Happy weekend!
We made it through to another one!
I’ve been busy at my day job but it’s the good kind of busy. Had some fun working, the highlight of which was installing perspex for a stage housing an Edo-period screen, and dining with Japanese and British colleagues at a fancy hotel. That work is calming down over the next week and I’ll be resuming other duties soon including movie watching. Due to my regular job, in terms of this blog, my work at the Osaka Asian Film Festival came to the rescue and allowed me to have some content ready to go over the last couple of weeks. I posted a review of The Sower and an interview with that films director, Yosuke Takeuchi. V-Cinema also posted my interview with Rina Tanaka and her cast and crew from the film Filled With Steam.
Here’s what’s released this weekend.
Shoplifters 
万引き家族 「Manbiki Kazoku」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: June 08th, 2018
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda (Screenplay),
Starring: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Kirin Kiki, Mayu Matsuoka, Kairi Jyo, Naoto Ogatam Yoko Moriguchi, Yuki Yamada, Moemi Katayama, Akira Emoto, Kengo Kora, Chizuru Ikewaki, Sosuke Ikematsu,
Hirokazu Kore-eda is a legend who has appeared at Cannes with films seven times in the Competition and Un Certain Regard sections, picking up the Jury Prize for Like Father, Like Son (2013). Due to his focus on families in films like I Wish (2011) and Our Little Sister (2015), he is often called the Ozu of modern Japanese cinema by critics and this one features an unconventional family by normal Japanese standards and it wowed critics. He then went on to win the prestigious Palme d’Or. Congratulations!
Synopsis: Osamu (Lily Franky) and his wife Nobuyo (Sakura Ando) live with their son Shota (Kairi Jyo) Nobuyo’s younger sister Aki (Mayu Matsuoka) and their grandmother Hatsue (Kirin Kiki) in a home behind an apartment. Osamu works as a day labourer but they rely on Hatsue’s pension and the ill-gotten goods they have from their shoplifting antics. They may be poor but they are happy.
One winter, Osamu and Shota find a girl named Yuri (Miyu Sasaki) in the freezing cold and take her home with them much to Nobuyo’s ire but she soon starts taking care of their new family member. However an incident occurs and a family they were on good terms with falls out with them causing secrets to be revealed…
A Forest of Wool and Steel 
羊と鋼の森 「Hitsuji to Hagane no Mori」
Running Time: 134 mins.
Release Date: June 08th, 2018
Director: Kojiro Hashimoto
Writer: Natsu Miyashita (Original Novel), Arisa Kaneko (Screenplay)
Starring: Kento Yamazaki, Tomokazu Miura, Mone Kamishiraishi, Moka Kamishiraishi, Ken Mitsuishi, Riisa Naka, Yuki Morinaga,
Synopsis: High school student Naoki Tomura (Kento Yamazaki) in Hokkaido begins work at a musical instrument store after an encounter with Soichiro Itadori (Tomokazu Miura), a man with a gift for giving life to the pianos he tunes, a gift that leaves them smelling like “a forest”. As Tomura works, he encounters different customers in the store.
When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead. 
家に帰ると妻が必ず死んだふりをしています。 「Ie ni Kaeru to Tsuma ga Kanarazu Shinda Furi wo Shite Imasu」
Running Time: 115 mins.
Release Date: June 08th, 2018
Director: Toshio Lee
Writer: Fumi Tsubota (Screenplay), K. Kajunsky Ichida (Original Novel)
Starring: Ken Yasuda, Nana Eikura, Ryohei Otani, Sumika Nono,
Synopsis: Based on a series of Yahoo! Answers messages, this is the tale of an average salaryman named Jun (Ken Yasuda) who gets a shock when he returns home from work: his wife Chie (Nana Eikura) is dead every time. Whether it is as a victim of a war crime, shot through the head with an arrow or even worse, Chie likes to surprise her husband. Only he doesn’t like this strange behaviour…
Vision 
ビジョン 「Bijon」
Running Time: 110 mins.
Release Date: June 08th, 2018
Director: Naomi Kawase
Writer: Naomi Kawase (Screenplay),
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Masatoshi Nagase, Min Tanaka, Mari Natsuki, Mirai Moriyama, Minami,
Synopsis: Juliette Binoche plays Jeanne, a French writer who has travelled to Nara to explore Yoshino Forest in Nara to find a rare medicinal plant that grows only once every 997 years. She encounters Satoshi (Masatoshi Nagase) who lives in the area and the two encounter various people.
WAKITA PEAK 
ワキタピーク 「WAKITA PI-KU」
Running Time: 95 mins.
Release Date: June 02nd, 2018
Director: Masataka Seino
Writer: N/A
Starring: Takayuki Wakita, Taichi Wakita, Sara Wakita, Sayuri Wakita, Liam McNamara, Kelly Slater, Masataka Kiyono,
Synopsis: Takayuki Wakita is a surfer in Oahu, Hawaii. He and his family are surf mad and have become legends and this documentary looks at their lives chasing the ultimate waves and looking towards the future.
Enokida Bouekido 
榎田貿易堂 「Enokida Bouekido」
Running Time: 110 mins.
Release Date: June 09th, 2018
Director: Ken Iizuka
Writer: Ken Iizuka (Screenplay),
Starring: Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Ryu Morioka, Sairi Itoh, Natsu Miyamoto, Taro Suwa, Toshie Negishi, Kimiko Yo,
This film takes place in Shibukawa, Gunma. I went there two times in 2016. I should recognise the place…
Synopsis: Yojiro Enokida (Kiyohiko Shibukawa) had hopes of making something of himself in Tokyo after he left high school but returns to rural Shibukawa in Gunma Prefecture at the age of 39 and opens a recycling shop. Meet the people who hang around…
Life in Overtime 
終わった人 「Owatta Hito」
Running Time: 125 mins.
Release Date: June 09th, 2018
Director: Hideo Nakata
Writer: Nonji Nemoto (Screenplay), Makiko Uchidate (Original Novel)
Starring: Hiroshi Tachi, Hitomi Kuroki, Ryoko Hirosue, Asami Usuda, Tomorowo Taguchi, Atsuko Takahata, Tetsu Watanabe, Takashi Sasamo,
Synopsis: Sosuke Tashiro (Hiroshi Tachi) was a once-successful bank employee before getting transferred to a subsidiary and seeing his career fizzle out. However, a chance meeting with a new person changes his fate.
5TO9 
ファイブトウイン 「Faibu tou Nain」
Running Time: 80 mins.
Release Date: November 15th, 2016
Director: Tay Bee Pin, Daisuke Miyazaki, Vincent Du, Rasiguet Sookkarn,
Writer: Tay Bee Pin, Daisuke Miyazaki, Vincent Du, Rasiguet Sookkarn, (Screenplay),
Starring: Go Jibiki, Aki Miyata, Masatoshi Nagase, Shima Ohnishi, Mariko Takahashi,
Synopsis: which was filmed across Asia with an international cast portraying characters undergoing massive changes in their lives on the evening of the Brazil-Germany match at World Cup 2014. A couple parts in China and in Singapore there’s a couple who leave their future to the final result of the match, a porno-projectionist in Japan collects debts and a filmmaker in Thailand suspects his wife is cheating. This is a collection of short films and the stories take place between 5pm and 9am.
Asagao to kase-san / Kase-san and Morning Glories 
あさがおと加瀬さん。 「Asagao to kase-san 」
Release Date: June 09th, 2018
Running Time: 58 mins.
Director: Takuya Sato
Writer: Eiji Umehara (Screenplay), Hiromi Takashima (Original Creator)
Starring: Ayane Sakura (Tomoka Kase), Minami Takahashi (Yui Yamada), Ibuki Kido (Mikawa), Masumi Asano (Sensei), Yumi Uchiyama (Coach),
Animation Production: ZEXCS
Synopsis: Sometimes, feelings are so powerful they can stop us from acting but a simple exchange of a few innocent words can be all it takes to unlock a new and powerful friendship. Such is the case with Yui Yanada, a member of the Tree-Planting Committee. Yamada is a shy and rather clumsy girl who loves flowers but when she sees Tomoka Kase, one of the school’s top athletes, a new love begins to sprout and when Tomoka reveals her own feelings, a new love begins to bloom. These two girls soon learn how to nurture their new relationship.
Tokyo Living Dead Idol 
トウキョウ・リビング・デッド・アイドル 「Tôkyô ribingu deddo aidoru」
Running Time: 82 mins.
Release Date: June 09th, 2018
Director: Yuki Kumagai
Writer: Yuki Kumagai (Screenplay),
Starring: Nana Asakawa, Yumeri Abe, Luna Ozawa, Yuki Izawa, Chisato Koizumi, Asami, Shogen, Sana Hoshimori, Yuki Nakayama, Tomoya Yamaguchi,
Idols, zombies and parkour action combine to make this film when Nana Asakawa, Luna Ozawa and Yumeri Abe of SUPER☆GiRLS, Yuki Nakayama and Tomoya Yamaguchi of SOLIDEMO, and voice actress/singer Sana Hoshimori are caught up in a zombie attack in Tokyo.
Synopsis: Kamiya Miku (Nana Asakawa) is part of the idol unit Tokyo 27-ku (Tokyo 27 wards) and when she gets bitten by some zombified fans, she has 72 hours to find a serum to cure herself. Up against her are dead-heads and a high-school girl and zombie hunter named Kisaragi (Sana Hoshimori) and zombies attack her. Can Miku find her cure???
Cinema Kabuki: Tokai Dochu Hizakurige Kobikicho Nazotokibanashi 
シネマ歌舞伎》東海道中膝栗毛 歌舞伎座捕物帖 「Shinema Kabuki: Tokai Dochu Hizakurige Kobikicho Nazotokibanashi」
Running Time: 104 mins.
Release Date: June 09th, 2018
Director: Ennosuke Ichikawa
Writer: Ennosuke Ichikawa, Kazuhisa Tobe (Screenplay), Jippensha Ikku (Shigeta Sadakazu) (Original Work)
Starring: Ennosuke Ichikawa, Koshiro Matsumoto, Kankuro Nakamura, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Chusha Ichikawa, Emiya Ichikawa,
Synopsis: The 31st movie in the Kabuki Cinema screenings sees two guys who have travelled from Ise Prefecture to Edo find part-time work in the Kabuki-za. Their everyday lives are exciting until a murder happens on stage and they are suspected of foul play…
Laughing Under the Clouds Gaiden Fate, The Double-Headed Fūma 
曇天に笑う 外伝 宿命、双頭の風魔 「Donten ni Warau Gaiden: Shukumei, Sōtō no Fūma」
Running Time: 60 mins.
Release Date: June 09th, 2018
Director: Tetsuya Wakano
Writer: Eiji Umehara (Script), Kemuri Karakara (Original Work),
Starring: Tsubasa Yonaga (Chutaro Kumo), Yuichi Nakamura (Tenka Kumo), Yuuki Kaji (Soramaru Kumo), Hiro Shimono (Rakucho Takeda), Sayaka Ohara (Kiiko Sasaki), Yuuki Fujiwara (Mutsuki Ashiya), Rina Satou (Botan), Mamiko Noto (Nishiki),
Animation Production: Wit Studio
Synopsis: The Meiji era is underway and the ban on samurai is in full effect. The common people are disturbed by rapid Westernisation and the sweeping away of the old order. The government is concerned with the increased crime rate that has resulted from this dissatisfaction and has built a new prison and commissioned the three brothers of the Kumo family with the duty of transporting criminals there. Of course, the three lads get into adventures.