More details on Sion Sono's upcoming father/ son drama

by Chris MaGee

One of my biggest disappointments of being at Nippon Connection this year was that I didn"t get a chance to catch Sion Sono's "Love Exposure". It was no one's fault but mine, but when there's so much going on over only four days committing to a 4-hour slot is really hard to do. I'm sure another opportunity will come along and I'm looking forward to it, especially after speaking with Prof. Roland Domenig from the University of Vienna who said that it really shows how Sono has matured as a filmmaker. I think further evidence of this will come from one of Sono's upcoming films that we originally reported on in January.

At that time it was announced that Sono would direct Akira, a member of the top-selling Japanese pop septet EXILE, in a drama titled "Chichi to Ko no Kizuna (The Bonds of Father and Child)". The story follows a salaryman played by Akira and his changing relationship with his dying father. Now Jason Gray has more news on casting for the project and a name change.

59-year-old actor and director Eiji Okuda (above) will be starring opposite Akira as the father. You may remember Okuda from his roles in "Otoko-tachi no Yamato" or "A Yakuza in Love" or seen his directorial efforts "Shōjo (An Adolescent)" or "A Long Walk". Meanwhile the new Japanese title for the drama is "Chanto Tsutaeru" with the international English title being "Be Sure To Share". Look for the film to get a theatrical release in Japan in the fall, and don't be surprised if you see this one pop at some film festivals here either.