The Japanese embassy screens films once a month and I used to report on them because many of these titles are the type that never leave Japan. I stopped once I actually arrived in Japan and became a huge tourist but now I’m getting back into writing about films I want to alert people to the latest screening before it disappears!
Here’s the information from the embassy’s events page:
River of Fireflies 
蛍川 「Hotaru-gawa」
Release Date: February 21st, 1987
Running Time: 115 mins.
Director: Eizo Sugawa
Writer: Eizo Sugawa, Kyohei Nakaoka (Screenplay), Teru Miyamoto (Original Novel)
Starring: Rentaro Mikuni, Yukiyo Toake, Choichiro Kawarasaki, Takuzo Kawatani, Tomoko Naraoka, Takayuki Sakazume, Tamae Sawada, Ken Teraizumi,
This film was directed by Eizo Sugawa who is famous in the West for the crime film The Beast Shall Die (1974) and the musical You Can Succeed, Too (1964) which was included in a season of Japanese musicals programmed by Japan Society New York (which I published an article about almost a year ago to this day). It is based on the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel of the same name which was written by Teru Miyamoto. It’s a story of the friendships and first love of a fourteen-year-old boy and, according to the site, the title is literal since there is a “a spectacular scene of millions of fireflies brings the film to its climax.”
No trailer…
Synopsis from the embassy’s site: The story is set in beautiful scenery in Toyama prefecture, Japan’s Hokuriku region. During the winter of 1962, a junior high school boy, Tatsuo, is distracted from preparing for his high school entrance exams by thoughts about his dream girl, Eiko. To make matters worse, creditors descend upon Tatsuo’s house as his father, Shigetatsu, once a prosperous merchant, has failed in business. The family now lives in poverty. On a snowy day in April, Tatsuo and Eiko stroll together, repressing their burning desire for each other. Eiko remembers a piece of folklore she once heard from Shigetatsu: If heavy snow falls in April, a huge swarm of fireflies will appear at the upper reaches of the river which flows through the town, and any man and woman who chance to witness the scene together must eventually marry… Spring arrives in the north, but it robs Tatsuo of the two people closest to him.
The event takes place on March 30th at 6.30pm. The location is the Embassy of Japan in the UK, 101 – 104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT and you can find out how to book tickets with this link.
