Cramming for a Japanese exam and speech has meant fewer posts but since those posts that I do send out into the wild are mammoth hulking festival previews… well, at least they get the time to shine. Yep, I’ve previewed The Terracotta Far East Film Festival 2014 and there’s going to be another post about it next week to make the most of the info I got from the organisers. I have tried to include lots of information about different events in the festival and I’m updating it whenever anything happens. I’ve booked my tickets and now it’s all about the wait and in the meantime I have my Japanese exams to keep me very, very occupied.
Kabukicho High School 
Japanese Title: 歌舞伎町はいすくーる
Romaji: Kabukicho Hai Suku-ru
Running Time: 92 mins
Release Date: May 03rd, 2014 (Japan)
Director: Shinichi Karube
Writer: Machiko Nasu (Screenplay), Masahide Motohashi (Original Manga)
Starring: Shun Shioya, Ainosuke Kataoka, Taro awano, Asami Kumakiri, Yasuki Tsuji, Shinichi Chiba, Hanako Tokachi
Ken Haine (Shioya) is the president of a successful company. He is so successful that he is known as the “King of Kabukicho”. Alas, his years of success have dulled him to the delights of life but he hits upon the idea of going back to school. And so our older dude heads to a vocational full of unusual people…
Jakarta, Where Punk Lives – MARJINAL 
Japanese Title: マージナル＝ジャカルタ・パンク2014年春版
Romaji: Mājinaru = Jakaruta panku 2014-nen haru-ban
Running Time: 63 mins
Release Date: May 03rd, 2014 (Japan)
Director: Ayumi Nakanishi
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
There’s a punk scene in Jakarta and this documentary captures the band Marjinal, a group at the centre of a movement that has grown from students dissatisfied with politics and poverty. Ayumi Nakanishi, the director, was originally a photographer but when she moved to Jakarta, she saw the communities that gave birth to the punk movement and the hostile government reaction and was inspired to film everything.
The Summer of Whales 
Japanese Title: クジラのいた夏
Romaji: Kujira no Ita Natsu
Running Time: 89 mins
Release Date: May 03rd, 2014 (Japan)
Director: Yasuhiro Yoshida
Writer: Yasuhiro Yoshida, Kota Oura (Screenplay)
Starring: Shuhei Nomura, Shota Matsushima, Kyosuke Hamao, Takuya Matsuoka, Aimi Satsukawa, Yumika Kiya, Akiho Ohtsubo, Kensho Ono
Chuuya (Nomura) has let his life slip by without having any ambitions until, one day, he decides he wants to head to Tokyo. His best friends – J, Gizmo, and Machida – throw a going away party but Chuuya is hesitant to leave. Then, an older girl named Yumiko, an entertainer in Tokyo, appears.
My Little Nightmare: The Movie 
Japanese Title: 悪夢ちゃん The 夢ovie
Romaji: Akumu-chan The Movie
Running Time: 119 mins
Release Date: May 03rd, 2014 (Japan)
Director: Noriyoshi Sakuma
Writer: Sumio Omori (Screenplay), Riku Onda (Original Novel)
Starring: Keiko Kitagawa, Manatsu Kimura, Yuka, Gackt, Ryuta Sato, Fumiyo Kohinata, Karen Otomo, Manami Honjou
Ayami Mutoi (Kitagawa) is an elementary school teacher with a special student named Yuiko Koto a.k.a. “Akumu-chan”, a girl with the power of having precognitive dreams that foretell the misfortunes of others. When a transfer student named Kanji Shibui enters Ayami’s class, the other students find that they see a “dream prince” who looks like him in their dreams. Yuiko does as well and that’s because she’s falling in love with the prince…
The Spirit of Science 
Japanese Title: おとなのかがく
Romaji: Otona no Kagaku
Running Time: 50 mins
Release Date: May 03rd, 2014 (Japan)
Director: Yuko Tadachi
Writer: N/A
Starring: Masamitsu Nagaoka, Toshiyuki Nishimura, Theo Jansen
My translation is off but I think this is a documentary from a science magazine looking at different dev kits from different countries.
Kuchita teoshi-sha 
Japanese Title: 朽ちた手押し車
Romaji: Kuchita teoshi-sha
Running Time: 50 mins
Release Date: May 03rd, 2014 (Japan)
Director: Hiroshi Shima
Writer: Hiroshi Shima Susan Lee (Original Screenplay)
Starring: Rentaro Mikuni
Rentaro Mikuni was a famous actor who appeared in a number of great films like The Burmese Harp (1956), Harakiri (1962), Kwaidan (1965). This particular film is one that has spent 30 years in production and is about a family of fishermen facing problems. Rentaro plays a man with dementia, his wife is terminally ill and their son is pushed to breaking point. It’s all about the dignity of the elderly.
Senritsu Kaiki Fairu Kowa Sugi! Shijou Saikyou no Gekijouban 
Japanese Title: 戦慄怪奇ファイル コワすぎ！ 史上最恐の劇場版
Romaji: Senritsu Kaiki Fairu Kowa Sugi! Shijou Saikyou no Gekijouban
Running Time: 80 mins
Release Date: May 03rd, 2014 (Japan)
Director: Koji Shiraishi
Writer: Koji Shiraishi (Original Screenplay)
Starring: Shigeo Osako, Koji Shiraishi,
Koji Shiraishi is back! His latest project is an interesting looking serial killer film which unfolds in a single take (that’s the interesting thing – a J-horror Russian Ark!). He favours the whole POV style where a cameraman captures supernatural weirdness. This isn’t it. This release is more of his usual stuff drawing upon his usual content like urban legends and found-footage, bad CGI and idols. It works in some films like Noroi and not in others.
While looking for his films I discovered this website which lists the titles at the Japan Booth at Hong Kong Filmart. I had been tracking the titles via Variety but this site provides a good overview. There are quite a few titles I have written about and it looks like I may need to re-write the English titles…
