Happy weekend, people!
I hope you are all well.
I think I’ve survived but I’m still on the move. It’s day 6 of my work week and I’m exhausted after running around every day at my day job. The upside is my hyperactivity has made people happy and one couple thanked me for being cheerful when leaving a gallery. Work tomorrow. Outside of my regular job, I’ve been ploughing on with exercise every morning and the interviews from the Osaka Asian Film Festival with a friend and we’ve got a lot done with one published this week – Akiyoshi Koba, director of Nunchaku and Soul. Also from OAFF was my post about Maggie (2018) and I’ve completed three out of four reviews for another film festival. I also posted about a Kickstarter campaign for a stop-motion horror anime. I’ve got a fresh new interview conducted with the director of that project waiting to be translated. So, yeah, this trailer post has been knocked together at short notice.
In terms of what I have watched this week, everything takes on a distinctly American indie bent with Patterson, The Limits of Control, Funny Haha, Mutual Appreciation. I also re-watched the Sono film Tag and the Hosoda film The Boy and the Beast.
What is released this weekend?
The Peers 
ピア まちをつなぐもの 「Pia machi wo tsunagumono」
Running Time: 99 mins.
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Director: Shinya Ayabe
Writer: Shinya Ayabe (Screenplay),
Starring: Yoshihiko Hosoda, Wakana Matsumoto, Maki Mizuno, Asuka Kawatoko, Ryosuke Takei, Takeshi Masu, Junki Tozuka, Toshinori Omi,
I saw this one at the Osaka Asian Film Festival. It was a cute film about community. Super-manufactured in every aspect but well-intentioned and more about learning how healthcare works.
Synopsis: After his father Keizo falls ill, Masato Takahashi reluctantly quits medical university to take over his family’s clinic. Masato has his pride and had been intent on advanced medical research, not giving care to local patients and their families, and he doesn’t hide his feelings on the subject when working with colleagues and care workers like the care manager Natsumi Sato. This leads to him being isolated at work but he begins to change his attitude after meeting patients and starting to understand the value of home medical care.
This human drama depicts the challenges of an ageing society and gives the limelight to some of the hardest working people in society, care workers and medical professionals.
HOMIE KEI Chika-no natta Nihonjin 
HOMIE KEI チカーノになった日本人 「HOMIE KEI Chika-no natta Nihonjin」
Running Time: 73 mins.
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Director: Kimasa Sakama
Writer: N/A
Starring: KEI
Synopsis: The titular Kei is a Japanese man who ran wild as a yakuza but, when in America, got locked up in prison where he encountered Chicano gangs. He was inducted into one, quite a feat for a Japanese and it had a big impact on him. However, when he got out of prison, he reunited with his family and set up a charity to help kids with problems. This documentary is about him.
Birthday Wonderland 
バースデー・ワンダーランド 「Ba-sude- Wanda-rando」
Running Time: 115 mins.
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Director: Keiichi Hara
Writer: Miho Maruo (Screenplay), Sachiko Kashiwaba (Original Creator)
Starring: Mayu Matsuoka (Akane), Akiko Yajima (Doropo), Anzu (Chi), Keiji Fujiwara (Xan Gu), Kumiko Aso (Midori),
Synopsis from MAL: A movie adaptation of the 1981 children’s book Chikashitsu kara no Fushigi na Tabi.
A wonderful and mysterious birthday adventure, one that you will never forget. Beyond the basement door in Aunt Chi’s antique shop lies a world beyond your wildest imagination…
Akane Uesugi is a shy 6th grader who has trouble telling other people how she feels.
The day before her birthday, her mother, Midori, sends her on an errand: to go get her birthday present from her free-spirited Aunt Chi’s antique shop. But a strange man named Hippocrates the Alchemist, who calls her the “Green Goddess”, together with Pipo the fairy, takes her on a journey to “The World Beyond” from a door in the basement where she embarks upon an adventure to save a land in crisis.
The next four films are part of the Toei Manga Matsuri:
Recycle Zoo 
りさいくるずー 「Risaikuru zu-」
Running Time: 99 mins.
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Director: Benpi Neko
Writer: Coyote (Original Work)
Starring: Benpi Neko, Eriko Matsui, Hiroki Gotou,
Synopsis from Gigazine: Yamaori and Tanioli are two explorers made of recycled corrugated cardboard and they ho on adventures looking for treasure.
Eiga Oshiritantei Kare- naru jiken 
映画 おしりたんてい カレーなる じけん 「Eiga Oshiritantei Kare- naru jiken」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Director: Miho Hirayama
Writer: Tororu (Original Work)
Starring: Yuuko Sanbei, Ikkei Watanabe, Ayaka Saito, Hikari Oota,
Synopsis from Gigazine: This is based on a popular children‘s book where a detective that looks like a butt solves crimes.
Eiga Bakutsuri Bar Hunter Movie: Nazono Barcode Trial! Bakutsure! Shinkaigyo Poseidon 
映画 爆釣バーハンター 謎のバーコードトライアングル！ 爆釣れ！神海魚ポセイドン 「Eiga Ba Bakuchō bāhantā nazo no bākōdotoraianguru! Bakuchōre! Koumi-gyo poseidon」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Director: Kenji Seto
Writer: Tororu (Original Work)
Starring: Yuuko Sanbei, Ikkei Watanabe, Ayaka Saito, Hikari Oota,
Synopsis from Gigazine: Creatures called “bar soul” live in the “barcode sea” that exists deep down in the barcodes around our everyday life and a boy named Totta Tachitsute can catch these creatures by using a “Bakutsuri Bar Rod”…
Eiga Uchi no 3 Shimai 
えいが うちの3姉妹 「Eiga Uchi no 3 Shimai」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Director: Katsuhito Oomiya
Writer: Purritsu Matsumoto (Original Work)
Starring: Mika Kanai, Chika Fujimura, Kouji Tsujitani, Taeko Kawata, Ikue Ootani,
Synopsis from MAL: The daily life of the Motsumoto family. The three sisters, Fuu, Suu, and Chii, follow what happens on a daily basis. Mother and Father have to deal with them sometimes, but they’re used to it.
Lust in a Karaoke Box 
あの日々の話 「Ano Hibi no Hanashi」
Running Time: 100 mins.
Release Date: April 27th, 2019
Director: Shinya Tamada
Writer: Shinya Tamada (Screenplay),
Starring: Keita Yamashina, Nozomi Morioka, Tsuyoshi Kondo, Ikue Takada, Takashiro Kinoshita, Makoto Kikuchi, Shigenobu Noda, Mijika Nagai, Mizuki Maehara, Taiga, Nijiro Murakami,
Synopsis: Based on a play that Tamada first staged in 2016, group of young adults who are, or were, members of a university club gather together at a karaoke box. When the president of the club and a young member disappear, imaginations are excited and one of the guys produces a box of condoms with the expectation that something might happen…
TAKAYUKI YAMADA DOCUMENTARY 「No Pain, No Gain」 
Running Time: 122 mins.
Release Date: April 27th, 2019
Director: Yuuta Maki
Writer: N/A
Starring: Takayuki Yamada
Synopsis: A documentary that has about five years of footage of Takayuki Yamada at work. It starts in 2013, when he reached 30 years old, and takes in a number of film and stage projects such as Ushijima the Loan Shark.
Dare ga tame ni kenpou wa aru 
誰がために憲法はある 「Dare ga tame ni kenpou wa aru」
Running Time: 69 mins.
Release Date: April 27th, 2019
Director: Junichi Inoue
Writer: N/A
Starring: Misako Watanabe, Toshie Takada, Michie Terada, Masumi Oohara, Masuyo Iwamoto,
Synopsis: This is a recording of a spoken-word stage play dedicated to the Japanese Constitution and the background behind it. It has repeatedly been staged with veteran actresses who have taken on the same material at different venues all over Japan with the intention of conveying the importance of the Japanese constitution. 2019 is the final year.
Yamafutokoro ni idakarete To Embrace the Heart of a Mountain 
山懐に抱かれて 「Yamafutokoro ni idakarete」
Running Time: 103 mins.
Release Date: April 27th, 2019
Director: Takashi Endo
Narration: Shigeru Muroi
Starring: Kimio Yoshzuka, Toshiko Yoshizuka, Miyako Asano, Koichiro Yoshizuka, Yoji Yoshizuka, Reiko Yamazaki,
Synopsis: This is a re-edited version of a TV documentary recorded over 24 years of the Yoshizuka family, a large clan who are in the dairy farming business in the mountains of Iwate Prefecture.