A great respect to traditions and rituals, makes possible that in Japan there is a “do” (way) for almost everything. Therefore, a few years ago scriptwriter Kundo Koyama of Oscar-winning “Departures” fame, came out with the idea that a “yu-do” (the way of the hot water/bath) would be not only possible but also very believable. From this reflection, the original script of “Yudo: The Way of the Bath” stemmed and developed to the 2023 film directed by Masayuki Suzuki.
Yudo: The Way of the Bath is screening at Five Flavours
After shining briefly as a rising star of the Tokyo scene, architect Shiro Miura (Toma Ikuta) struggles to find his way as a solo professional, and – after his father's passing – decides to go back to his provincial hometown and take hold of the dying family business, the Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse (sento) that his father had run until the end of his days.
Yudo: The Way of the Bath is screening at Five Flavours
After shining briefly as a rising star of the Tokyo scene, architect Shiro Miura (Toma Ikuta) struggles to find his way as a solo professional, and – after his father's passing – decides to go back to his provincial hometown and take hold of the dying family business, the Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse (sento) that his father had run until the end of his days.
- 11/17/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Season 17 (September 8 – October 7) kicks off with a screening of director Masayuki Suzuki's Yudo, architect Shiro Miura's (Toma Ikuta) and his return to his family-owned public bathhouse. Intent on modernizing the outdated establishment, Shiro faces unexpected challenges from both his brother Goro (Gaku Hamada) and a fire that lands him as the bathhouse's temporary manager. As he immerses himself in the role, Shiro connects with customers and begins to understand the happiness and democratizing power the place offers. The film will be presented at AMC Newcity 14, 1500 N. Clybourn, (September 8).
Centerpiece film Harvest Moon is Mongolian actor Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam's debut feature as director. An award-winning screenwriter, he adapted this father-son story from a short novel by T. Bum-Erden, following a city chef who must fulfill the harvesting in his village after his father dies. Representing Mongolia in the international feature 2022 Oscar submission, the film will be presented at AMC Newcity...
Centerpiece film Harvest Moon is Mongolian actor Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam's debut feature as director. An award-winning screenwriter, he adapted this father-son story from a short novel by T. Bum-Erden, following a city chef who must fulfill the harvesting in his village after his father dies. Representing Mongolia in the international feature 2022 Oscar submission, the film will be presented at AMC Newcity...
- 8/23/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
A great respect to traditions and rituals, makes possible that in Japan there is a “do” (way) for almost everything. Therefore, a few years ago scriptwriter Kundo Koyama of Oscar-winning “Departures” fame, came out with the idea that a “yu-do” (the way of the hot water/bath) would be not only possible but also very believable. From this reflection, the original script of “Yudo: The Way of the Bath” stemmed and developed to the 2023 film directed by Masayuki Suzuki.
“Yudo: The Way of the Bath” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
After shining briefly as a rising star of the Tokyo scene, architect Shiro Miura (Toma Ikuta) struggles to find his way as a solo professional, and – after his father's passing – decides to go back to his provincial hometown and take hold of the dying family business, the Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse (sento) that his father...
“Yudo: The Way of the Bath” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
After shining briefly as a rising star of the Tokyo scene, architect Shiro Miura (Toma Ikuta) struggles to find his way as a solo professional, and – after his father's passing – decides to go back to his provincial hometown and take hold of the dying family business, the Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse (sento) that his father...
- 4/30/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
First Love Hatsukoi is a Netflix romantic drama series written and directed by Yuri Kanchiku and starring Hikari Mitsushima and Takeru Satō.
In nine episodes you can follow the stories of Yae and Hurimichi as they reminisce about the time they fell in love.
Premise
Their lives did not turn out to be as wondrous as they had expected when then were young, free and madly in love. Everything was so much easier as teenagers, they had everything they could dream of, especially, love. Now, grown and disenchanted with life they will lean on their memories to make it through the day, one dull day at a time. No amount of lackluster, no harsh reality, will take that away from them, they will always have those beautiful memories.
First Love Season 1. Chapters When the Lilacs Bloom
Yae drives through the streets of Sapporo as a taxi driver. Back in her rural hometown,...
In nine episodes you can follow the stories of Yae and Hurimichi as they reminisce about the time they fell in love.
Premise
Their lives did not turn out to be as wondrous as they had expected when then were young, free and madly in love. Everything was so much easier as teenagers, they had everything they could dream of, especially, love. Now, grown and disenchanted with life they will lean on their memories to make it through the day, one dull day at a time. No amount of lackluster, no harsh reality, will take that away from them, they will always have those beautiful memories.
First Love Season 1. Chapters When the Lilacs Bloom
Yae drives through the streets of Sapporo as a taxi driver. Back in her rural hometown,...
- 11/21/2022
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
Following the success of “Midnight Swan”, which won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Picture, Uchida decided to return to one of his favorite themes, the meta “film about films” concept, continuing in the same level of quality he exhibited in titles like “Lowlife Love” and “The Naked Director”.
Shrieking in the Rain is screening at Camera Japan
The story takes place in an anonymous studio during the summer of 1988, where video production for home rentals has reached its highest peak. First-time director Hanako Hayashi is in charge, but the truth is, she actually isn’t. At all. Instead, she experiences frequent meltdowns, as in the initial scene where she has locked herself in the prop car, not talking to anybody, exhibits rather eloquently, her directions are vague, contradicting, and rather annoying for the cast and crew who get increasingly fed up with her. The fact that most of them...
Shrieking in the Rain is screening at Camera Japan
The story takes place in an anonymous studio during the summer of 1988, where video production for home rentals has reached its highest peak. First-time director Hanako Hayashi is in charge, but the truth is, she actually isn’t. At all. Instead, she experiences frequent meltdowns, as in the initial scene where she has locked herself in the prop car, not talking to anybody, exhibits rather eloquently, her directions are vague, contradicting, and rather annoying for the cast and crew who get increasingly fed up with her. The fact that most of them...
- 9/26/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The easiest way to describe the tone of Satoshi Miki’s realization of an objectively ingenious concept (What happens to the rotting carcass of a defeated kaiju?), is to mention the question to which every journalist demands an answer after a blister filled with the gaseous byproduct of the monster’s decomposition bursts: Does it smell like poo or puke? If that sounds like your idea of a good time for two hours, Daikaijū no Atoshimatsu [What to do with the Dead Kaiju?] is for you. If it doesn’t, however, the film will feel more like a different scene occurring much later, one where a character electronically leaks a classified photo and text file. Rather than an instantaneous transfer, we must literally watch the progress bar slowly fill to completion.
That’s how most films in this vein feel to me, though: the whole lowest common denominator comedic send-up of a usually earnestly dramatic genre piece a la Scary Movie.
That’s how most films in this vein feel to me, though: the whole lowest common denominator comedic send-up of a usually earnestly dramatic genre piece a la Scary Movie.
- 8/3/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
An emerging auteur in Japanese cinema, Satoshi Miki isn’t the first name thought of to helm a big-budget, mainstream-ready kaiju film, and he seems up to the task with his latest offering “What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?” Managing to blend together a range of influences from political satire, romantic comedy, and popcorn-style action into a cocktail that doesn’t always deliver on the mark, this rousing new genre effort will have its international premiere at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival.
“What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival
Following the creatures’ sudden appearance and subsequent death, the carcass of a giant monster is left behind while the joyful citizens celebrate its defeat and the attempt to revert to a normal life. The task of disposing of the behemoth falls to Arata Obinata (Ryosuke Yamada), a member of the fictional Japan Special Forces.
“What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival
Following the creatures’ sudden appearance and subsequent death, the carcass of a giant monster is left behind while the joyful citizens celebrate its defeat and the attempt to revert to a normal life. The task of disposing of the behemoth falls to Arata Obinata (Ryosuke Yamada), a member of the fictional Japan Special Forces.
- 8/2/2022
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Based on the homonymous manga series by Minoru Furuya, the film starts as a comedy-drama, from the plethora coming out from the Japanese movie industry. In that fashion, the central heroes are two awkward individuals, Susumu Okada and Yuji Ando, who work for a cleaning company. Yuji talks like a robot and seems to lack any kind of social skills and Susumu is an unambitious youth, who is troubled by the fact that his life seems to have no meaning, whatsoever. Eventually, Yuji tells Susumu that he is in love with a waitress in a cafe, Yuka Abe, and asks his help to get to know her. The first time they come to the shop, Yuji points out another man who seems to be constantly there, also having an in interest in Yuka. This man, Shoichi Morita, proves to be Susumu’s ex classmate. Soon, Yuka informs them that Morita is stalking her,...
- 7/31/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Sake Bomb is the name of a drinking game, where you place a cup of sake on two chopsticks, over a big glass of beer and then you pull the chopsticks, the sake drops into the beer and you drink it as fast as you can. It even featured at The Brewing Art as the most intriguing combination of drinks in Western countries in the early 2010s. Inspired by this mixture of American and Japanese drink, Junya Sakino directs a comedy concerning the mixture of Asians and Americans within the USA and the tragicomical situations that arise from the coexistence of two very different cultures. Let’s take a closer look though.
Naoto is a shy and somewhat naive young man who works at a sake distillery in Japan. At some point, he inherits the business and at the same time gets a week of vacation before he takes over.
Naoto is a shy and somewhat naive young man who works at a sake distillery in Japan. At some point, he inherits the business and at the same time gets a week of vacation before he takes over.
- 7/30/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
After focusing on the lives of elderly people in “Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday” and “Mori, The Artist’s Habitat”, not to talk about some of the wonderful secondary characters in his films, director Shuichi Okita is at it again with “Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone” a lengthy exploration of the life and mind of a lovely (and lonely) widow. The film is based on an incredibly popular 2017 novel by Chisako Wakatake titled (like the film) Ora ora de hitori igu mo, that secured its writer the prestigious Akutagawa Prize and Bungei Prize.
“Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Momoko (Yuko Tanaka) is a seventy-five-year-old lady, not dissimilar from many women we know and see all the time; mums, aunties, grannies. She is a recent widow and is adapting and adjusting to a life on her own. Loneliness is sweet at times and bitter at others...
“Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Momoko (Yuko Tanaka) is a seventy-five-year-old lady, not dissimilar from many women we know and see all the time; mums, aunties, grannies. She is a recent widow and is adapting and adjusting to a life on her own. Loneliness is sweet at times and bitter at others...
- 6/8/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
“Earwig and the Witch” is the upcoming Japanese computer-animated television film produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Gorō Miyazaki, and it is supposed to be a faithful adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’s eponymous novel. Takes a more three-dimensional approach, “Earwig and the Witch” marks a profound shift in style from the classin Studio Ghibli. The cast includes 13-year-old child actress Kokoro Hirasawa Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyokawa, Gaku Hamada, and the script is by veteran Ghibli writer Keiko Niwa. It is scheduled to air on Nhk on December 30, 2020, with no word as yet of a theatrical release in the country.
Synopsis
In 1990s England, Earwig, a 10-year-old orphan girl who grew up without knowing that she is a witch’s daughter, is taken from the orphanage and adopted by a strange duo and starts living with them in a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.
Synopsis
In 1990s England, Earwig, a 10-year-old orphan girl who grew up without knowing that she is a witch’s daughter, is taken from the orphanage and adopted by a strange duo and starts living with them in a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.
- 12/2/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Synopsis
Based on a novel by Kotaro Isaka, “Fish Story” weaves together several seemingly separate storylines taking place at different points in time over a 37-year span to explain how a little-known punk rock song can save the world.
In 1975, an unpopular Japanese punk band called Gekirin (Wrath) break up soon after recording their final song: Fish Story. In 1982 a timid college student named Masashi (Gaku Hamada) becomes fascinated by strange rumors surrounding the song. In 2009 a teenager named Asami (Mikako Tabe) falls asleep during a school field trip and gets left behind on a boat which is taken over by terrorists. In 2012 a huge comet can be seen in the sky on a path to destroy Earth. How does a little punk song connect all these events?
Special Features
Making Of
‘Gekirin’ various Live Performances
‘Gekirin’ Talk Show
Director & Cast Q&a
Deleted Scenes...
Based on a novel by Kotaro Isaka, “Fish Story” weaves together several seemingly separate storylines taking place at different points in time over a 37-year span to explain how a little-known punk rock song can save the world.
In 1975, an unpopular Japanese punk band called Gekirin (Wrath) break up soon after recording their final song: Fish Story. In 1982 a timid college student named Masashi (Gaku Hamada) becomes fascinated by strange rumors surrounding the song. In 2009 a teenager named Asami (Mikako Tabe) falls asleep during a school field trip and gets left behind on a boat which is taken over by terrorists. In 2012 a huge comet can be seen in the sky on a path to destroy Earth. How does a little punk song connect all these events?
Special Features
Making Of
‘Gekirin’ various Live Performances
‘Gekirin’ Talk Show
Director & Cast Q&a
Deleted Scenes...
- 7/11/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Summer Sale
1-21 July
It’s that time of the year for the Third Window Films/Arrow Video Summer Sale!
DVDs from £4 and blurays from £7! Worldwide Shipping!
From July 1-21st
Shop now at: https://bit.ly/2BVEd9l
Upcoming Releases
3 great Japanese films available to pre-order Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu,...
1-21 July
It’s that time of the year for the Third Window Films/Arrow Video Summer Sale!
DVDs from £4 and blurays from £7! Worldwide Shipping!
From July 1-21st
Shop now at: https://bit.ly/2BVEd9l
Upcoming Releases
3 great Japanese films available to pre-order Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu,...
- 7/3/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Based on his own, autobiographical novel “Chibusa ni Ka”, Shin Adachi’s “A Beloved Wife” is an amalgam of genres that paints a rather realistic portrait of modern relationships, although somewhat exaggerated for comedic reasons.
“A Beloved Wife” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival 2020
Gota, much like Adachi after the success of “100 Yen Love” is a script-writer that had a success in the past, but now does not seem to get any break. An adaptation of a book he has written has not been picked up for years, and no new scripts come his way. This failure of his has put a rather significant toll on his wife, Chika, who is the sole earner of their household. Chika is rather frustrated due to his inability to earn and does not lose any chance to grind him about the fact, with her nagging being almost constant, to the frustration of their little daughter,...
“A Beloved Wife” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival 2020
Gota, much like Adachi after the success of “100 Yen Love” is a script-writer that had a success in the past, but now does not seem to get any break. An adaptation of a book he has written has not been picked up for years, and no new scripts come his way. This failure of his has put a rather significant toll on his wife, Chika, who is the sole earner of their household. Chika is rather frustrated due to his inability to earn and does not lose any chance to grind him about the fact, with her nagging being almost constant, to the frustration of their little daughter,...
- 7/1/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Three upcoming Japanese films from Third Window Films are now available for preorder.
Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu, Toshihiko befriends the beautiful, Apollo-like Ukai (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), the contemplative Kira (Keishi Nagatsuka), the ingenuous Akine (Hirona Yamazaki) and the brooding Chitose (Mugi Kadowaki) as they all contend with the war’s inescapable gravitational pull.
Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu, Toshihiko befriends the beautiful, Apollo-like Ukai (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), the contemplative Kira (Keishi Nagatsuka), the ingenuous Akine (Hirona Yamazaki) and the brooding Chitose (Mugi Kadowaki) as they all contend with the war’s inescapable gravitational pull.
- 6/16/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Asian Pop-Up Cinema presented by Sophia’s Choice is looking to spread some Father’s Day Cheer with free screenings of three Japanese films on the subject of fatherhood. Registration for each showing is required, you can find those links and more information on the films on Asian Pop Up Cinema site.
The Hikitas’s Are Expecting! (2019) by Toru Hosokawa
Directed by Toru Hosokawa, starring Gaku Hamada, Shiro Ito, Yutaka Matsushige & Keiko Kitawa, this Japanese drama tells the story of a 49-yr-old writer and his wife. They are happily married without children for some time until one day the wife decides she wants a child. After numerous attempts to conceive, nothing happens. In frustration, they go to the hospital to get tests and answers. What they discover is not what was expected. (Asian Pop-up Cinema)
My Dad and Mr. Ito (2016) by Yuki Tanada
Directed by woman director Yuki Tanada, starring Juri Ueno,...
The Hikitas’s Are Expecting! (2019) by Toru Hosokawa
Directed by Toru Hosokawa, starring Gaku Hamada, Shiro Ito, Yutaka Matsushige & Keiko Kitawa, this Japanese drama tells the story of a 49-yr-old writer and his wife. They are happily married without children for some time until one day the wife decides she wants a child. After numerous attempts to conceive, nothing happens. In frustration, they go to the hospital to get tests and answers. What they discover is not what was expected. (Asian Pop-up Cinema)
My Dad and Mr. Ito (2016) by Yuki Tanada
Directed by woman director Yuki Tanada, starring Juri Ueno,...
- 6/10/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
We’ve all seen couples like Gota and Chika Yanagida — some of us may even be in one. In writer-director Shin Adachi’s “A Beloved Wife,” the Yanagidas bicker constantly, turning their near-constant state of marital conflict into a kind of public performance, sucking friends and strangers alike into the typhoon of their discomfort. Are they really so unhappy, or is this all some kind of routine, a combative sort of foreplay before a marathon bout of make-up sex?
Only Gota and Chika can be sure, although one thing is certain: It can be exhausting to witness such a dynamic in real life, whereas Adachi’s autobiographical satire never wears out its welcome, counting on the likability of its cast to overcome behavior most of us couldn’t stand in real life. As the semi-ironic title suggests, “A Beloved Wife” is simultaneously tough and affectionate with both parties, amounting to...
Only Gota and Chika can be sure, although one thing is certain: It can be exhausting to witness such a dynamic in real life, whereas Adachi’s autobiographical satire never wears out its welcome, counting on the likability of its cast to overcome behavior most of us couldn’t stand in real life. As the semi-ironic title suggests, “A Beloved Wife” is simultaneously tough and affectionate with both parties, amounting to...
- 11/11/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Two Japanese films, “Tezuka’s Barbara” and “A Beloved Wife” have been selected for the main competition section of next month’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
The festival will reveal the remainder of the competition and the bulk of its other selections later this month. To date the Japanese festival has only revealed its opening film a gala screening of Japanese film “Talking The Pictures,” directed by Masayuki Suo, and Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” as its closing event.
“Barbara” is an adult-oriented fantasy tale, directed by Makoto Tezka who adapts his father Osamu Tezka’s famous novel, itself a reimagining of “The Tales of Hoffmann.” The story deals with the erotic and bizarre experiences of a novelist whose life is turned upside down by a mysterious girl named Barbara, and touches on taboos including forbidden love, eroticism, scandal and the occult.
Tokyo festival selector Yoshi Yatabe called it: “extremely luxurious and fortunate filmmaking,...
The festival will reveal the remainder of the competition and the bulk of its other selections later this month. To date the Japanese festival has only revealed its opening film a gala screening of Japanese film “Talking The Pictures,” directed by Masayuki Suo, and Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” as its closing event.
“Barbara” is an adult-oriented fantasy tale, directed by Makoto Tezka who adapts his father Osamu Tezka’s famous novel, itself a reimagining of “The Tales of Hoffmann.” The story deals with the erotic and bizarre experiences of a novelist whose life is turned upside down by a mysterious girl named Barbara, and touches on taboos including forbidden love, eroticism, scandal and the occult.
Tokyo festival selector Yoshi Yatabe called it: “extremely luxurious and fortunate filmmaking,...
- 9/18/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Yoshihiro Nakamura has emerged as one of the most interesting Japanese directors during the last two decades, highlighting his prowess in a number of genres, usually through great stories, since his directorial credits include films like “Mumon: The Land of Stealth”, “The Snow White Murder Case” and “Fish Story”. The present film was one of his first and the one that netted him the Kaneto Shindo Prize, given to the most promising new director by the Japan Film Makers’ Association.
Watch This Title
Based on Kotaro Isaka’s novel, the story revolves around college student Shiina, who has just moved to his apartment in Sendai, in order to study law. Almost immediately, he meets a rather strange neighbor his age, Kawasaki, who approaches him due to their common interest for Bob Dylan. Shiina is perplexed by Kawasaki’s behaviour, but takes a liking to him, despite his rather illogical talk...
Watch This Title
Based on Kotaro Isaka’s novel, the story revolves around college student Shiina, who has just moved to his apartment in Sendai, in order to study law. Almost immediately, he meets a rather strange neighbor his age, Kawasaki, who approaches him due to their common interest for Bob Dylan. Shiina is perplexed by Kawasaki’s behaviour, but takes a liking to him, despite his rather illogical talk...
- 5/27/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
"That nutty old man is my father." GKids has debuted a trailer for the animated film called Miss Hokusai, which opened in Japan in 2015 and played at numerous film festivals last year. The film is about the life and works of Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter Katsushika Hokusai, also known as Tetsuzo, as seen from the eyes of his daughter, Katsushika O-Ei. You all know his work because Hokusai painted the very famous piece known as "The Great Wave off Kanagawa". The voice cast includes Anne Watanabe as O-Ei, Yutaka Matsushige as Hokusai, plus Kumiko Asô, Gaku Hamada and Kengo Kôra. Not only is it cool to see a story about Hokusai, but it's lovely to see it told from the perspective of his daughter, who was dedicated to making sure her father could produce this art. I love catching up with animated films like this. Take a look. Here's...
- 8/27/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
There’s this nutty old man who painted a huge Dharma on a huge sheet of paper and draws sparrows on tiny rice grains. Some may know him as Hokusai the painter, but his daughter, O-Ei, knows him as Tetsuzo.
A new trailer for Keiichi Hara’s animated coming-of-age tale, “Miss Hokusai,” has just been released, courtesy of Gkids and Japanese powerhouse Production I.G. The film follows the remarkable story of the daughter behind one of history’s most famous artists.
As all of Edo flocks to see the work of the revered painter Hokusai (voiced by Yutaka Matsushige), his daughter O-Ei (Anne Watanabe) toils diligently inside his studio. The latest trailer shows her as she begins to work on her own masterful portraits – sold under the name of her father – which are coveted by upper crust Lords and journeyman print makers alike.
Read More: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings...
A new trailer for Keiichi Hara’s animated coming-of-age tale, “Miss Hokusai,” has just been released, courtesy of Gkids and Japanese powerhouse Production I.G. The film follows the remarkable story of the daughter behind one of history’s most famous artists.
As all of Edo flocks to see the work of the revered painter Hokusai (voiced by Yutaka Matsushige), his daughter O-Ei (Anne Watanabe) toils diligently inside his studio. The latest trailer shows her as she begins to work on her own masterful portraits – sold under the name of her father – which are coveted by upper crust Lords and journeyman print makers alike.
Read More: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings...
- 8/26/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Cast: Anne Watanabe, Michitaka Tsutsui, Yutaka Matsushige, Kumiko Asô, Shion Shimizu, Gaku Hamada, Kengo Kôra | Written by Miho Maruo | Based on the manga by Hinako Sugiura | Directed by Keiichi Hara
Choosing to depict an artist’s life in a form close to their own can be a tightrope walk. Miss Hokusai dares to examine the work and lives of two Japanese artists in the form of anime, but this turns out to be a natural fit: the broad brushstrokes of its principals stand in harmonious contrast to the considerably less stylised but no less lovely animation of the film. It’s a shame that this is the only aspect of the film that really strikes a chord.
Set in 19th-century Edo (later known as Tokyo), Miss Hokusai centers on talented young artist O-Ei and her father, the Hokusai of the film’s title, also a painter but with far greater success.
Choosing to depict an artist’s life in a form close to their own can be a tightrope walk. Miss Hokusai dares to examine the work and lives of two Japanese artists in the form of anime, but this turns out to be a natural fit: the broad brushstrokes of its principals stand in harmonious contrast to the considerably less stylised but no less lovely animation of the film. It’s a shame that this is the only aspect of the film that really strikes a chord.
Set in 19th-century Edo (later known as Tokyo), Miss Hokusai centers on talented young artist O-Ei and her father, the Hokusai of the film’s title, also a painter but with far greater success.
- 2/4/2016
- by Mark Allen
- Nerdly
Junya Sakino is a new japanese director, that has previously worked as a cinematographer and producer, both in Japan and the Us. On the occasion of the release of his first feature film, Sake Bomb he answered some of my questions. I will not get into further details about him as the interview is quite biographical
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your first feature film, Sake bomb. Could you tell us a bit about the path that brought you from Japan to the U.S and the making of this movie.?
I was born and raised in Japan and decided to move to Los Angeles to purse a filmmaking career. It’s not that I didn’t consider staying in Japan, but it made sense for me that there were a lot of universities that offered film studies, so my natural instinct was just to...
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your first feature film, Sake bomb. Could you tell us a bit about the path that brought you from Japan to the U.S and the making of this movie.?
I was born and raised in Japan and decided to move to Los Angeles to purse a filmmaking career. It’s not that I didn’t consider staying in Japan, but it made sense for me that there were a lot of universities that offered film studies, so my natural instinct was just to...
- 9/12/2015
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Welcome back to This Week In Discs! If you see something you like, click on the title to buy it from Amazon. See You Tomorrow Everyone (UK) Satoru Watarai (Gaku Hamada) graduates from primary school with only one certainty. He plans on never leaving the “projects” where he lives. The gated community of apartment complexes also features stores, restaurants, recreation areas and more, and Satoru sees no reason to leave. As the years pass by he watches as his friends move away, he loses the love of his life, and he begins to question his physical inability to set foot outside the projects. Director Yoshihiro Nakamura is no stranger to ridiculously good cinema, and anyone who’s seen Fish Story, Golden Slumber, or A Boy & His Samurai knows that he mixes entertainment and emotion in wonderfully rare ways. His latest lacks a fantastical element or song-related hook, and instead focuses on the presumably stunted life of one...
- 10/15/2013
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
★★★★☆ In the interview included on Third Window's release of See You Tomorrow, Everyone (2013) director Yoshihiro Nakamura acknowledges how his film makes certain demands of the audience. Specifically, he notes the sharp turn in tone that occurs midway through. Though some viewers may indeed be troubled by this abrupt shift, or understandably resent that key narrative information has been withheld, that's also where much of the artistry lies. You omit this shift, and you're left with a disarming coming-of-age story that would certainly deserve its own fans, but not the kind of ambitious work that one expects from Nakamura.
Based on a novel by Takehiko Kubodera, See You Tomorrow, Everyone stars the hard-to-dislike Gaku Hamada as Satoru, a middle-schooler who finds himself unable to leave his housing project even when he begins to push 30. At first we ascribe Satoru's avoidance of high school or even the streets beyond his neighbourhood as...
Based on a novel by Takehiko Kubodera, See You Tomorrow, Everyone stars the hard-to-dislike Gaku Hamada as Satoru, a middle-schooler who finds himself unable to leave his housing project even when he begins to push 30. At first we ascribe Satoru's avoidance of high school or even the streets beyond his neighbourhood as...
- 10/15/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
(Screened at the 2013 Raindance Film Festival) By way of explanation – a sake bomb is a drink whereby you place a cup of sake on two chopsticks over a glass of beer, then knock the sake into the beer and swiftly drink. It’s also the feature debut from Junya Sakino, a director born in Japan and who moved to the Us to study film making. The film is a culture clash comedy with a twist, following a young Japanese man called Naoto (Gaku Hamada, recently in the excellent “See You Tomorrow, Everyone”), who after learning that he is to inherit a sake brewery in Japan, decides to fulfil his dearest wish first by traveling to the Us to try and track down his long lost love. On arrival, he’s hooked up with his angry, sarcastic web-blogger Japanese-American cousin Sebastian (TV and video game voice actor Eugene Kim), who reluctantly...
- 10/3/2013
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
The team behind the hugely entertaining Fish Story are set to unleash a multi-layered look into life on a Japanese council estate. Yoshihiro Nakamura is one of the rare examples of directors that can make entertaining films from very complex and intelligent stories. See You Tomorrow, Everyone is another great example of multi-layered stories mixed with interesting characters in a very entertaining setting. Starring Gaku Hamada (Sake Bomb, Fish Story), Kento Nagayama (Shield of Straw, Crime or Punishment?!?) & Nene Ohtsuka (I Wish, The Foreign Duck The Native Duck & God in a Coin Locker), See You Tomorrow, Everyone is yours to own on U.K. DVD from October 14th, 2013, courtesy of Third Window Films. Synopsis: Gaku Hamada is Satoru, a simple boy who lives in a government-built estate where he is told that life is so perfect that he never wants to leave. The estate has everything one needs for a happy life; schools,...
- 9/5/2013
- 24framespersecond.net
The full Fantasia 2013 lineup has now been revealed, and we have here the third and final wave of titles to share. Prepare to drool!
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the rest of our 120-feature lineup that comprises our 2013 event, along with a string of additional details that mark our 17th edition as a standout. Fantasia will engulf the city of Montreal from July 18-August 6, 2013. Be sure to visit the Fantasia Film Festival website for detailed essays on every title announced here, as well as all films previously disclosed over the last weeks.
Before we get started on titles... Meet Our 2013 Juries
Main Competition For The Cheval Noir Award For Best Film
Jury President: Laura Kern (Critic, Curator, managing editor, Film Comment)
Jean-Pierre Bergeron (Actor, Director, Screenwriter)
Samuel Jamier (Co-Director of the New York Asian Film Festival, Programmer at Japan Society)
Jarod Neece (Senior Programmer and Operations Manager,...
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the rest of our 120-feature lineup that comprises our 2013 event, along with a string of additional details that mark our 17th edition as a standout. Fantasia will engulf the city of Montreal from July 18-August 6, 2013. Be sure to visit the Fantasia Film Festival website for detailed essays on every title announced here, as well as all films previously disclosed over the last weeks.
Before we get started on titles... Meet Our 2013 Juries
Main Competition For The Cheval Noir Award For Best Film
Jury President: Laura Kern (Critic, Curator, managing editor, Film Comment)
Jean-Pierre Bergeron (Actor, Director, Screenwriter)
Samuel Jamier (Co-Director of the New York Asian Film Festival, Programmer at Japan Society)
Jarod Neece (Senior Programmer and Operations Manager,...
- 7/9/2013
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
The Fantasia Film Festival is taking place from July 18th to August 6th in Montreal and will feature over 100 films from around the world. We gave you a look at the initial lineup last month and now have an additional list of Fantasia 2013 films that will be screening, including Curse of Chucky, You’re Next, and Frankenstein’s Army:
Horror Is Child’S Play – Don Mancini’S Curse Of Chucky (World Premiere)
A rarity among genre franchises, the Child’S Play series (begun in 1988) has retained the sure-handed guidance of original screenwriter/creator Don Mancini throughout killer doll Chucky’s decades’-long reign of horror. Mancini, who will be hosting our “scar-studded” world premiere, graduated to the director’s chair with 2004’s Seed Of Chucky, after having co-written or written every entry in the series. His longevity with the project is, of course, matched by the fiendish voiceover work by...
Horror Is Child’S Play – Don Mancini’S Curse Of Chucky (World Premiere)
A rarity among genre franchises, the Child’S Play series (begun in 1988) has retained the sure-handed guidance of original screenwriter/creator Don Mancini throughout killer doll Chucky’s decades’-long reign of horror. Mancini, who will be hosting our “scar-studded” world premiere, graduated to the director’s chair with 2004’s Seed Of Chucky, after having co-written or written every entry in the series. His longevity with the project is, of course, matched by the fiendish voiceover work by...
- 7/9/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
I had planned to see the dark foreign film The Five Seasons at the Violet Crown on opening night, but was easily convinced by my friend Anna Hanks to try Sake-Bomb instead. The light cross-cultural road-trip comedy was just what I needed after the intense Upstream Color screening. Sake-Bomb was filmed in both Japan and California, and follows sake factory employee Naoto (Gaku Hamada) as he visits his uncle and cousin Sebastian (Eugene Kim) in L.A. and tries to find the woman who broke his heart (and lives in Petaluma).
Director Junya Sakino introduced the film, and since it was the movie's world premiere, some cast members were in attendance as well. I was in theatre 4 during the screening, and we watched the live feed from theatre 3. When it started, we actually worried we'd be watching the film via the live feed as well, but they then switched it on for our screen.
Director Junya Sakino introduced the film, and since it was the movie's world premiere, some cast members were in attendance as well. I was in theatre 4 during the screening, and we watched the live feed from theatre 3. When it started, we actually worried we'd be watching the film via the live feed as well, but they then switched it on for our screen.
- 3/18/2013
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Another year and another great festival wraps up deep in the heart of Texas. As the curtains draw to a close on the Paramount and the music fades, Friday marked the end of another great festival at South by Southwest. With over a hundred films screened, this year’s festival has introduced a plethora of great films to audiences. The festival has been a chance to showcase big headliners like Evil Dead as well as highlight fantastic indies like Zero Charisma. The greatest thing about these festivals is the air of collaboration between various artists, admirers, and professionals alike. Hearing a conversation between a music badge holder, film badge press, and interactive entrepreneurs sums up South by Southwest succinctly. It really captures the spirit of South by Southwest and reminds us why Austin is a true Mecca for creativity and collaboration. Signing off from Austin, TX, see y’all next year!
- 3/17/2013
- by David Tran
- SoundOnSight
Sake-Bomb
Directed by Junya Sakino
Written by Jeff Mizushima (screenplay)
Us/Japan, 2013
Sake-Bomb follows the odd couple pairing of Sebastian (Eugene Kim), an aimless and sardonic Asian-American, and his inexperienced Japanese cousin Naoto (Gaku Hamada) as they search California for the latter’s ex flame. Before Naoto inherits his own sake company, he sets off to America in order to find the girl that got away. Sebastian is a twenty-something, second generation Asian -American with no job and dreams to be the next viral video star, making videos that belligerently debunk Asian stereotypes. Together, they follow the typical road trip movie tropes that take them to unexpected places, interesting people, and a few life lessons along the way.
When it comes to the self discovery road genre of films, Sake-Bomb satisfies with laughs, emotion, and broad ethnic themes but does not do much in the way of revolutionizing the wheel.
Directed by Junya Sakino
Written by Jeff Mizushima (screenplay)
Us/Japan, 2013
Sake-Bomb follows the odd couple pairing of Sebastian (Eugene Kim), an aimless and sardonic Asian-American, and his inexperienced Japanese cousin Naoto (Gaku Hamada) as they search California for the latter’s ex flame. Before Naoto inherits his own sake company, he sets off to America in order to find the girl that got away. Sebastian is a twenty-something, second generation Asian -American with no job and dreams to be the next viral video star, making videos that belligerently debunk Asian stereotypes. Together, they follow the typical road trip movie tropes that take them to unexpected places, interesting people, and a few life lessons along the way.
When it comes to the self discovery road genre of films, Sake-Bomb satisfies with laughs, emotion, and broad ethnic themes but does not do much in the way of revolutionizing the wheel.
- 3/13/2013
- by David Tran
- SoundOnSight
There's really nothing as funny as some good ironically racist humor, which is exactly what looks to be on full display in this Twitch exclusive trailer debut for Junya Sakino SXSW Premiering debut feature Sake-Bomb. Billed as a sexed-up road comedy, the film is written by Jeff Mizushima and stars Gaku Hamada, Eugene Kim, Marlane Barnes, and Josh Brodis. Here is the description from the press notes, followed by the trailer: Sebastian is a bitter, self-hating wannabe Internet star from Los Angeles who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend and is looking for someone new. When his cousin Naoto, a quiet sake maker from Japan, shows up to find his own ex-girlfriend, Sebastian reluctantly takes him to northern California to find her. The...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/26/2013
- Screen Anarchy
The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck & The God In A Coin Locker
Stars: Gaku Hamada, Eita, Megumi Seki, Kei Tamura, Nene Ohtsuka | Written by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Ken’ichi Suzuki | Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura
There are some film titles that just make you think, they aim to confuse you and offer no explanation as to what they mean. A prime example is The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck & God in a Coin Locker. It’s not until you get to the end of the film and take in the full story that you truly understand the concept and realise what a good film this is.
Shiina (Gaku Hamada) is moving into the city to be a student and moves into an apartment building. Upon meeting his neighbour Kawasaki (Eita) they soon find friendship through their mutual love of Bob Dylan. Feeling like an outside in the city Shiina is taken under...
Stars: Gaku Hamada, Eita, Megumi Seki, Kei Tamura, Nene Ohtsuka | Written by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Ken’ichi Suzuki | Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura
There are some film titles that just make you think, they aim to confuse you and offer no explanation as to what they mean. A prime example is The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck & God in a Coin Locker. It’s not until you get to the end of the film and take in the full story that you truly understand the concept and realise what a good film this is.
Shiina (Gaku Hamada) is moving into the city to be a student and moves into an apartment building. Upon meeting his neighbour Kawasaki (Eita) they soon find friendship through their mutual love of Bob Dylan. Feeling like an outside in the city Shiina is taken under...
- 1/18/2013
- by Pzomb
- Nerdly
Yoshihiro Nakamura isn’t as high a profile Japanese director as folks like Takashi Miike or Kiyoshi Kurosawa, but he truly deserves to be. His early career focused on horror, but the last few years have seen him deliver powerfully affecting entertainment in the form of films that explore friendships and relationships through fresh, thrilling and often fascinating stories. Fish Story, Golden Slumber and A Boy and His Samurai are fantastic movies, each charming and supremely entertaining in their own ways., and any one of those films would mark Nakamura as a director to watch. But all three on his resume means anything he directs deserves at least a cursory glance. Thanks to Third Window Films those of us who don’t speak Japanese finally have the opportunity to view one that preceded the three above but retains some of the same themes and much of the quality. “And you have been dragged into a story that...
- 1/13/2013
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck & God in a Coin Locker
A film by Yoshihiro Nakamura (Fish Story, Golden Slumber)
Starring: Eita (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Memories of Matsuko)
Gaku Hamada (Fish Story, Space Brothers)
Ryuhei Matsuda (Nightmare Detective, Blue Spring, Gohatto)
Japan / 2007 / 110 Mins / In Japanese with English subtitles / Colour / 35mm
Out on DVD January 11th, 2013
DVD Special Features:
35 minute ‘Making Of’, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailer
College student Shiina (Gaku Hamada from Fish Story) has just moved into his new flat in Sendai. Meets his new neighbour Kawasaki (Eita from Hara Kiri: Death of a Samurai) Excluding both the tremendous physical and psychological differences between both characters, an unexpected friendships grows up out of a mutual interest in Bob Dylan.
The rigid and predictable Shiina is dragged by the magnetism of Kawasaki’s looney world of anarchy and creativity. Kawasaki’s crazy ideas, like his paranoia about pet...
A film by Yoshihiro Nakamura (Fish Story, Golden Slumber)
Starring: Eita (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Memories of Matsuko)
Gaku Hamada (Fish Story, Space Brothers)
Ryuhei Matsuda (Nightmare Detective, Blue Spring, Gohatto)
Japan / 2007 / 110 Mins / In Japanese with English subtitles / Colour / 35mm
Out on DVD January 11th, 2013
DVD Special Features:
35 minute ‘Making Of’, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailer
College student Shiina (Gaku Hamada from Fish Story) has just moved into his new flat in Sendai. Meets his new neighbour Kawasaki (Eita from Hara Kiri: Death of a Samurai) Excluding both the tremendous physical and psychological differences between both characters, an unexpected friendships grows up out of a mutual interest in Bob Dylan.
The rigid and predictable Shiina is dragged by the magnetism of Kawasaki’s looney world of anarchy and creativity. Kawasaki’s crazy ideas, like his paranoia about pet...
- 12/23/2012
- by tealgranate
- AsianMoviePulse
A thriller based on a Beatles song, Golden Slumber (Gôruden suranbâ) is one of the most absurdly satisfying odes to friendship captured on film. Yoshihiro Nakamura's latest adaptation of a Kotaro Isaka novel pits the laid-back Aoyagi (Masato Sakai) against an assassination conspiracy wrapped up in revelations about trust.
Aoyagi's plans to catch up with a college buddy (Hidetaka Yoshioka) for a fishing trip are thwarted when the Prime Minister is assassinated. Suddenly the school day reminiscences are over as Aoyagi has been targeted as the prime suspect and it seems impossible he'll survive the day. Help comes from the most surprising of places as friends old and new make it their business to help the fugitive Aoyagi stay half a step ahead of corrupt police and the media. Just who his true friends are, and how they help or hurt him, make Golden Slumber seem like a movie half its 239-minute run time.
Aoyagi's plans to catch up with a college buddy (Hidetaka Yoshioka) for a fishing trip are thwarted when the Prime Minister is assassinated. Suddenly the school day reminiscences are over as Aoyagi has been targeted as the prime suspect and it seems impossible he'll survive the day. Help comes from the most surprising of places as friends old and new make it their business to help the fugitive Aoyagi stay half a step ahead of corrupt police and the media. Just who his true friends are, and how they help or hurt him, make Golden Slumber seem like a movie half its 239-minute run time.
- 10/4/2010
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
Yoshihiro Nakamura's time hopping, punk rock, end of the world comedy Fish Story has won a lot of love over the past year, scooping up awards by the handful as it travels the international festival circuit. And with the film about to receive a DVD release from the UK's Third Window Films on July 26th we've got three copies to give away to you, the faithful Twitch reader. Here's how Third Window describes the film:
Based on a novel by Kotaro Isaka, 'Fish Story' weaves together several seemingly separate storylines taking place at different points in time over a 37-year span to explain how a little-known punk rock song can save the world.
In 1975, an unpopular Japanese punk band called "Gekirin" (Wrath) starts work on their 3rd album. Unfortunately the band is a little ahead of its time; punk won't be marketable until the Sex Pistols debut in the UK the following year.
Based on a novel by Kotaro Isaka, 'Fish Story' weaves together several seemingly separate storylines taking place at different points in time over a 37-year span to explain how a little-known punk rock song can save the world.
In 1975, an unpopular Japanese punk band called "Gekirin" (Wrath) starts work on their 3rd album. Unfortunately the band is a little ahead of its time; punk won't be marketable until the Sex Pistols debut in the UK the following year.
- 7/25/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura. Review: Adam Wing. It’s fair to say that Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Fish Story defies genre convention. Based on a popular novel by Kotaro Isaka, the concept is straightforward enough. A little left of centre perhaps, telling the tale of a little known punk song that inadvertently saves the world. The film begins in 2012 as an elderly man makes his way through abandoned city streets, in the sky above him we are witness to an enormous meteorite making its way to Earth. The first sign of life is found in a record shop, where two young men are discussing a song by the largely unknown Japanese punk band Gekirin. The Sex Pistols had yet to make it big, and Gekirin were considered a little too quirky for mainstream music fans. Little did they know that their song would go on to play such an important role in the future of mankind.
- 7/15/2010
- 24framespersecond.net
UK label Third Window Films will be releasing Yoshihiro Nakamura's Fish Story on DVD next month, and the specs of the release are now finalized.
Based on a 2007 novel by Kotaro Isaka, the film ties together seemingly unrelated events from four different time periods over a 37-year span to explain how a single song by a failed punk rock band eventually saves the world from global extinction.
Plot: In 1975, a punk band called Gekirin records what will turn out to be their final song: "Fish Story". In 1982, a meek college student named Masashi (Gaku Hamada) hears strange rumors about a woman's scream being embedded in the track. Later, he meets a woman who predicts he'll save the world one day. In 2009, a teenager named Asami (Mikako Tabe) falls asleep during a class trip and is left behind on a boat. Criminals board the ship, but a mysterious cook who...
Based on a 2007 novel by Kotaro Isaka, the film ties together seemingly unrelated events from four different time periods over a 37-year span to explain how a single song by a failed punk rock band eventually saves the world from global extinction.
Plot: In 1975, a punk band called Gekirin records what will turn out to be their final song: "Fish Story". In 1982, a meek college student named Masashi (Gaku Hamada) hears strange rumors about a woman's scream being embedded in the track. Later, he meets a woman who predicts he'll save the world one day. In 2009, a teenager named Asami (Mikako Tabe) falls asleep during a class trip and is left behind on a boat. Criminals board the ship, but a mysterious cook who...
- 6/20/2010
- Nippon Cinema
Us distributor Viz Pictures will be releasing Katsuhide Motoki's Battle League Horumo on region 1 DVD in July. The film got its North American premiere at Fantasia 2009 and has subsequently been screened at Fantastic Fest, the Hawaii International Film Festival, and San Francisco's Viz Cinema.
Plot: After spending two long years cramming for his entrance exam, Akira Abe (Takayuki Yamada) finally gets accepted to Kyoto University. One day, he and his friend Takamura (Gaku Hamada) get invited to a party hosted by a club called "The Azure Dragons". They agree to attend for the free food, but it's at the party where Abe meets Kyoko Sawara (Sei Ashina) and instantly falls in love. Determined to get closer to Sawara, he decides to join the Dragons and convinces Kawamura to tag along.
What initially seems to be a typical university social club turns out to be part of a 1,000-year tradition...
Plot: After spending two long years cramming for his entrance exam, Akira Abe (Takayuki Yamada) finally gets accepted to Kyoto University. One day, he and his friend Takamura (Gaku Hamada) get invited to a party hosted by a club called "The Azure Dragons". They agree to attend for the free food, but it's at the party where Abe meets Kyoko Sawara (Sei Ashina) and instantly falls in love. Determined to get closer to Sawara, he decides to join the Dragons and convinces Kawamura to tag along.
What initially seems to be a typical university social club turns out to be part of a 1,000-year tradition...
- 5/8/2010
- Nippon Cinema
Shunsuke Kitami (Etsushi Toyokawa) is once the hottest photographer and during his life in early 40s he suddenly becoming so lazy that he have not touched his camera over the last one year since a trip to Okinawa with his wife Sakura (Hiroko Yakushimaru). Despite being persuaded by his assistant Makoto (Gaku Hamada) for him to return to work, Shunsuke's laziness remains and his womanizing behavior continues and this prompts Sakura to file for a divorce. One day Shunsuke tries to take advantage of an young actress, Ranko (Asami Mizukawa) after a photo session. At the same time Sakura arrives and he scrambles to look normal and ensure that nothing happens between both of them. Sakura wants Shunsuke to take last portrait of her while their divorce is being finalized. While developing the photo inside a dark room he sees one shot of Sakura running away from the camera and saying goodbye.
- 2/22/2010
- by simplyzane
- AsianMoviePulse
Rating: 8/10 Writers: Tamio Hayashi Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura Cast: Gaku Hamada, Atsushi Itô, Kengo Kora, Mirai Moriyama, Nao Omori, Mikako Tabe Studio: Amuse Soft Entertainment/Dub Can one song change the world? Music and, moreover, art in general, is a powerful tool that has influenced and encouraged people to achieve amazing feats. But did The Beatles ever stop a comet from [...]...
- 9/26/2009
- by James Wallace
- GordonandtheWhale
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