The 2018 East Winds Film Festival is about to launch and it has a great line-up of films from around Asia. There are three Japanese titles to select from and they are all European premieres!
Here are the titles:
風の色 「Kaze no Iro」
Running Time: 119 mins.
Release Date: January 26th, 2018
Director: Jae-young Kwak
Writer: Jae-young Kwak (Screenplay),
Starring: Takemi Fujii, Yuki Furukawa, Maiko Ito, Naoto Takenaka, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Tomoya Ishii, Yoshiko Nakada, Mantaro Koichi,
Jae-young Kwak directed My Sassy Girl (2001), a mega-hit that took Asian cinema fans by storm and was part of the Korean New Wave that swept the world away. He tried to recapture that hit with Windstruck (2004) and Cyborg Girl (2008) and then pretty much disappeared after the remake of his super hit before resurfacing in Japan earlier this year.
Synopsis: Before Ryo’s girlfriend Yuri dies, she tells him that a woman who looks identical to her is in Hokkaido. To find out more, Ryo travels to Hokkaido where he meets a woman named Aya who looks a lot like Yuri. She claims Ryo looks like her boyfriend Ryu, a popular magician who went missing during an illusion on the seashore. Ryo pretends to be Ryu and acts like he lost his memory but he feels guilt over his actions and runs away, leaving Yuri’s diary behind…
.
不能犯 「Funohan」
Running Time: 106 mins.
Release Date: February 01st, 2018
Director: Koji Shiraishi
Writer: Junpei Yamaoka, Koji Shiraishi (Screenplay), Arata Miyatsuki, Yuya Kanzaki, (Original Manga),
Starring: Tori Matsuzaka, Erika Sawajiri, Mackenyu Arata, Erina Mano, Sae Okazaki, Shugo Oshinari, Akiko Yada, Ken Yasuda,
A great cast for this thriller with character actors like Ken Yasuda roped in. A special mention for Shugo Oshinari who was in the 2015 indie film Promises.
Synopsis: Police detective Tomoko Tada (Erika Sawajiri) is on the hunt for a seemingly untraceable contract killer. Her target is Tadashi Usobuki (Tori Matsuzaka), a mysterious man who wears a black suit and picks up his contracts from a specific phone booth. His method of killing and what makes him hard to track is the power of suggestion. He can drive people to take their own lives through mind control. The police better be careful when chasing him!
サニー/32 「Sani- / 32」
Running Time: 110 mins.
Release Date: February 17th, 2018
Director: Kazuya Shiraishi
Writer: Izumi Takahashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Rie Kitahara, Mugi Kadowaki, Pierre Taki, Lily Franky, Taro Suruga,
Website IMDB
Kazuya Shiraishi, director of “Twisted Justice” (2016), “Dawn of the Felines” (2017), links up with his main actors from “The Devil’s Path” (2013) along with Mugi Kadowaki who was really good in the lead role in “Double Life” (2016).
Synopsis: A middle school teacher named Akari Fujii (Rie Kitahara) is kidnapped on her 24th birthday. These two men who abduct her call themselves “The Most Lovely Murderers in Criminal History” and they are big admirers of a girl named Sunny, an internet idol because as an 11-year-old child she murdered a classmate in a gruesome killing. So adorable was she, Sunny was dubbed the “the cutest murderer ever” and a cult started around her. Her photo, with its unique 3 and 2 finger peace pose, earned her the moniker “Sunny,” a name derived from how 3 and 2 are pronounced in Japanese. But why kidnap Akari? Is there some connection? As more people from the cult turn up, things spiral out of control…