Happy weekend, readers!
Well, what’s left of the weekend (at least I published it on the weekend). I have been very busy this week but I did manage to post about the Japanese films programmed for the Glasgow Film Festival and the Rotterdam International Film Festival. I also wrote news reports for those festivals for different websites. I watched two films – nuclear nightmare movie Threads (UK, 1984) and zombie actioner Junk (JP, 1999), I’ve marathoned all available episodes of the anime Boku Dake ga Inai Machi and re-started Shirobako after putting it on a back-burner. I’ve also gone and started listening to ’80s music again. There’s a great crop of films released this weekend with The Actor and Inerasable getting screened
What’s released this weekend?
The Actor
俳優亀岡拓次「Haiyuu Kameoka Takuji」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 123 mins.
Director: Satoko Yokohama
Writer: Satoko Yokohama (Screenplay), Akito Inui (Original Novel)
Starring: Ken Yasuda, Kumiko Aso, Shohei Uno, Yoshiko Mita, Shota Sometani, Hirofumi Arai, Youki Kudoh,
This small character-driven drama was one of the more interesting looking films from last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. It’s directed by Satoko Yokohama and it’s her second feature film after a career of shorts which has taken her to film festivals around the world. The film stars Ken Yasuda who man Japanese will recognise as a character actor with a colourful career but now he is coming into his own as a lead actor. The film has earned good reviews.
Synopsis from the Tokyo International Film Festival: Takuji Kameoka (Ken Yasuda) is a 37-year-old bachelor whose occupation is a “miscellaneous actor”. His only interest is drinking. One day he falls in love with a bar owner (Kumiko Aso) and his boring life begins to change. The film is based on the book “Actor, Takuji Kameoka” by Akito Inui, a five-time nominee for Japan’s most prestigious literary prize, the Akutagawa Prize. Satoko Yokohama, a much-admired up-and-coming newcomer, directs the film and we can immediately tell that she is a special talent, with a unique understanding that flows through to her actors and crew.
The Ark in the Mirage
蜃気楼の舟「 Shinkiro no Fune」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 99 mins.
Director: Yasutomo Chikuma
Writer: Yasutomo Chikuma (Screenplay),
Starring: Taiga Komizu, Min Tanaka, Ayako Ono, Tomomitsu Adachi, Aya Takekou, Noboru Mitani, Yota Kawase,
Synopsis: A man who works at a homeless shelter for old men exploits the people he looks after for their welfare payments. He was abandoned by his father after his mother died and has a cynical attitude but one day, he finds his father among the homeless men.
The Inerasable
残穢–住んではいけない部屋–「 Zange – Sunde wa Ikenai Heya」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 107 mins.
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura
Writer: Kenichi Suzuki (Screenplay), Fuyumi Ono (Original Novel)
Starring: Yuko Takeuchi, Ai Hashimoto, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Kentaro Sakaguchi, Kenichi Takito, Erika Shumoto,
We get a horror/mystery film from Yoshihiro Nakamura (The Snow White Murder Case) which is based on an award-winning novel. Both the film and novel are told in the first person as the main character investigates a haunted apartment and all the people involved in previous inestigations, deaths and hauntings. Of course, these ghosts are going to get people Ju-On style but how scary will it be?
Synopsis from IMDB: An author of mystery-novels (Yuko Takeuchi) helps a student (Ai Hashimoto) to uncover the tragic story of the people who lived in her apartment before which is filled with anger, hatred, murder and suicide.
Saraba Abunai Deka: Long Goodbye
さらば あぶない刑事「Saraba Abunai Deka」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 118 mins.
Director: Toru Murakawa
Writer: Hiroshi Kashiwabara (Screenplay)
Starring: Hiroshi Tachi, Kyohei Shibata, Atsuko Asano, Toru Nakamura, Koji Kikkawa, Nanao, Bengal,
Synopsis: It took ten years but this is the first entry in a franchise that has been running since it’s 1986 TV dorama inception. The story concerns Toshiki Takayama (Hiroshi Tachi) and Yuji Oshita (Kyohei Shibata) who are two veteran cops called into action when the yakuza and a crime group from the Americas show their faces in the city of Yokohama.
DOCUMENTARY of HKT48 The Night Theatre manager Ozaki Cried
尾崎支配人が泣いた夜 DOCUMENTARY of HKT48「Ozaki Shihainin ga Naita Yoru DOCUMENTARY of HKT48」
Release Date: January 29th, 2016
Running Time: 119 mins.
Director: Rino Sashihara
Writer: N/A
Starring: Rino Sashihara and te rest of HKT48
Synopsis: Documentary of HKT48 is the first HKT48 documentary and it is directed by HKT48 member Rino Sashihara (alongside an industry veteran). The girls are based in Hakata, Fukuoka prefecture and we get to see what goes on in the background of the group.
DOCUMENTARY of NMB48
道頓堀よ、泣かせてくれ！DOCUMENTARY of NMB48「LOVE! LOVE! SING! Ikite itoshite utau koto gekijouban」
Release Date: January 29th, 2016
Running Time: 100 mins.
Director: Atsushi Funahashi
Writer: N/A
Starring: NMB48 Girls
Idols, idols, idols, blah, blah… wait. The director is ATSUSHI FUNAHASHI? He who has directed films about the fallout from Fukushima like Cold Bloom and Nuclear Nation? And for all my complaints about idols, the lovely Sayaka Yamamoto is in this and when I’ve seen her on game shows I’ve always found her to have a cool personality and she’s a good singer from what I can remember.
Synopsis: NMB48 is based in Namba, Osaka and it has been five years since their debut at Osaka Castle Hall. We see the struggles, efforts, and successes of the girls as the film trawls through photos and interviews from the inception of NMB48 to their latest developments as one of the most popular sister groups of AKB48.
The Lover of My Ex
別れた女房の恋人「Wakareta nyobo no koibito」
Release Date: January 28th, 2016
Running Time: 86 mins.
Director: Satoshi Kaneda
Writer: Shuji Kataoka (Screenplay),
Starring: Junko Maru, Hidemasa Shiozawa, Junichi Haruta, Ayaka Tomoda,
Synopsis: Naomi (Junko Maru) is a middle-aged divorcee who is torn between getting back together with her ex-husband and a young man named Sota (Hidemasa Shiozawa).
Neko nanka yondemo konai
猫なんかよんでもこない。「Neko nanka yondemo konai」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 103 mins.
Director: Toru Yamamoto
Writer: Toru Yamamoto, Tamio Hayashi (Screenplay), Sugisaku (Original Manga)
Starring: Shunsuke Kazama, Mayu Matsuoka, Takeshi Tsuruno, Junko Uchida,
Synopsis from Dorama World: The film which is based on the same-titled manga by Sugisaku and had sold more than 270,000 copies to date, describes how a boxer Mitsuo (Kazama) faces the biggest crisis of his career as he has to retire if he loses his next match. At this point in time, Mitsuo’s elder brother picks up two cats from the streets thus resulting in Mitsuo, a dog lover, having to live with them and through his interaction with the cats, take a fresh look at his life.
Soshiki togo
民暴「Soshiki togo」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 120 mins.
Director: Ryo Chris Kaihara
Writer: Ryo Chris Kaihara, Naoyuki Tomomatsu (Screenplay),
Starring: Hoka Kinoshita, Saaya, Hakuryu, Takashi Nishina, Izam, Honkon, Tadashi Naruse,
Synopsis: when a bunch of yakuza face being evicted from their headquarters by local residents they take their frustration out on one particular target, a worker for cit hall. He is soon shown the corruption in local government and a violent history is revealed.
The Cross
十字架「Juujika」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 122 mins.
Director: Sho Igarashi
Writer: Sho Igarashi (Screenplay), Kiyoshi Shigematsu (Original Novel)
Starring: Keisuke Koide, Fumino Kimura, Yasuko Tomita, Masatoshi Nagase. Ryota Koshiba, Ayumi Orii,
Synopsis: Shunsuke Fujii was a middle school student who committed suicide due to being bullied. He left a letter behind that revealed that his classmate Yu Sanada (Keisuke Koide) was a friend and Sayuri Nakagawa (Fumino Kimura) was a girl he had a crush on. Shunsuke’s suicide has destroyed his parents. Shunsuke’s mother (Yasuko Tomita) and father (Masatoshi Nagase) cannot forgive Shunsuke’s classmates and they have spent 20 years of their life carrying their own cross since Shunsuke Fujii’s death…
Behind ‘The Cove’
ビハインド・ザ・コーヴ 捕鯨問題の謎に迫る「Bihaindo za ko-bu hogeimondai no nazo ni semaru」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 107 mins.
Director: Keiko Yagi
Writer: Keiko Yagi (Screenplay),
Starring: Keiko Yagi, David Hance, Joji Morishita, Richard O’Barry, Katsunori Horihata, Louis Psihoyos,
Synopsis: Director Keiko Yagi may be an amateur director but the subject of whaling and the controversy that surrounds it has inspired her to make this documentary to explore the topic.
Kaze no tayori
風のたより「Kaze no tayori」
Release Date: January 30th, 2016
Running Time: 90 mins.
Director: Munetoshi Mukai
Writer: Satoko Okazaki (Screenplay),
Starring: Yuko Akimoto, Ren Osugi, Kaoru Hirata, Yuki Saso, Shuntaro Yanagi, Masaya Kato, Yuko Araki,
Synopsis: This is set in Sendai four years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and concerns a young woman (Yuko Shinki) entrusted with the café owned by her grandfather (Ren Osugi). She leaves that behind to open a café in Tokyo. All that changes when her grandfather falls ill…
Japanese Movie Box Office Results for this Week:
Nobunaga Concerto (2016/12/23)
Star Wars The Force Unleashed (2016/12/18)
Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger The Movie: Ninjas in Wonderland (2016/12/23)
Eiga Youkai Watch: Enma Daioh to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan! (2016/12/19)
Paddington (2016/01/15)
Seasons/Les Saisons (2016/01/15)
Orange (2016/12/11)
The Walk (2016/12/23)
Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-hen (2016/01/08)
Bridge of Spies (2016/01/08)
