Friday, November 14, 2008

ANNOUNCEMENT: Masahiro Kobayashi's "Bashing" to screen in Toronto on November 27th

by Chris MaGee

I just wanted to send a heads up to our Toronto readers that a very special film is going to be shown in the city at the end of the month that you will rarely get a chance to see on the big screen. Masahiro Kobayashi's 2005 film "Bashing" tells the story of a young Japanese humanitarian aid worker who after having been held hostage by insurgents in Iraq returns to her home country to face public shaming and social ostracization instead of a celebration that she has returned home safely. The screenplay is partially based on the actual experiences of male aid worker Noriaki Imai who faced just this kind of treatment after having been held hostage for eight days in southern Iraq in 2004.

"Bashing" will be screened at 7:00 p.m.on November 27th at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 6 Garamond Court in Don Mills. Normally the JCCC sticks with crowd pleasing jidai-geki and chanbara films from the 60s and 70s as well as family friendly comedies and dramas for their monthly movie nights, so this minimal and emotionally blistering film is a brave choice, but a very, very good one. I personally loved this film (read my original review here), so if you're free on the 27th make an effort to head out and see it.

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