiwanese connection and one with a Japanese one, Missing Pictures: Naomi Kawasi by Clement Deneux. A quick search showed that it was available on Steam!
There is also the Golden Horse Goes to Cannes section which has five projects that feature numerous Golden Horse Awards-winning cast members and filmmakers.
Here’s past coverage of the film festival:
Round-up – Like Someone in Love
Round-up – 11.25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate
Round-up – Blade of the Immortal
Kore-eda wins the Palme d’Or in 2018
