The official YouTube channel for Japanese rock band Bump Of Chicken has posted a collaboration music video for "Kaikou" ( Encounter ), the theme song for Onmyoji 0 , a new live-action film inspired by Baku Yumemakura's historical fantasy novel series. As their 21st digital single, the song released on April 15, ranking #1 in Oricon's daily digital single charts on its first day. The clip is composed of scenes from the film selected by Shimako Sato , who wrote and directed the film, and includes plenty of VFX scenes by the renowned video production company Shirogumi ( Godzilla Minus One ). Bump Of Chicken "Kaikou" × "Onmyoji 0" Collaboration Music Video Bump Of Chicken profile photo Related: Onmyoji 0 Live-Action Film Releases Full Trailer Featuring Bump Of Chicken Theme Song The film opens in Japan today on April 19, 2024. The novel series features Abe no Seimei, a real-life sorcerer/leading specialist of Onmyodo from the Heian period (a Japanese sorcery.
- 4/19/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
Voice actor Megumi Ogata (Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion ) announced on her official Twitter that she served as the narrator for a special trailer for Onmyoji 0 , a new live-action film inspired by Baku Yumemakura's historical fantasy novel series Onmyoji . "Awesome visuals...in a word, super cool!" Ogata said on Twitter. "Please check out the trailer and the movie!" The new clip features sorcery scenes by young Abe no Seimei, played by Kento Yamazaki, and visual effects created by Shirogumi ( Godzilla Minus One ). Ogata narrates the four abilities of Seimei: to cut through space, seal the enemy's spells, make a spiritual barrier, and summon hidden, powerful forces. Related: Onmyoji 0 Live-Action Film Releases Full Trailer Featuring Bump Of Chicken Theme Song Onmyoji 0 Main trailer The main cast for the movie includes: Abe no Seimei played by Kento Yamazaki Minamoto no Hiromasa played by Shota Sometani Queen Yoshiko played by Nao...
- 4/4/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
The official website for Onmyoji 0 , a new live-action film inspired by Baku Yumemakura's historical fantasy novel series Onmyoji , released a full trailer today featuring its theme song "Kaikou" ( Encounter ) performed by Japanese rock band Bump Of Chicken. The film is set to release in Japan on April 19, 2024. Poster visual Related: Onmyoji 0 Live-Action Film Posts New Teaser Trailer for April 2024 Release The main cast for the movie includes: Abe no Seimei played by Kento Yamazaki Minamoto no Hiromasa played by Shota Sometani Queen Yoshiko played by Nao Hegurino Sadafumi played by Masanobu Ando Tachibana no Yasuie played by Nijiro Murakami Emperor played by Rihito Itagaki Kamono Tadayuki played by Jun Sonomura Koremune no Korekuni played by Kazuki Kitamura Fujiwara no Yoshisuke played by Kaoru Kobayashi Bump Of Chicken band photo Bump Of Chicken made their major debut in 2000 and have provided theme songs for many popular anime franchises, such as...
- 2/8/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
Presented by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, and Japan Society
February 15-24, 2024 at Japan Society
and partner venues in NYC
New York, NY – Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and Japan Society are proud to announce the eighth installment of the Aca Cinema Project film series – Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux – an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States. The Aca Cinema Project has presented events in both New York and LA since 2021, and its upcoming edition will showcase over nine contemporary and classic films from February 15-24, 2024 all with the central theme of the modern family. The bonds of the Japanese family are often revered in the West, and this series will both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.
February 15-24, 2024 at Japan Society
and partner venues in NYC
New York, NY – Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and Japan Society are proud to announce the eighth installment of the Aca Cinema Project film series – Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux – an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States. The Aca Cinema Project has presented events in both New York and LA since 2021, and its upcoming edition will showcase over nine contemporary and classic films from February 15-24, 2024 all with the central theme of the modern family. The bonds of the Japanese family are often revered in the West, and this series will both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.
- 1/24/2024
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
As part of the Aca Cinema Project––”an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States”––Japan Society will run “Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux” from February 15-24. A mix of American premieres and repertory showings, this series puts “bonds of the Japanese family” front and center to “both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.”
U.S. premieres include Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Yoko, starring Rinko Kikuchi, and Keiko Tsuruoka’s Tsugaru Lacquer Girl. A special spotlight is given to Ryota Nakano, whose A Long Goodbye and exquisitely titled Her Love Boils Bathwater will be making New York debuts; his 2020 feature The Asadas also plays.
Repertory screenings will be held for Kohei Oguri’s Muddy River, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, Kore-eda’s Still Walking,...
U.S. premieres include Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Yoko, starring Rinko Kikuchi, and Keiko Tsuruoka’s Tsugaru Lacquer Girl. A special spotlight is given to Ryota Nakano, whose A Long Goodbye and exquisitely titled Her Love Boils Bathwater will be making New York debuts; his 2020 feature The Asadas also plays.
Repertory screenings will be held for Kohei Oguri’s Muddy River, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, Kore-eda’s Still Walking,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Tsugaru city has been the subject of a number of films throughout the years, with one of the first being Atg’s “Tsugaru Folk Song” exactly 50 years ago. Now, a new movie focuses on another aspect of the area that stands out, the lacquerware industry, once more, though, in order to make a number of social comments about life in the area and how difficult it can be escaping tradition. The movie is based on the novel “Japan Dignity” by Miyuki Takamori.
Tsugaru Lacquer Girl is screening at Camera Japan
Traditional lacquerwork kitchenware is the Aoki family’s legacy, but is also in decline, with the financial prowess of Seishiro’s father being nowhere to be found at the time the movie starts. Seishiro, however, knows nothing else to do, and so he keeps at it, with the help of his daughter, Miyako, who also works at a supermarket in...
Tsugaru Lacquer Girl is screening at Camera Japan
Traditional lacquerwork kitchenware is the Aoki family’s legacy, but is also in decline, with the financial prowess of Seishiro’s father being nowhere to be found at the time the movie starts. Seishiro, however, knows nothing else to do, and so he keeps at it, with the help of his daughter, Miyako, who also works at a supermarket in...
- 9/29/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The Days is a new Japanese series directed by Hideo Nakata and Masaki Nishiura. starring Kôji Yakusho and Yutaka Takenouchi.
Blamed by some, hailed as heroes by others, those involved with Fukushima Daiichi face a deadly, invisible threat — an unprecedented nuclear disaster.
Trailer The Days Release date
June 1
Where to watch The Days
Netflix
The Cast
Kōji Yakusho
Fumiyo Kohinata
Yutaka Takenouchi
Kaoru Kobayashi...
Blamed by some, hailed as heroes by others, those involved with Fukushima Daiichi face a deadly, invisible threat — an unprecedented nuclear disaster.
Trailer The Days Release date
June 1
Where to watch The Days
Netflix
The Cast
Kōji Yakusho
Fumiyo Kohinata
Yutaka Takenouchi
Kaoru Kobayashi...
- 5/16/2023
- by TV Shows Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid - TV
Kadokawa has revealed the first look teaser for a movie called Kubi, a historical epic from iconic Japanese actor Beat Takeshi. This will be premiering at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival later this month in the Cannes Premiere section. This film was conceived by director Takeshi Kitano around the same time as Sonatine, one of his early masterpieces, and has been in the works for 30 years. It depicts the "Honnoji Incident" along with the ambitions, betrayals, and fates of various characters, including warlords, ninja, comedians, and peasants. The ambitious new film has assembled a splendid and unique cast! Takeshi plays Hideyoshi Hashiba, who plots the "Honnoji Incident," and Hidetoshi Nishijima plays Mitsuhide Akechi. Ryo Kase gives a dubious performance as the mad genius Nobunaga Oda, while Tadanobu Asano and Nao Omori play the military strategist Kanpei Kuroda, who supports Hideyoshi, and his brother Hidenaga Hashiba with a great sense of humor.
- 5/3/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
“Living in a paradise of blue waters and skies. It’s the touristy image most Japanese have… The locals want to see realism in films about Okinawa” director Yasuhiro Yoshida explains in a recent interview with Jff+. Since December, the streaming platform has uploaded a lineup of free-to-watch titles, including Yoshida’s 2013 feature “Leaving on the 15th Spring”. A gentle, heartfelt drama, the movie brews an unexpectedly nuanced message about growing up, that is both unique and universal.
Leaving on the 15th Spring is streaming as part of Jff+ Independent Cinema
Yuna (Ayaka Miyoshi) is turning 15 soon, a momentous age on her small home island, Minami-Daito. On Minami-Daito, there is no school for children above 14 years-old. As children turn 15, they must all leave to the main island to attend high school. We follow Yuna across her final year, preparing for departure as she juggles teenagehood, budding romance and growing pains.
Leaving on the 15th Spring is streaming as part of Jff+ Independent Cinema
Yuna (Ayaka Miyoshi) is turning 15 soon, a momentous age on her small home island, Minami-Daito. On Minami-Daito, there is no school for children above 14 years-old. As children turn 15, they must all leave to the main island to attend high school. We follow Yuna across her final year, preparing for departure as she juggles teenagehood, budding romance and growing pains.
- 3/1/2023
- by Renee Ng
- AsianMoviePulse
There’s a world of Japanese cinema outside of the Kyoto and Tokyo dominated projects, each of these cities serving as the historical bases for the country’s film industry. One such location that’s always refreshing to see on the big screen is the Okinawa Prefecture, a series of islands in the East China Sea disconnected from mainland Japan. It’s this tropical setting that Okinawan filmmaker Go Takamine utilizes for his slow and meandering breakthrough feature, “Paradise View”.
Paradise View is screening at Japan Society
Days before the Okinawa Reversion of 1971, Reishu Goya (Kaoru Kobayashi) has quit his job at an American military base with seemingly little else to do in mind. Around him, various families quibble and scheme as a close-knit community comes to terms with inevitable change. Into this lawless yet peaceful environment wanders Ito (Haruomi Hosono), a Japanese who has come to marry one of the village women,...
Paradise View is screening at Japan Society
Days before the Okinawa Reversion of 1971, Reishu Goya (Kaoru Kobayashi) has quit his job at an American military base with seemingly little else to do in mind. Around him, various families quibble and scheme as a close-knit community comes to terms with inevitable change. Into this lawless yet peaceful environment wanders Ito (Haruomi Hosono), a Japanese who has come to marry one of the village women,...
- 5/8/2022
- by Tom Wilmot
- AsianMoviePulse
Go Takamine continues his opus of Okinawan cinema with the adaption of the famous “Uchinaa Shibai” play. A day laborer named Giru seduces the boss’s daughter and flees to the mystical Untama forest where he transforms into the Okinawan folk hero Untamaguri. Taking place in 1972, during the transition from the American occupation to Japanese sovereignty, Takamine shows the islanders in a phase of uncertainty.
Untamagiru is screening at Japan Society
Folklore, politics, and traditions. “Untamagiru” begins like an oddball comedy, with humor and quirky characters but holds a much more political subtext than its forerunner “Paradise View” (1985). Featuring Kaoru Kobayashi (“Midnight Diner” 2014) as Giru and John Sayles (“The Howling” 1981) as an American officer, Takamine mixes past and modern aspects of the local culture to describe the struggle of a rich culture that tries to preserve its identity. We see a lot of singing and performances referring to the past...
Untamagiru is screening at Japan Society
Folklore, politics, and traditions. “Untamagiru” begins like an oddball comedy, with humor and quirky characters but holds a much more political subtext than its forerunner “Paradise View” (1985). Featuring Kaoru Kobayashi (“Midnight Diner” 2014) as Giru and John Sayles (“The Howling” 1981) as an American officer, Takamine mixes past and modern aspects of the local culture to describe the struggle of a rich culture that tries to preserve its identity. We see a lot of singing and performances referring to the past...
- 5/5/2022
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reverting from American to Japan, our friends at New York’s Japan Society will host, from May 13 to June 3, Visions of Okinawa, a retrospective that “documents the dynamic historical, political and cultural spaces of Okinawa around this pivotal point in history through in-person screenings and streamed films exploring the legacies of the Occupation, WWII and imperialism.”
We’re proud to debut the trailer for their series, which mixes “mainland filmmakers, native Okinawans and documentarians,” the series includes Chris Marker’s Level Five and Oshima’s Dear Summer Sister, which I don’t recall ever screening in New York—much less on a 35mm print. The Focus on the Nihon Documentarist Union (Ndu) documentaries will be screening for the first time outside Japan and streaming worldwide (except Japan and Taiwan). Being that Go Takamine’s Paradise View (another one I don’t think...
We’re proud to debut the trailer for their series, which mixes “mainland filmmakers, native Okinawans and documentarians,” the series includes Chris Marker’s Level Five and Oshima’s Dear Summer Sister, which I don’t recall ever screening in New York—much less on a 35mm print. The Focus on the Nihon Documentarist Union (Ndu) documentaries will be screening for the first time outside Japan and streaming worldwide (except Japan and Taiwan). Being that Go Takamine’s Paradise View (another one I don’t think...
- 4/25/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Marking 50 years since Okinawa’s reversion from American sovereignty back to Japan, Visions of Okinawa documents the dynamic historical, political and cultural spaces of Okinawa around this pivotal point in history through in-person screenings and streamed films exploring the legacies of the Occupation, WWII and imperialism. Primarily focusing on films made around the time of or dealing with the 1972 reversion, Visions of Okinawa addresses issues of identity, race and borders by presenting diverse and complicated reflections on the prefecture from mainland filmmakers, native Okinawans and documentarians.
In-theater Screenings
All in-person screenings will take place in Japan Society’s auditorium, located at 333 E. 47th Street in New York, NY.
Paradise View
Friday, May 13, 2022 at 7:00 Pm
Dir. Go Takamine, 1985, 117 min., Dcp, color, in Okinawan (Uchinaaguchi) and Japanese with English subtitles. With Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Togawa, Haruomi Hosono.
North American Premiere of 2021 edit. Go Takamine’s rarely screened first theatrical feature is...
In-theater Screenings
All in-person screenings will take place in Japan Society’s auditorium, located at 333 E. 47th Street in New York, NY.
Paradise View
Friday, May 13, 2022 at 7:00 Pm
Dir. Go Takamine, 1985, 117 min., Dcp, color, in Okinawan (Uchinaaguchi) and Japanese with English subtitles. With Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Togawa, Haruomi Hosono.
North American Premiere of 2021 edit. Go Takamine’s rarely screened first theatrical feature is...
- 4/15/2022
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
If you had the chance to live forever, would you take it? This question is central to Ken Ishikawa’s “Arc”, which made its debut in Japan in the summer of 2021. The film is based on the 2012 short story written by American author Ken Liu and deals with the ethics and philosophical implications of immortality through the eyes of an artistic and expressive young woman. Surprisingly heartfelt and beautifully shot, the film is a serene sci-fi escape that raises challenging questions.
“Arc” is screening at Asian Pop-up Cinema
Rina (Kyoko Yoshine) is a down on her luck young dancer whose chance encounter with creative genius Ema (Shinobu Terajima) lands her a job at ‘Eternity’. Keen to make the most of the opportunity presented, Rina dives headfirst into the company’s ‘BodyWerks’ endeavour, which sees dead bodies perfectly preserved and transformed into ‘living’ sculptures through a process called plastination. However, as...
“Arc” is screening at Asian Pop-up Cinema
Rina (Kyoko Yoshine) is a down on her luck young dancer whose chance encounter with creative genius Ema (Shinobu Terajima) lands her a job at ‘Eternity’. Keen to make the most of the opportunity presented, Rina dives headfirst into the company’s ‘BodyWerks’ endeavour, which sees dead bodies perfectly preserved and transformed into ‘living’ sculptures through a process called plastination. However, as...
- 4/2/2022
- by Tom Wilmot
- AsianMoviePulse
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Seeing is believe, but fantasy films are a special genre that will push your imagination to the limit and maybe even open up a part of your mind that you didn’t know existed. The good thing about fantasy movies is that they typically have a deeper subtext that will give you a deeper appreciation for life, and film.
For those who love streaming a variety of movies, signing up for streaming platforms is the easiest way to get access to tons of titles from plenty of different genres. If you’re not already signed up for at least one of the major platforms, it’s quick and easy to join, and you...
Seeing is believe, but fantasy films are a special genre that will push your imagination to the limit and maybe even open up a part of your mind that you didn’t know existed. The good thing about fantasy movies is that they typically have a deeper subtext that will give you a deeper appreciation for life, and film.
For those who love streaming a variety of movies, signing up for streaming platforms is the easiest way to get access to tons of titles from plenty of different genres. If you’re not already signed up for at least one of the major platforms, it’s quick and easy to join, and you...
- 4/2/2021
- by Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
“When people finish their day and hurry home, my day starts”
Each 20-minute episode of the popular Netflix series “Midnight Diner” begins with an overview of the crowded streets of central Tokyo at night, the teeming walkways and the iconic lights of the skyscrapers; the Master’s warm voice over, recites those words, introducing the show.
As Netflix announces a second season to hit the channel next winter, it’s worth knowing that the love affair of the public with “Midnight Diner” has been going on for quite a while, well before Netflix Original placed its label on it.
Adapted from the manga Shinya Shokudō by Yarō Abe, “Midnight Diner” made the leap from paper to TV in 2009, with a first 10-episode season, aired late at night. A second and a third season followed in 2011 and 2014 with increasing success throughout Asia. Then came the movie “Midnight Diner” which marked the...
Each 20-minute episode of the popular Netflix series “Midnight Diner” begins with an overview of the crowded streets of central Tokyo at night, the teeming walkways and the iconic lights of the skyscrapers; the Master’s warm voice over, recites those words, introducing the show.
As Netflix announces a second season to hit the channel next winter, it’s worth knowing that the love affair of the public with “Midnight Diner” has been going on for quite a while, well before Netflix Original placed its label on it.
Adapted from the manga Shinya Shokudō by Yarō Abe, “Midnight Diner” made the leap from paper to TV in 2009, with a first 10-episode season, aired late at night. A second and a third season followed in 2011 and 2014 with increasing success throughout Asia. Then came the movie “Midnight Diner” which marked the...
- 7/3/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Hirose Nanako was born 1987 in Kanagawa, Japan. After graduating from Musashino Art University, Hirose joined the Kore-eda Hirokazu’s production company Bun-buku in 2011. She worked in Kore-eda’s TV drama Going Home (2012), long features Like Father, Like Son (2013), Our Little Sister (2015), After The Storm (2016), and Miwa Nishikawa’s The Long Excuse (2016). His Lost Name marks her feature film debut.
On the occasion of His Lost Name screening at the 25th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas, we speak with her about Koreeda, Yuya Yagira, Kaoru Kobayashi, her film, hypocrisy, patriarchy, Japanese cinema and many other topics. and also crashed the graduation moment. This, and the weeks that followed the earthquake and the consequences led me to not wanting to do any work, I was in a really strange “in-between” place. After the events, there was some kind of solidarity sentiment going on in Japan but I really felt that...
On the occasion of His Lost Name screening at the 25th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas, we speak with her about Koreeda, Yuya Yagira, Kaoru Kobayashi, her film, hypocrisy, patriarchy, Japanese cinema and many other topics. and also crashed the graduation moment. This, and the weeks that followed the earthquake and the consequences led me to not wanting to do any work, I was in a really strange “in-between” place. After the events, there was some kind of solidarity sentiment going on in Japan but I really felt that...
- 2/22/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Promoted as the debut of one of Hirokazu Koreeda’s (and Miwa Nishikawa’s) assistants and in essence protégé, and featuring Yuya Yagira in the protagonist role, “His Lost Name” was a good idea, to say the least, from the beginning. The questions, however, if Hirose Nanako would be able to stray away from the clichés of the contemporary Japanese family drama and if Yuya Yagira would be a good fit for such a low-key part, were hanging over the production, also from the beginning (for me at least). The following review answers both.
“His Lost Name” screened at
Festival des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul
Tetsuro, a middle aged carpenter who runs a wood shop discovers an almost unconscious man on a river bank. For reasons unknown in the beginning, he decides to take the young man (who introduces himself just as Shinichi) under his protection, providing a place...
“His Lost Name” screened at
Festival des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul
Tetsuro, a middle aged carpenter who runs a wood shop discovers an almost unconscious man on a river bank. For reasons unknown in the beginning, he decides to take the young man (who introduces himself just as Shinichi) under his protection, providing a place...
- 2/18/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Nanako Hirose’s His Lost Name will premiere in Busan’s New Currents competition.
Japan’s Gaga Corporation has picked up international rights to His Lost Name (Yoake), the debut feature of Nanako Hirose, a protégé of Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The film will receive its world premiere in New Currents, the competition section for new filmmakers at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (October 4-13).
Produced through Kore-eda’s company Bunbuku, the film stars Yuya Yagira, who won best actor at Cannes in 2004 for Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows, and veteran actor Kaoru Kobayashi (Midnight Diner).
Hirose wrote the...
Japan’s Gaga Corporation has picked up international rights to His Lost Name (Yoake), the debut feature of Nanako Hirose, a protégé of Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The film will receive its world premiere in New Currents, the competition section for new filmmakers at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (October 4-13).
Produced through Kore-eda’s company Bunbuku, the film stars Yuya Yagira, who won best actor at Cannes in 2004 for Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows, and veteran actor Kaoru Kobayashi (Midnight Diner).
Hirose wrote the...
- 9/4/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Nanako Hirose’s His Lost Name will premiere in Busan’s New Currents competition.
Japan’s Gaga Corporation has picked up international rights to His Lost Name (Yoake), the debut feature of Nanako Hirose, a protégé of Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The film will receive its world premiere in New Currents, the competition section for new filmmakers at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (October 4-13).
Produced through Kore-eda’s company Bunbuku, the film stars Yuya Yagira, who won best actor at Cannes in 2004 for Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows, and veteran actor Kaoru Kobayashi (Midnight Diner).
Hirose wrote the...
Japan’s Gaga Corporation has picked up international rights to His Lost Name (Yoake), the debut feature of Nanako Hirose, a protégé of Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The film will receive its world premiere in New Currents, the competition section for new filmmakers at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (October 4-13).
Produced through Kore-eda’s company Bunbuku, the film stars Yuya Yagira, who won best actor at Cannes in 2004 for Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows, and veteran actor Kaoru Kobayashi (Midnight Diner).
Hirose wrote the...
- 9/4/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
A large publisher's Dictionary Editorial Department finds itself on the brink of extinction in 1995, as new technologies such as laptops and mobile telephones become more commonplace in everyday households. The Internet is on the verge of explosion and emails are about to replace handwritten letters as the primary form of "written" communication. Prognosticating that the world is about to become very used to communicating, researching and learning via their sparkly new electronic devices, the head of the department (Go Kato) wants to develop a new kind of dictionary. The dictionary of his dreams, The Great Passage, will be Japan's first to capture youth culture's lexicon, embracing modern day mutilations of the Japanese language -- slang words, modern expressions and acronyms -- while skillfully providing the proper roots and definitions for words alongside the popular-yet-incorrect new meanings. Dictionaries can take decades to develop, and before they commence this daunting task, the...
- 1/4/2014
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Tales From Earthsea (Studio Ghibli)
Stars: (Japanese) Bunta Sugawara, Junichi Okada, Aoi Teshima, Jun Fubuki, Kaoru Kobayashi, Yui Natsukawa, Y?ko Tanaka, Teruyuki Kagawa. (English) Timothy Dalton, Matt Levin, Blaire Restaneo, Mariska Hargitay, Susanne Blakeslee, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin | Written by Ursula K Le Guin, Gor? Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa & Hayao Miyazaki | Directed by Goro Miyazaki
“Goro Miyazaki’s debut feature as a director, Tales From Earthsea is an epic adventure, adapted from the much-loved series of novels by Ursula K Le Guin. It tells the story of Ged (voiced in English by Timothy Dalton), the most powerful wizard in Earthsea, and his attempts to protect Prince Arren (Matt Levin) from the evil machinations of rival wizard Cob (Willem Dafoe). Together with Therru, a young girl he rescued from slave takers, Arren must unite with Ged to defeat Cob and return balance to their world. Beautifully animated, Tales From Earthsea will...
Stars: (Japanese) Bunta Sugawara, Junichi Okada, Aoi Teshima, Jun Fubuki, Kaoru Kobayashi, Yui Natsukawa, Y?ko Tanaka, Teruyuki Kagawa. (English) Timothy Dalton, Matt Levin, Blaire Restaneo, Mariska Hargitay, Susanne Blakeslee, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin | Written by Ursula K Le Guin, Gor? Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa & Hayao Miyazaki | Directed by Goro Miyazaki
“Goro Miyazaki’s debut feature as a director, Tales From Earthsea is an epic adventure, adapted from the much-loved series of novels by Ursula K Le Guin. It tells the story of Ged (voiced in English by Timothy Dalton), the most powerful wizard in Earthsea, and his attempts to protect Prince Arren (Matt Levin) from the evil machinations of rival wizard Cob (Willem Dafoe). Together with Therru, a young girl he rescued from slave takers, Arren must unite with Ged to defeat Cob and return balance to their world. Beautifully animated, Tales From Earthsea will...
- 7/13/2012
- by Baron Fornightly
- Nerdly
From Cinema Today comes the news that Hikari Mitsushima will be starring in a movie titled Natsu no Owari (literally “End of Summer”) by director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Non-Ko, Sketches of Kaitan City).
The movie is an adaptation of an autobiographical 1963 novel by author and Buddhist nun, Jakucho Setouchi. The novel won the Women’s Literary Prize that year and established Setouchi’s career as an author.
Mitsushima will play Tomoko, a character modeled after Setouchi, who has grown tired of her long-time love affair with an older married man. Without ending that relationship, she starts another with a passionate younger man in her single-minded pursuit of love.
Kaoru Kobayashi will play Shingo, the open-minded, yet dishonest older man. Go Ayano will play Ryota, the younger man who’s tortured by jealousy and loneliness.
The story is set in Tokyo, but various other locations were used to more accurately reproduce what...
The movie is an adaptation of an autobiographical 1963 novel by author and Buddhist nun, Jakucho Setouchi. The novel won the Women’s Literary Prize that year and established Setouchi’s career as an author.
Mitsushima will play Tomoko, a character modeled after Setouchi, who has grown tired of her long-time love affair with an older married man. Without ending that relationship, she starts another with a passionate younger man in her single-minded pursuit of love.
Kaoru Kobayashi will play Shingo, the open-minded, yet dishonest older man. Go Ayano will play Ryota, the younger man who’s tortured by jealousy and loneliness.
The story is set in Tokyo, but various other locations were used to more accurately reproduce what...
- 6/20/2012
- Nippon Cinema
DVD Release Date: July 10, 2012
Price: DVD $29.95
Studio: Music Box
Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog, the well-received 2004 Japanese drama movie, concerns the life, growth and training of the titular Golden Labrador Retriever.
Directed by Yoichi Sai, the film opens with Quill as a puppy and follows him as he is taken to a professional guide dog school led by the friendly yet firm trainer Satoru Tawada (Kippei Shiina).
Although he’s a little slower than the other dogs at the school, Quill does exhibit a peerless level of devotion and patience for his trainers. Tawada decides that Quill would be the ideal guide dog for Mitsuru Watanabe (Kaoru Kobayashi), a lonely and ill-tempered elderly man who “would rather sleep than be dragged around by a dog.”
In time, Quill gradually helps his new master to open up and appreciate life, while Wanatabe learns not only to trust and...
Price: DVD $29.95
Studio: Music Box
Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog, the well-received 2004 Japanese drama movie, concerns the life, growth and training of the titular Golden Labrador Retriever.
Directed by Yoichi Sai, the film opens with Quill as a puppy and follows him as he is taken to a professional guide dog school led by the friendly yet firm trainer Satoru Tawada (Kippei Shiina).
Although he’s a little slower than the other dogs at the school, Quill does exhibit a peerless level of devotion and patience for his trainers. Tawada decides that Quill would be the ideal guide dog for Mitsuru Watanabe (Kaoru Kobayashi), a lonely and ill-tempered elderly man who “would rather sleep than be dragged around by a dog.”
In time, Quill gradually helps his new master to open up and appreciate life, while Wanatabe learns not only to trust and...
- 6/6/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
“What sets this film above so many movies about animals is that it's about a dog who is realistic in every aspect.” – Roger Ebert, said in the Chicago Sun Times. As big dog lovers we're happy to present a clip from the film, "Quill: The Life Of A Guide Dog." Directed by Yoichi Sai (4 time Japanese Academy Award winner for "Blood And Bones"), 'Quill' appears to be a documentary on the surface, but it's based on the true story of a beautiful labrador retriever whose compassion and devotion transform him into a dedicated guide dog for the blind.
Here's the official synopsis.
Quill, a Golden Labrador Retriever puppy so named because of the feather-shaped birthmark on his side, is sent to live with a couple, Isamu (Teruyuki Kagawa) and Mitsuko (Shinobu Terajima), who work as volunteers for the training of seeing eye guide dogs. Quill is subsequently taken...
Here's the official synopsis.
Quill, a Golden Labrador Retriever puppy so named because of the feather-shaped birthmark on his side, is sent to live with a couple, Isamu (Teruyuki Kagawa) and Mitsuko (Shinobu Terajima), who work as volunteers for the training of seeing eye guide dogs. Quill is subsequently taken...
- 6/3/2012
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
Title: Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog Music Box Films Director: Yôichi Sai Screenwriter: Shoichi Maruyama, Yoshihiro Nakamura from Ryohei Akimoto’s novel Cast: Kaoru Kobayashi, Kippei Shina, Kazu Matsuda, Teruyuki Kagawa, Keiko Toda, Rafie, Chibichibiku, Yuma Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 5/10/12 Opens: May 18, 2012 While “Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog” tells us about the way a guide dog for the blind is selected, trained, and lives with his human companion, the film is targeted to kids and to adults who are known to themselves and others as “dog people.” Directed by Yôichi Sai in a documentary style—so much so that viewers unfamiliar with the production [ Read More ]...
- 5/11/2012
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
On Wednesday it was announced that 15-year-old model and actress Ayaka Miyoshi will get her first starring role in a movie called Jugo no Haru: Tabidachi no Uta.
Last year Miyoshi was named 7th generation “Natchan”, the image character for Suntory’s “natchan!” drink. This has been considered a pretty important gig ever since it helped boost first-gen Natchan Lena Tanaka from a relatively unknown film actress to a household name in the late 90s.
In addition to the ad work, Miyoshi has been an exclusive model for teen fashion magazine Seventeen and had a small role in Tetsuya Nakashima’s Confessions.
The new film is set on an island 360 kilometers east of Okinawa’s main island called Minami Daito. Because there’s no local high school, Miyoshi’s character has to face leaving her home behind at 15. Shinobu Otake and Kaoru Kobayashi will co-star as her parents.
Yasuhiro Yoshida...
Last year Miyoshi was named 7th generation “Natchan”, the image character for Suntory’s “natchan!” drink. This has been considered a pretty important gig ever since it helped boost first-gen Natchan Lena Tanaka from a relatively unknown film actress to a household name in the late 90s.
In addition to the ad work, Miyoshi has been an exclusive model for teen fashion magazine Seventeen and had a small role in Tetsuya Nakashima’s Confessions.
The new film is set on an island 360 kilometers east of Okinawa’s main island called Minami Daito. Because there’s no local high school, Miyoshi’s character has to face leaving her home behind at 15. Shinobu Otake and Kaoru Kobayashi will co-star as her parents.
Yasuhiro Yoshida...
- 4/26/2012
- Nippon Cinema
It has been another great year of film. I still have but seven movies left to watch before I complete my “Best of the Year List” but we are already looking towards 2011.
The 57 feature films selected for the four competition programs of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival were announced today, and the titles include some exciting works from returning filmmakers. While the lineup isn’t has loaded with big names it does feature the return of James Marsh whose documentary Man on Wire won the Grand Jury Prize at the fest in 2008. Some interesting movies we should mention that appear on the list are Mike Cahill’s Another Earth, Carlos Moreno’s All Our Dead One (Todos Tus Muertos), Anne Sewitsky’s sexual drama Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig) Rashaad Ernesto Green‘s Gun Hill Road, Sean Durkin‘s Martha Marcy May Marlene, Andrew Okpeaha MacLean‘s On the Ice, Dee Rees...
The 57 feature films selected for the four competition programs of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival were announced today, and the titles include some exciting works from returning filmmakers. While the lineup isn’t has loaded with big names it does feature the return of James Marsh whose documentary Man on Wire won the Grand Jury Prize at the fest in 2008. Some interesting movies we should mention that appear on the list are Mike Cahill’s Another Earth, Carlos Moreno’s All Our Dead One (Todos Tus Muertos), Anne Sewitsky’s sexual drama Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig) Rashaad Ernesto Green‘s Gun Hill Road, Sean Durkin‘s Martha Marcy May Marlene, Andrew Okpeaha MacLean‘s On the Ice, Dee Rees...
- 12/2/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Among this year’s 13 selected (from 1073 - that's about one film for every 100 submitted) international narrative feature submissions, we find one title that is high up on our must see list in Paddy Considine's directing debut entitled Tyrannosaur. Last year we had Animal Kingdom ranked in the same spot. Here are the other 12 from pretty much all over the world. Abraxas /Japan (Director: Dai Sako; Screenwriters: Dai Sako and Naoki Kato) After botching a speech on career guidance at a local high school, a depressed Zen monk with a heavy metal past realizes that only music can revive his spirit. Cast: Suneohair, Rie Tomosaka, Manami Honjou, Ryouta Murai, Kaoru Kobayashi. International Premiere All Your Dead Ones (Todos Tus Muertos)/Colombia (Director Carlos Moreno; Screenwriters: Alonso Torres and Carlos Moreno) One morning, a peasant wakes to find a pile of bodies in the middle of his crops. When he goes to the authorities,...
- 12/1/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Agnes Kittelsen in Anne Sewitsky's Happy Happy World Cinema Dramatic Competition This year's 14 films were selected from 1,073 international narrative feature submissions. Abraxas / Japan (Director: Naoki Kato; Screenwriters: Dai Sako and Naoki Kato) – After botching a speech on career guidance at a local high school, a depressed Zen monk with a heavy metal past realizes that only music can revive his spirit. Cast: Suneohair, Rie Tomosaka, Manami Honjou, Ryouta Murai, Kaoru Kobayashi. International Premiere All Your Dead Ones (Todos Tus Muertos) / Colombia (Director Carlos Moreno; Screenwriters: Alonso Torres and Carlos Moreno) – One morning, a peasant wakes to find a pile of bodies in the middle of his crops. When he goes to the authorities, he quickly realizes that the dead ones are a problem nobody wants to deal with. Cast: Alvaro Rodríguez, Jorge Herrera, Martha Marquez, Harold Devasten, John Alex Castillo. World Premiere The Cinema Hold Up [...]...
- 12/1/2010
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
It's the first day in December, and whether you want to recognize it or not, January isn't too far away. Today the awesome folks at the Sundance Film Festival unveiled their first list of films, international and domestic, which will be presented at the festival. Check it out, and yes there are more to come. Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the four Competition Categories, the Festival presents films in six out-of-competition sections to be announced on December 2. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.For the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, 115 feature-length films were selected, representing 28 countries by 40 first-time filmmakers, including 25 in competition. These films were selected from 3,812 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,943 U.S. and 1,869 international feature-length films.
- 12/1/2010
- LRMonline.com
As we’re getting ready to wrap up another great year of film, some are already looking to 2011 and what it will have to offer and what better way to look a head than with the first round of titles for the year’s first big festival: Sundance.
The list of festival titles isn’t as loaded with as many big name titles as have made the cut in previous years but there’s are definitely some interesting film in the competition line-up including Mike Cahill’s Another Earth which takes place on the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth (wicked!), Carlos Moreno’s All Our Dead One (Todos Tus Muertos) about a guy who finds a pile of dead bodies in the middle of his crops, Anne Sewitsky’s sexual drama Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig) along with the Canadian/Japanese co-production Vampire.
Loads of great stuff on the line-up.
The list of festival titles isn’t as loaded with as many big name titles as have made the cut in previous years but there’s are definitely some interesting film in the competition line-up including Mike Cahill’s Another Earth which takes place on the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth (wicked!), Carlos Moreno’s All Our Dead One (Todos Tus Muertos) about a guy who finds a pile of dead bodies in the middle of his crops, Anne Sewitsky’s sexual drama Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig) along with the Canadian/Japanese co-production Vampire.
Loads of great stuff on the line-up.
- 12/1/2010
- QuietEarth.us
The announcement of the movies playing the 2011 Sundance Film Festival is like looking into our film futures. It's December and most movie fans are looking back at the last 12 months, picking out award winners, writing top ten lists, and chances are we haven't even heard of the Sundance films. They're just titles, people, words on a computer screen. Then in January they unspool on screens across Park City, Utah and become something more. Finally, months later, these are the movies we discuss with our friends and choose on ballots at awards parties. Yet we get to read about them now, a year in advance. Last year at this time, who had heard of Four Lions, Catfish, Exit Through The Gift Shop, Blue Valentine, The Kids Are All Right, Winter's Bone, Restrepo or Animal Kingdom? Sundance, that's who. All those films screened at the 2010 festival and now many have become not only personal favorites,...
- 12/1/2010
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
The Sundance Film Festival has announced the films in competition for the awesome and cold film festival running January 20th through January 30th 2011 in Park City, Utah.
This will be my third year attending the festival, and I'm really excited for it! There's a great line-up of films this year! Check out the list below!
From the press release:
Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the four Competition Categories, the Festival presents films in six out-of-competition sections to be announced on December 2. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
On Day One, the Festival will forego the convention of one opening night film and instead screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.
This will be my third year attending the festival, and I'm really excited for it! There's a great line-up of films this year! Check out the list below!
From the press release:
Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the four Competition Categories, the Festival presents films in six out-of-competition sections to be announced on December 2. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
On Day One, the Festival will forego the convention of one opening night film and instead screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.
- 12/1/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Park City, Ut . Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the four Competition Categories, the Festival presents films in six out-of-competition sections to be announced on December 2. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The complete list of films is available at http://www.sundance.org/.
On Day One, the Festival will forego the convention of one opening night film and instead screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competitions, as well as one shorts program.
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival said, .The Festival is a challenge to narrowly define. It is all at once exciting, fun, crazy, engaging, visceral, and sometimes even painful. We can explain storylines,...
On Day One, the Festival will forego the convention of one opening night film and instead screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competitions, as well as one shorts program.
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival said, .The Festival is a challenge to narrowly define. It is all at once exciting, fun, crazy, engaging, visceral, and sometimes even painful. We can explain storylines,...
- 12/1/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Here's the first Sundance line-up announcement, of the fiction and nonfiction feature competitions, both U.S. and world. A few things of interest, on first scan: Vera Farmiga's directorial debut "Higher Ground," in which she also stars; "The Ledge," which sounds like this year's try for "Buried"; Iñupiaq Arctic thriller "On the Ice"; "Terri," the new film from "Momma's Man" director; Michael Rapaport's doc on A Tribe Called Quest "Beats, Rhymes and Life"; doc about the beloved Muppet "Being Elmo"; "If A Tree Falls," a new film from "Street Fight"'s Marshall Curry; Paddy Considine's feature directorial debut "Tyrannosaur"; and "Vampire," the new film from Japan's Shunji Iwai, a favorite of mine.
Descriptions courtesy of the festival:
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Another Earth (Director: Mike Cahill; Screenwriters: Mike Cahill and Brit Marling) - On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy...
Descriptions courtesy of the festival:
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Another Earth (Director: Mike Cahill; Screenwriters: Mike Cahill and Brit Marling) - On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy...
- 12/1/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
HollywoodNews.com: The 2011 Sundance Film Festival has just announced its lineup for January. John Cooper, director of Sundance Film Festival, said, “With more than 10,000 films submitted this year, we have had to make some very tough choices. Yet in the end, I’m excited about the way the program has come together. It’s an incredible honor to introduce these films and filmmaker…these are the stories that will define not only our Festival, but also the cultural year ahead.”
Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the four Competition Categories, the Festival presents films in six out-of-competition sections to be announced on December 2. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
On Day One, the Festival will...
Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the four Competition Categories, the Festival presents films in six out-of-competition sections to be announced on December 2. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
On Day One, the Festival will...
- 12/1/2010
- by Linny Lum
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Film Stage is headed to Sundance this year and the festival has just announced its line-up. With over 10,00 entries here is what they narrowed it down to. Most initially notable is Vera Farmiga‘s directorial debut, Higher Ground (pictured above). There is a clear lack of stars as NYTimes notes, so the excitement of discovery is back in full swing. The fest will also announce 6 more out-of-competition categories tomorrow. Check out the full list below via the official site.
Us Dramatic
Another Earth (Director: Mike Cahill; Screenwriters: Mike Cahill and Brit Marling) – On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy irrevocably alters the lives of two strangers, who begin an unlikely love affair. Cast: William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, Flint Beverage.
Benavides Born (Director: Amy Wendel; Screenwriters: Daniel Meisel and Amy Wendel) – A high school senior in a forgotten town...
Us Dramatic
Another Earth (Director: Mike Cahill; Screenwriters: Mike Cahill and Brit Marling) – On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy irrevocably alters the lives of two strangers, who begin an unlikely love affair. Cast: William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, Flint Beverage.
Benavides Born (Director: Amy Wendel; Screenwriters: Daniel Meisel and Amy Wendel) – A high school senior in a forgotten town...
- 12/1/2010
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Well, here they are – the Sundance Film Festival class of 2011, split up into 4 categories as indicated by the headers below. In future posts, I’ll be going over the complete list, highlighting titles that need to be, taking into consideration this blog’s specific interests.
Of note, some titles that I listed on my list of 2011 black films on our radar… Gun Hill Road, Rashaad Ernesto Green’s debut feature (which I actually saw a cut of over the weekend, and gave a thumbs up to; but I’ll talk more about it in detail when the time comes), Dee Rees’ Pariah, and Alrick Brown’s Kinyarwanda. Further, titles we’ve previously covered here… Beats, Rhymes and Life, Michael Rapaport’s documentary on hip-hop legends, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Redemption of General Butt Naked, a documentary on the Liberian warlord turned evangelist.
One film I’m surprised isn...
Of note, some titles that I listed on my list of 2011 black films on our radar… Gun Hill Road, Rashaad Ernesto Green’s debut feature (which I actually saw a cut of over the weekend, and gave a thumbs up to; but I’ll talk more about it in detail when the time comes), Dee Rees’ Pariah, and Alrick Brown’s Kinyarwanda. Further, titles we’ve previously covered here… Beats, Rhymes and Life, Michael Rapaport’s documentary on hip-hop legends, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Redemption of General Butt Naked, a documentary on the Liberian warlord turned evangelist.
One film I’m surprised isn...
- 12/1/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
The Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Tomorrow will see the announcement of the six out-of-competition sections, which will all screen at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival which runs from January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
For the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, 115 feature-length films were selected, representing 28 countries by 40 first-time filmmakers, including 25 in competition. These films were selected from 3,812 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,943 U.S. and 1,869 international feature-length films. 92 films at the Festival will be world premieres.
The films featured in the U.S. Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic and World Cinema Documentary Competition are listed directly below and I've gone through and highlighted a few of the bigger known names to check out. However, Sundance has been introducing us to a...
For the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, 115 feature-length films were selected, representing 28 countries by 40 first-time filmmakers, including 25 in competition. These films were selected from 3,812 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,943 U.S. and 1,869 international feature-length films. 92 films at the Festival will be world premieres.
The films featured in the U.S. Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic and World Cinema Documentary Competition are listed directly below and I've gone through and highlighted a few of the bigger known names to check out. However, Sundance has been introducing us to a...
- 12/1/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Earlier this week, it was announced that the last full-length work of Akutagawa Prize-winning author Kenji Nakagami, Keibetsu (literally “scorn”), is being turned into a film starring Kengo Kora and Anne Suzuki. Ryuichi Hiroki (April Bride, The Lightning Tree) will direct.
Kora plays Kazu, the only son of a prominent family. In spite of his distinguished upbringing, he spends most of his time gambling all his money away in Tokyo. In a fairly drastic shift from her usually image, Suzuki plays Machiko, the number one pole dancer at a club in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. The two start a fling based on mutual attraction and attempt to begin a life together in Kazu’s home town. However, his family is unwilling to recognize the relationship.
Machiko soon returns to Tokyo and Kazu comes to the realization that he has no way to pay off the massive debt he’s racked up with...
Kora plays Kazu, the only son of a prominent family. In spite of his distinguished upbringing, he spends most of his time gambling all his money away in Tokyo. In a fairly drastic shift from her usually image, Suzuki plays Machiko, the number one pole dancer at a club in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. The two start a fling based on mutual attraction and attempt to begin a life together in Kazu’s home town. However, his family is unwilling to recognize the relationship.
Machiko soon returns to Tokyo and Kazu comes to the realization that he has no way to pay off the massive debt he’s racked up with...
- 11/3/2010
- Nippon Cinema
A trailer has finally been released for the latest film by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Antenna, Non-ko), Sketches of Kaitan City.
The film is based on Yasushi Sato’s unfinished novel “Kaitanshi Jokei” (Sea Coal City Scenery), which was published after Sato committed suicide in 1990. The novel simply and realistically depicts life in the seaport town of Hakodate, Hokkaido as he saw it and is said to offer a glimpse into the lives of various people going through individual hardships.
Plot: After massive restructuring, Souta (Pistol Takehara) finds himself forced out of his job at a local shipyard. He decides to go on an impromptu trip with his younger sister Honami (Mitsuki Tanimura) to witness the first sunrise of the new year from the peak of a mountain.
A planetarium operator (Kaoru Kobayashi) deals with the pain caused by his wife’s betrayal.
After taking over his family’s gas company, Haruo...
The film is based on Yasushi Sato’s unfinished novel “Kaitanshi Jokei” (Sea Coal City Scenery), which was published after Sato committed suicide in 1990. The novel simply and realistically depicts life in the seaport town of Hakodate, Hokkaido as he saw it and is said to offer a glimpse into the lives of various people going through individual hardships.
Plot: After massive restructuring, Souta (Pistol Takehara) finds himself forced out of his job at a local shipyard. He decides to go on an impromptu trip with his younger sister Honami (Mitsuki Tanimura) to witness the first sunrise of the new year from the peak of a mountain.
A planetarium operator (Kaoru Kobayashi) deals with the pain caused by his wife’s betrayal.
After taking over his family’s gas company, Haruo...
- 9/24/2010
- Nippon Cinema
A trailer has finally been released for the latest film by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Antenna, Non-ko), Sketches of Kaitan City.
The film is based on Yasushi Sato’s unfinished novel “Kaitanshi Jokei” (Sea Coal City Scenery), which was published after Sato committed suicide in 1990. The novel simply and realistically depicts life in the seaport town of Hakodate, Hokkaido as he saw it and is said to offer a glimpse into the lives of various people going through individual hardships.
Plot: After massive restructuring, Souta (Pistol Takehara) finds himself forced out of his job at a local shipyard. He decides to go on an impromptu trip with his younger sister Honami (Mitsuki Tanimura) to witness the first sunrise of the new year from the peak of a mountain.
A planetarium operator (Kaoru Kobayashi) deals with the pain caused by his wife’s betrayal.
After taking over his family’s gas company, Haruo...
The film is based on Yasushi Sato’s unfinished novel “Kaitanshi Jokei” (Sea Coal City Scenery), which was published after Sato committed suicide in 1990. The novel simply and realistically depicts life in the seaport town of Hakodate, Hokkaido as he saw it and is said to offer a glimpse into the lives of various people going through individual hardships.
Plot: After massive restructuring, Souta (Pistol Takehara) finds himself forced out of his job at a local shipyard. He decides to go on an impromptu trip with his younger sister Honami (Mitsuki Tanimura) to witness the first sunrise of the new year from the peak of a mountain.
A planetarium operator (Kaoru Kobayashi) deals with the pain caused by his wife’s betrayal.
After taking over his family’s gas company, Haruo...
- 9/24/2010
- Nippon Cinema
In the few short years since making her film debut with an impressively precocious performance in Akihiko Shiota's Canary, 19-year-old Mitsuki Tanimura has established herself as one of the most interesting actresses in her age bracket. While it would be easy for a young idol signed to a major talent agency to just coast by on her looks with modeling gigs and appearances in schmaltzy TV dramas (as most girls of her stature do quite happily), Tanimura keeps jumping clean off the radar, signing on to act in some seriously oddball projects with little potential for press coverage, let alone financial success. And it's not as if her career has stalled -- far from it. In addition to several small films by unestablished directors, she's also slated to appear in Toshio Lee's Box!, Takashi Miike's remake of Thirteen Assassins, and Junji Sakamoto's Yukizuri no Machi, among others.
- 3/25/2010
- Nippon Cinema
[Our thanks to Christopher Bourne for the following review.]
Hajime Kadoi’s contemplative second feature Vacation explores the relationship between Toru (Kaoru Kobayashi), a prison guard at a high-security facility, and Kaneda (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a condemned prisoner soon to be executed for murder, who has spent most of his years in prison appealing to the authorities for clemency. The “vacation” of the title is granted to Toru for volunteering for the traumatic task of assisting in Kaneda’s execution by leading him to the death chamber and holding his legs as he is hanged. Making this much harder for Toru is the fact that he has developed an unexpressed fondness for this quiet prisoner, who spends his days in his immaculately furnished cell drawing in his sketchbook. For his efforts, Toru is given a week off to have a brief honeymoon with his new bride, divorced single mother Mika (Nene Otsuka), accompanied by her young son Tatsuya (Shusei Ito...
Hajime Kadoi’s contemplative second feature Vacation explores the relationship between Toru (Kaoru Kobayashi), a prison guard at a high-security facility, and Kaneda (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a condemned prisoner soon to be executed for murder, who has spent most of his years in prison appealing to the authorities for clemency. The “vacation” of the title is granted to Toru for volunteering for the traumatic task of assisting in Kaneda’s execution by leading him to the death chamber and holding his legs as he is hanged. Making this much harder for Toru is the fact that he has developed an unexpressed fondness for this quiet prisoner, who spends his days in his immaculately furnished cell drawing in his sketchbook. For his efforts, Toru is given a week off to have a brief honeymoon with his new bride, divorced single mother Mika (Nene Otsuka), accompanied by her young son Tatsuya (Shusei Ito...
- 7/3/2009
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
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