Welcome to the second of three trailer posts
You can find the first one here while the last one follows tomorrow
So, I’ve been binging on films this week with Robert Bresson, Godzilla, and some random horror films as well as continuing in on Twin Peaks. The Godzilla films include Godzilla x Kong, Godzilla the original release, Shin Gojira, and Godzilla Minus One in preparation for a forthcoming episode pf Heroic Purgatory.
What are some of the other films released this weekend?
Shukujitsu 
祝日 「Shukujitsu」
Release Date: May 17th, 2024
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Yuka Ibayashi
Writer: Hajime Ibuki (Screenplay),
Starring: Seina Nakagawa, Seiko Iwaido, Tateto Serizawa, Yuka Nakashima, Riho Uoi, Juri Nojima, Masajiko Nishimura,
Website Twitter: @_shukujitsu JFDB
Yuka Ibayashi made her debut with The Wonder of a Summer Day (2022) and she makes her follow-up with this. Both are set in Toyama Prefecture, which is where Ibayashi comes from, and both feature school girl characters in coming-of-age tales.
Synopsis: Kiho is a 14-year-old girl who is all alone in the world. After her kindhearted father died, her mother got wrapped up in a religious group and disappeared. Now Kiho lives alone and feels increasingly despairing about her life which is spent aimlessly going to school and eating the same pudding and drinking the same vegetable juice every day. When she goes to school, one day, and finds it closed for a holiday, she simply heads to the school roof with the intention to commit suicide. At the point when she feels like giving up, right at the very edge, she meets a woman who calls herself an “angel who has been with Kiho her entire life,” and the two spend a day together, which is how Kiho meets her fellow townspeople who shoe Kiho a brighter world does exist.
Runaway Wrestler 
家出レスラー 「Shukujitsu」
Release Date: May 17th, 2024
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: Jun Yoriko
Writer: Mayu Iwatani, Yoshiki Watabe (Screenplay),
Starring: Anna Hirai, Kairi Hojo, Syuri Kondo, Momo Kohgo, Razor Ramon H.G., Yurie Kozaki, Naoto Takenaka, Mako Ishino,
Website Twitter: @wwr_stardom JFDB IMDB
This is a coming-of-age film based on the true story of pro-wrestler Mayu Iwatani.
Synopsis: Mayu lives the life of a recluse in a rural part of Yamaguchi Prefecture but finds the inspiration to step back into the world after watching a professional wrestling match with her brother. With just a plastic bag full of items and a little money, she heads to Tokyo where she starts training to become a part of “Stardom,” a women’s professional wrestling organization and she soon rises through the ranks.
Kago no nai Tori 
かごのない鳥 「Kago no nai Tori」
Release Date: May 17th, 2024
Duration: 98 mins.
Director: Hirokazu Tsuchida
Writer: Hirokazu Tsuchida (Screenplay),
Starring: Arata Yamanaka, Goro Yoshida, Nao Okabe, Miori Oda, Naoto Nishimura, Kanami Matsunaga,
Website Twitter: @kagononaitori JFDB IMDB
This has been made by Hirokazu Tsuchida who is, apparently, a practicing doctor. One of his previous films, Tamayura (2018), is also a medical drama.
Synopsis: Takeo Aota runs a private hospital with his university classmate, Shotaro. He struggles to find the ideal way to run the place and always has ambitions for the service it provides. He finds friction with Naoki Arakawa, a former doctor turned functionary for the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, who offers instructions and rules that Takeo must follow…
Oraga Mura no Tsuchinoko Sodoki 
おらが村のツチノコ騒動記 「Oraga Mura no Tsuchinoko Sodoki」
Release Date: May 18th, 2024
Duration: 98 mins.
Director: Tomoki Imai
Writer: N/A
Starring: Arata Yamanaka, Goro Yoshida, Nao Okabe, Miori Oda, Naoto Nishimura, Kanami Matsunaga,
Website Twitter: @torinomichi
Synopsis: In this documentary, director Tomoki Imai returns to his home village of Higashishirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, in his quest to investigate the existence of “Tsuchinoko,” a snake-like creature better known from myth and legend. The last sighting of Tsuchinoko was reported in 1988 and an annual Tsuchinoko search event has been held in May since then while the creature continues to exist as a popular character in the public imagination. Imai has spent many years researching the folklore and more, travelling to different regions of Japan and interviewing many people. You can find out more background on this film in this Asahi Shimbun article here.
At the End of Desire 
渇愛の果て、 「Oraga Mura no Tsuchinoko Sodoki」
Release Date: May 18th, 2024
Duration: 97 mins.
Director: An Arita
Writer: An Arita (Screenplay),
Starring: Tatsuhiro Yamaoka, Yuko Kii, Noriko Kijima, Asuna Yanagi, Nagiko Tsuji, Akiko Oki,
Website Twitter: @katsuainohate
An Arita based this story on a friend’s prenatal diagnosis and the subsequent interviews she conducted with her friends about pregnancy and childbirth.
Synopsis: Maki Yamamoto finds her dreams of family life come crashing down when she suffers complications in the run-up to the birth of her first baby and medical checks suggest that the baby has an incurable disease. With events weighing on her mind, finds herself at the centre of a party where different ideas on children and childbirth clash.