Tokyo Filmex 2010: Final Update

by Chris MaGee

I've been feeling pangs of guilt after having let the updates from Tokyo Filmex 2010 lapse so long. This updaate finds me sitting at the airport at Narita waiting to make my way back to Toronto, so with time to kill here is the tail endd update of the fest and this trip to Tokyo.

When I posted last I was on my way to catch the new film by Tokyo University of the Arts alumni Ryusuke Hamaguchi titled "The Depths". The film, a story of two Korean photographers whose longtime friendship and love for each other is torn apart by a young male street hustler (and a lesbian affair and the yakuza) left audiences divided. Some thought that "The Depths" was the best film of Filmex up to that point, while others thought the film was a terrible mess. I was actually very saddened that I found myself in the latter camp, especially after having been a huge fan of Hamaguchi's debut film "Passion". "The Depths" may be able to be saved from its own over-reaching ambition if Hamaguchi does a reedit on it, but will that happen?

The screenings of the NHK produced "Kaidan Horror Classics" brought some very big names out to the Yurakucho Asahi Hall theatre, but things didn't go entirely smoothly. Wednesday night's screening of Masayuki Ochiai's "The Arm" and Shinya Tsukamoto's "The Whsitler" was derailed for over 45-minutes after the digital projector broke down. This had most of the audience leave before the Q&A with Tsukamoto, but the following night's screening of Sang-Il Lee's "The Nose" and Hirokazu Koreeda's "The Days After" brought out the big stars. Koreeda and "The Days After" leading actress Yuri Nakamura took the stage to discuss this first digital production for the director of "After Life" and "Air Doll". Koreeda credited the success of his entry into the "Kaidan Horror Classics" series to his cinematographer Yutaka Yamazaki, who I discovered was actually sitting beside me in the theatre. I didn't get a chance to chat with Yamazaki, but I did get a chance to meet and briefly chat with Koreeda after the Q&A.

I took a little break from Filmex on Friday to attend the luncheon and press conference for Tran Anh Hung's latest film "Norwegian Wood" at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. A screening of the Haruki Murakami adaptation had been arranged by Club programmer Karen Severns the day before and despite my dislike for the film itself I couldn't fight my J-film geek urges to see and hear Oscar-nominated actress Rinko Kikuchi in the flesh. Kikuchi was joined at the press conference by director Tran Anh Hung, co-star Kiko Mizuhara and "Norwegian Wood" producer Shinji Ogawa and the four fielded questions from the assembled press. I was lucky enough to ask Kikuchi how she ended up winning the role of the troubled Naoko in the film, even after director Hung had made it known he wasn't interested in her for the part. It turns out that Kikuchi submitted a special audition tape to the "Vertical Rays of the Sun" director that featured her in a scene from Murakami's novel. We can assume her Naoko was impressive enough to make Hung change his mind.

Saturday saw Filmex's series of master classes wrap up with a talk given by directors Kiyoshi Kurosawa(above right) and Makoto Shinozaki (above left). Kurosawa doesn't really need any introduction, but many of you may not twig immediately when hearing Shinozaki's name. He got his start with the 1995 drama "Okaeri" and then went on to work as an assistant of Takeshi Kitano's 1999 film "Kikujiro". Shinozaki's ;latest film is the Natsuo Kirino screen adaptation "Tokyo Island" starring Tae Kimura. The master class was a rare opportunity to hear two major filmmakers discuss their craft. Especially interesting were Kurosawa's thoughts on what makes not only a good screenplay, but also a screenplay that is "Easy to use". Kurosawa explained that a good screenplay must include four big ideas or concepts - three being to slim of a story and five or more making the plot cluttered. Shinozaki also gave insights on how his mentor Kitano would deal with bad acting. Apparently Kitano would go for a wide shot if the actors performance wasn't up to snuff, subsequently the worse the poerformance the wider the shot would become. Very funny!

Throughout all the rushing about at Filmex I made liberal use of Unijapan's DVD library and saw some amazing new films... and some not so amazing films. Won't talk too juch about the latter, but some of the gems that I cuaght were Takashi Ishii's sexy neo-noir thriller "A Night in Nude: Salvation" (read review below), Masanori Tominaga's quirky comedy "Vengeance can Wait", Keita Kurosaka's amazing animated adventure "Midori-ko" (above), and Tokyo University of the Arts alumni Daisuke Hasebe's hilarious and disgusting comedy "Drifting Clouds". Keep checking back for reviews of these films in the days and weeks to come!

In the end the Tokyo Filmex jury awarded the grand prize to Nobuteru Uchida’s improvised relationship drama "Love Addiction" (top), while the audience award was given to Kazuhirto Soda's "Peace", one of my favorite films of the entire fest. I have to admit that I ended up skipping the closing ceremony so that I could track down folks to say goodbye before my flight back to Toronto. I'd like to mention just a few names here of friends and colleagues who made this an amazing trip. Thanks to Yukie Kito, Adam Torel, Karen Severns, Emi Ueyama, Kayaoko Nakanishi, Kenta Fudesaka, Rie Natori, Gen Takahashi, Jason Gray, Rob Schwartz, Alex Zahlten, Marc Walkow, Nicholas Vroman, Miyuki Yoshihara and Don Brown for all the help, discussion and drinking(!)

Here's hoping that Tokyo Filmex becomes an annual event for myself and the J-Film Pow-Wow!

REVIEW: A Night in Nude: Salvation

ヌードの夜/愛は惜しみなく奪う (Nûdo no yoru: Ai wa oshiminaku uba)

Released: 2010

Director:
Takashi Ishii

Starring:
Naoto Takenaka
Hiroko Sato
Joe Shishido
Harumi Inoue
Machiko Kochi

Running time: 126 min.

Reviewed by Chris MaGee

Jiro (Naoto Takenaka) is a man who can do anything for you for a price. Part odd jobs man and part private eye he takes on tasks as simple as clearing out storage lockers to tracking down lost items. That's what he's asked to do by a beautiful young woman (Hiroko Sato) who shows up at his warehouse living space one afternoon. This young woman asks Jiro to help her track down a lost Rolex watch that she says was accidentally thrown out of a helicopter while she was scattering the ashes of her late father. Jiro knows the story isn't true, but he needs the money so he and the young woman begin poking around miles of woodland in the proverbial search for a needle in a haystack. Miraculously Jiro finds the wrist watch, but it looks to be caked in rotting meat. Needy but not stupid Jiro hands the watch over to a sympathetic police woman he knows for analysis. Little does Jiro know that the discovery of this Rolex will lead to another case, one filled with violence, sex and danger, one that will lead him directly into the heart of darkness.

"A Night in Nude: Salvation" is in fact a sequel to a 1993 film by director Takashi Ishii, a man who has never shied away from themes of criminality and eroticism in his work. North American Japanese films fans will recognize the handful of his titles that have managed to compete with the Miikes and Kitanos and make their way to Region 1 DVD. Ishii was the man behind the ensemble crime drama "Gonin", the violently sexual thriller "Freeze Me" and a remake of the classic roman porno film "Flower and Snake", but in his home country Ishii has been responsible for over 30 films since his debut in 1978. What all his films have haad in common is a gritty, unforgiving view of humanity combined with slick visuals, dramatic lighting and saturated colours. Ishii plays on these strengths to take Jiro into the middle of a trio of homocidal prostitutes plying their trade in the rough streets of Kabukicho. We're introduced to Mama, Momo and Ren after they kill a violent client and dismember and then scatter his remains in the forest at the foot of Mount Fuji. Nothing will or can stand in the way of these three women, not even the incestuous, drunken father (Joe Shishido) of the youngest prostitute Ren. It's Ren, who after getting her missing Rolex back from Jiro hires him again to find a missing hooker named Tae. Jiro never suspects who this girl may actually be.

One has to stress that "A Night in Nude: Salvation" doesn't really break any new territory. It is a fairly standard neo-noir crime thriller, but what makes it such a huge success is that it hits all the genre marks and is crafted so perfectly. The past decade has seen a number of Japanese films and filmmakers that have attempted to play with noir or cops and criminals conventions, but it's a rare film that has actually succeeded. One can look to the yakuza films of Rokuro Mochizuki and the hard-boiled work of Gen Takahashi as examples of success, but the market has also been cluttered with everything from the pat TV adaptations of series such as "Bayside Shakedown" and "Partners" to the post-Tarantino experiments of Shinji Aoyama's "Wild Life" and Katsuhito Ishii's "Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl".

Ishii, a three decade filmmaking veteran, knows not to fiddle too much with what makes a private detective story so compelling - a broken, world weary protagonist, a femme fatale character to play on his emotions, a fascinating if repellent villain and of course a mystery. Ishii in fact gives us two layers of mystery, who this elusive Tae is and what evil is luring beneath Ren's beautiful exterior. Hiroko Sato as Ren is remarkably good considering that she is a retired idol and gravure model. Yes, Ishii takes every opportunity to get Sato out of her clothes, but even in scenes where she is acting totally nuide opposite Naoto Takenaka she brings a believability that most former buxom tarento could never muster. The rest of the cast keeps the story barreling along as well. Takenaka, who has previously starred in Ishii's "Freeze Me", "Gonin" and of course the first "Night in Nude", plays Jiro as a man bewildered by a world that he retreated from so long ago. Harumi Inoue's Momo is equal in beauty, but is as hard as steel, and screen legend Joe Shishido gives a frightening performance as Ren's perverted father.

Let's hope that despite "A Night in Nude: Salvation" being a sequel to a little known (at least in the West) film that it gets a chance to make the rounds of festivals in North America and Europe. It really is one of the best films of the year, a journey into the underbelly of Tokyo that will leave very few audience members unaffected.

Weekly Trailers

Afraid to Die - Yasuzo Masumura (1960)

Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the suicide of Yukio Mishima, so here is the trailer for his staring role in Yasuzo Masumura's delirious and wild yakuza tale about a brash, young man who leaves prison only to get embroiled in all sorts of illegal activities, pulled between the underworld and his love of Yoshie (Ayako Wakao).



Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman - Kimiyoshi Yasuda (1971)

Probably one of the greatest cross over films ever made! This time Zatoichi, the legendary blind masseuse finds himself up against the classic Shaw Brothers hero the one armed swordsman, made popular by, and played here by, Jimmy Wang Yu! Yes, a blind swordsman versus a one armed swordsman. Amazing!

Japanese Weekend Box Office, November 20th to November 21st

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 (WB)
2. Sp The Motion Picture I* (Toho)
3. Ghost * (Paramount/Shochiku)
4. Heart Catch Pretty Cure! Fashion And Adventure In Paris!* (Toei)
5. Despicable Me (Toho Towa)
6. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Kadokawa)
7. Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night* (Presidio)
8. Umizaru 3: The Last Message* (Toho)
9. Leonie (Kadokawa)
10. Atashin'chi 3D The Movie* (Toei)

* Japanese film

Courtesy of Box Office Japan

Tokyo Filmex: 2nd Update

by Chris MaGee

It's been a busy few days since the start of Filmex here in Tokyo, but not all of the running about has been taking place for me at the festival site. Regular trips to the Yurakucho Asahi Hall in the Mullion Building (above)and the Togeki Theater are indeed part of the schedule here, but making the 6,700 mile trip to Tokyo means that I definitely have to make my time here in Japan count. Along with catching some of the classic and rarely screened Shochiku films at Togeki I have been making the rounds at many other public and private screenings in the city.

This past Monday I was honoured to be asked to the home of experimental filmmaker Kanai Katsu (above). There I was given a chance to watch the work of some of Kanai-san's former students at Tokyo Image Forum. Joining us was Shinichi Tamano, a young man who Kanai describes as his "best ex-student". Tamano, whose work as been screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival and the International Film Festival Rotterdam, explores nonsense situations in his films with a particular eye to repetition and some very violent acrobatics by their actors.

A trip to the Tokyo Image Forum Theater has been part of this trip as well. Last night it was there that I managed to catch a screening of the work off animator Atsushi Wada. Wada has had his work included in such prestigious animation festivals as Zagreb and Ottawa and it is easy to understand why seeing them all together on one screen. Not only do Wada's short films bombard the audience with surreal imagery, but they are also some of thee funniest films I've seen in a very long time. Joining Wada (above middle) at the screening was indie DVD distributor CALF founder Nobuaki Doi (above left) and fellow animator and CALF artist Mirai Mizue (above right).

One amazing aspect of Tokyo Filmex is who you run into in the theatre lobby. I was honoured and very moved to be able to meet and briefly chat with the man who was instrumental in bringing Japanese film to international audiences - author, film historian, respected Japanologist and filmmaker in his own right Donald Richie. To simply be able to give thanks to Mr. Richie and let him know that without him there would be no people like me was a highlight of my life. He was gracious and cheerful and I will treasure the above photo of him and I forever.

Anyway, I'm off to catch what is fast beoming the buzz Japanese film at this year's Filmex, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "The Depths". Hamaguchi, an alumni of the Tokyo University of the Arts Film Program, already wowed audiences here at Filmex two years ago with his graduating project "Passion" so everyone I have spoken to are anxious to see his sophomore film. After that will be a screening of half of NHK's "Kaidan Horror Classics" including Shinya Tsukamoto's "The Whistler" with Tsukamoto in attendance. More on that soon!

REVIEW: Peace

Peace

Released: 2010

Director:
Kazuhiro Soda

Starring:
Toshio Kashiwaga
Hiroko Kashiwaga
Shiro Hashimoto



Running time: 75 min.

Reviewed by Chris MaGee

In 2009 Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda was asked to make a film on the subject of peace and co-existence by the organizers of the DMZ Korean International Documentary Festival. Most filmmakers given such a task would probably take us into the middle of an uneasy truce between military rivals (such as North and South Korea), or give us a portrait of an individual whose risks violence and death in order to ensure peace. Soda is not a battlefield documentarian though. "Observational" portraits of friends, such as old college roommate Kazuhiko Yamauchi in 2007's "Campaign", and his mother-in-law Hiroko Kashiwaga who worked at an Okayama Prefecture mental health clinic in 2008's "Mental", are his special forte. So for the DMZ KID Festival Soda once again focused his camera on those around him to explore the concept of peace in its most subtle manifestations.

Soda's father-in-law Toshio Hashigawa has worked for decades as a driver for the mentally and physically handicapped. It is his job to pick up his clients and take them on shopping trips, to their work places and in some cases on day trips that are designed to simply brighten their day. Hashigawa, an outwardly gruff, taciturn man on the verge of his senior years, changes around the people on his route, becoming gentle and doting. This gentle side also comes out when he is at home and is feeding a group of stray cats that he has been taking care of for years. His wife Hiroko loves her husband but admits to hating his herd of mangy-looking cats. They attract flies she says, and she has enough to deal at her own job, working at an outpatient care facility. Daily Hiroko travels to the homes of the elderly, like 91-year-old Shiro Hashimoto, to provide home care and company. It's not always an easy job though. Hashimoto's cramped home attracts its own vermin, but the war vet is too ill to take care of the problem. We learn that he has terminal lung cancer, but is still rebelliously smoking and drinking. Given these three individuals, how does Soda present an illustration of peace to viewers? It turns out in myriad ways.

"Peace" opens with Toshio maintaining peace between his group of stray cats and one lone feline he has dubbed "the thief cat". This interloper, far mangier than the rest of the group, comes to the Kashiwaga's yard at feeding time and steals food from the other cats. Instead of scaring off this "thief cat" with violence though Toshio makes special arrangements for him to have his meals in the bushes, away from the other cats, so that he is fed and the other cats aren't disturbed. It's this simple solution to a potentially fur-flying situation that says volumes about Toshio's character and it extends to his work. There he brings peace to his clients. Without Toshio their lives would be a prison of isolation, but he brings them sunshine (literally), assistance and dignity. Toshio's wife Hiroko does the same with her clients, especially Hashimoto-san whose wife passed away years before. Hiroko's visits give Hashimoto a bit of the domestic peace that he must have enjoyed with his wife.

Not everything is sunshine and roses Soda's film though. It is obvious that Toshio's cats cause tension between him and his wife. After one of her rants he simply smiles and says "No comment" and an uncomfortable peace settles on the room between husband and wife. Also there is a cruel irony present in "Peace". The name of Soda's film is also the same name of the brand of cigarettes that Hashimoto continues to slowly kill himself with. The old man doesn't seem to care though. Without smoking (and the occasional shot of sake) his existence would be truly miserable. Maybe the cigarettes that have damned him to a death by cancer will also be his ticket to entry into the peace of the after life, a place he often speaks of throughout the film.

"Peace" is an original take on what could have been a pat exploration of war and peace. Soda takes what he does best, giving audiences unadorned footage of those around him, and embues it with the themes of balance, momentary release, cooperation and acceptance. While "Peace" doesn't break any new ground in Soda's "observational" filmography it will leave viewers with the realization that peace, even at the most basic levels in our lives, is something that we must work to attain and definitely should not take for granted.

The Criterion Collection to Release Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Still Walking"

by Marc Saint-Cyr

Here is a piece of news that has been anticipated, hinted at and more-or-less unofficially confirmed for some time now - but it is nonetheless most satisfying to receive final confirmation on it. Avid DVD collectors are at this point quite aware of the deal IFC made with the Criterion Collection, which entailed a selection of noteworthy films from the former getting juicy DVD releases through the latter. That deal has provided excellent new editions of films like Steve McQueen's "Hunger," Steven Soderbergh's "Che," Jan Troell's "Everlasting Moments," Gotz Spielmann's "Revanche" and others. One of the earliest films initially mentioned in association with the release now has a release date: Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Still Walking" from 2008 will be out on both DVD and Blu-ray from Criterion on February 8th, 2011. The multiple award-winning film focuses on one day in the life of a contemporary Japanese family and has only added to the number of those who call Kore-eda a worthy heir to Yasujiro Ozu. The DVD and Blu-ray will feature a transfer approved by Kore-eda and cinematographer Yutaka Yamazaki, interviews with both men, a making-of documentary, an essay by Village Voice critic Dennis Lim and, most interestingly, actual recipes for the dishes that appear in the film. More information on the release can be found here.

Though I haven't seen "Still Walking" yet, I am a great admirer of Kore-eda's "Maborosi" (which I reviewed here) and "Nobody Knows," and am very pleased by this news. Not only will a modern Japanese master be receiving his first entry in the Criterion Collection, but I and other fans of his work will be getting a superb release of what seems to be one of his strongest efforts yet.

Upcoming French Book on Koji Wakamatsu

by Marc Saint-Cyr

This is certainly a noteworthy piece of news - if only for the step forwards in Japanese cinema scholarship it represents. According to Wildgrounds, there is a new book on legendary filmmaker Koji Wakamatsu being released on November 26th - a mere few days from this writing! It seems that this will be the first tome on Wakamatsu-san to be released in the Western world. However, there is a slight drawback for those whose principal language is English - the book will be released in France, and will only be in French. Yet if you can understand the language, it is certainly worth a look. It will include essays by Wakamatsu himself in which he will talk about his filmmaking career, the Japanese film industry as it was from the 1960s to the 1980s and the pinku eiga genre in which he made his name. The book will also include an essay by Nagisa Oshima, an interview conducted by Go Hirasawa and an analysis by Jean-Baptiste Thoret. Click on the following links to see details about a career-spanning retrospective of Wakamatsu's works taking place at the Cinémathèque Française (set to coincide with the release of the book), a summary of the book itself and a review of it - all of which in French.

Hopefully this retrospective and publication will be signs of things to come for English viewers and readers eager to learn more about this fascinating filmmaker. In the meantime, though, there is a pretty great book already out there to tide people over: Jasper Sharp's thoroughly-researched "Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema," which features a fair bit of information on Wakamatsu, his rise in the pinku eiga ranks and his remarkable collaboration with Masao Adachi.

New "13 Assassins" Poster Pops Up Online

by Marc Saint-Cyr

Takashi Miike's "13 Assassins" is still a fairly new film, but it already has at least one passionate admirer amongst the Pow-Wow gang. It was recently shown at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September, where Pow-Wow contributor Matthew Hardstaff had the good luck of seeing it. Afterwards, he wrote a gushing review and proclaimed it to be Miike's finest film in years. I for one am eager to agree with him based on what I've seen and heard about the film thus far - an epic, bloody, "Seven Samurai"-esque period piece in Miike's hands would indeed be a sight to see. We previously relayed the news that Magnet Releasing picked up the North American rights to it, but there still hasn't been an announcement regarding a specific release date for it. But to help ease the wait, there is a new poster for the film out that the folks over at Museum of Cinema dug up. Check it out above or at this link, where it is presented in varying sizes.

Tokyo Filmex 2010: 1st Update

by Chris MaGee

It's been a long journey to Tokyo, plus a lapse of a few days of me posting here on the blog, but the wait is now over! Tokyo Filmex 2010 officially kicked off yesterday in Yurakucho here in the Japanese capital. This 11th edition of the festival supported by Office Kitano, Shochiku and Unijapan amongst other sponsors, has assembled films from around the globe for Tokyo film audiences. The fest was kicked off yesterday with the Japanese premiere of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's latest film "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives".

Prior to the screening of "Uncle Boonmee" a special opening ceremony was held, hosted by Tokyo Filmex festival director Kanako Hayashi during which she proudly introduced this year's festival jury Ulrich Gregor,founder of International Forum of New Cinema, Berlinale, "Uncle Boonmee" director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Chinese director Ying Ning, veteran screenwriter and script supervisor Akane Shiratori, and Cheuk-To Lee, Artistic Director, Hong Kong International Film Festival. Gregor praised the "passion for film" that makes Filmex haapen each year.

The opening was attended by a who's who of current and classic Japanese film culture. This year's festival guests Kazuhiro Soda, presenting his new documentary "Peace" and Ryusuke Hamaguchi, presenting his sophomore film "The Depths" were on hand as well as such luminaries as actor Hidetoshi Nishijima (Dolls, Vacation), directors Isao Yukisada and Sabu, longtime Takeshi Kitano producer Masayuki Mori, film scholar Tadao Sato, Iranian director Amir Naderi, here in Tokyo working on his upcoming Japanese film "Cut", and a rare public appearance by legendary author aand Japanese film historiaan Donald Richie.

For myself the opening was also a way to catch up with members of the online Japanese film community including such folks as Jason Gray, Marc Walkow and Don Brown, as well as former Nippon Connection programmer Alex Zahlten and Third Window Films founder and president Adam Torel.

Many films to caach in the next eight days, so keep checking back here on the blog throughout Tokyo Filmex 2010, November 20th to 28th!

REVIEW: Kaidan Horror Classics

妖しき文豪怪談 (Ayashiki Bungo Kaidan)

Released: 2010

Director(s):
Shinya Tsukamoto
Sang-Il Lee
Masayuki Ochiai
Hirokaazu Koreeda


Running time(s): various



Reviewed by Chris MaGee

Most often the most frightening things that we have to face in life don't come from outside us. So many horror films focus on some other, sometimes supernatural, most often malevolent, that threatens our person or sanity. It makes sense. Horror writers and directors want to dig back to our deepest fears from childhood (that monster in the dark closet), or poke at our ancient reptilian brain to ignite our hardwired fight or flight responses. There's the other horror though, a fear that grows out of our own emotions - jealousy, lust, shame, anger and grief. These most basic emotions given full reign over our minds can breed monsters just as terrifying as any horror movie slasher or supernatural being. In 2009 Japan's national broadcaster NHK commissioned four world renowned directors to bring classic macabre Japanese short stories to television. The result is "Kaidan Horror Classics", films that may not end up making your hair stand on end, but that haunt us with our own dark feelings and motivations.

Shinya Tsukamoto's "The Whistler" based on a story by Osamu Dazai has all the hallmarks of a Tsukamoto film - littery hand-held camera work, a melodramatic score and a genuinely nightmarish sequence involving the ghost of a fallen soldier, but this is much more of a return to Tsukamoto's sublime 2004 film "Vital" than any of his better known cyberpunk-inspired output. Like "Vital", "The Whistler" (top)concerns itself with very real and very powerful emotions. The story revolves around a woman (Aoba Kawai) who is caring for her ailing younger sister (Eri Tokunaga) while aat the same time dealing with an overbearing father (Jun Kunimura). It seems both girls have never had a romantic relationship in their lives because their father has unrealistic expectations of his daughters and any potential suitors. Kawai's character came close to love, but the young man went off to fight and die in the Sino-Japanese War. When she discovers that her young sister has been receiving love letters from a man known only by the initials M.T. she becomes consumed with envy. Little does she know that these letters aren't coming from who she thinks they are.

Sang-Il Lee takes a darker turn from his career defining "Hula Girls" with his entry into "Kaidan Horror Classics". "The Nose" (above) is an adaptation of a short story by "Rashomon" author Ryunosuke Akutagawa. The story centers around a wandering monk (Yutaka Matsushige) during Japan's medieval Heian period. Once a member of the Kyoto noble court the monk's disfigurement, a 5-inch long nose, has driven him to live a life of poverty in a small village. The locals ignore this strange man with his face covered by a cloth mask, but the village children relish in throwing stones at this stranger. After one of these attacks a small boy accidentally falls into the river and it is up to the monk to save him. The only problem is that his mask his swept off and the boy terrified by what he thinks is a monster ends up drowning. The villagers ask the monk to perform a funeral for the boy, but during the ceremony a miracle occurs - the boy walks into the group of villagers and up to his mother. Is this the real boy though? And how long will the villagers revere the mink as a miracle worker before learning his role in the boy's drowning? You don't get much better portraits of anger and guilt than "The Nose" these days.

Lee isn't the only director to use the human anatomy as a source of horror. His film "The Arm" (above) is a surreal adaptation of a story by Nobel Prize-winner Yasunari Kawabata by J-Horror pioneer Masayuki Ochiai. Don't expect long-haired ghost girls in this film though. "The Arm" is a deliciously straange story of a middle-aged man who is obsessed with a gorgeous young woman. Actually he's obsessed with one part of her anatomy - her right arm. She acknowledges this man's fetiss by kindly offering him her arm for a night. She promptly plucks it from her shoulder and hands it over! No blood and gore involved here at all though. Ochiai takes us on a dream journey into a man's lust by having the protagonist not only replace his own arm with the woman's, but has him haunted by a young lover in a ghost automobile that drives in the night outside his window. Liberal use of the original text from Kawabata's original story might leave some people feeling distanced from the action (or lack thereof as the case may be), but those willing to let their logical minds give way to the trippy storyline will be immensely rewarded.

The most haunting, but probably the least chilling of the four "Kaidan Horror Classics" ends up being Hirokazu Koreeda's "The Days After" (above). Based on a short story by Saisei Muro it is a moving portrait of the love and grief two parents feel for their late child. Ryo Kase and Yuri Nakamura play a father and mother whose infant son died several years before, but he isn't entirely lost to them. Their now 7-year-old son wanders home on a regular basis to spend time with his parents. The two cherish these miraculous visits, but their son seems odd - he has a patchy memory of his existence between these visits. After time spent with his parents he says he must "go back" and wanders away just as he arrived. Kase attempts to grill his son as to were he must "go back" to and even tries to follow him, but to no avail. Soon he wonders whether his son is really his son at all, but this is a reality that he and his wife refuse to accept. There is nothing scary about this "Horror Classic", but it raises so many interesting dilemmas about how grief can blur the judgment of even the most logical individual.

As "Kaidan Horror Classics" is a TV series rights issues with NHK may prevent it from making it to an international DVD release, which would be real shame. Not only are these shorts some of the best films I've seen this year, but after having been subjected to so many sub-par J-Horror DVD releases in the past half decade it would be wonderful to cap off the Asian horror boom/ bust with some truly creative work like this. All I can say is lets hope someone in the UK or North America has a big bank roll to get these films to audiences.

J-Film Pow-Wow at Tokyo Filmex!

by Chris MaGee

Just a quick announcement/ reminder to all of you that I'll be heading to Tokyo for two weeks to attend this year's Tokyo Filmex Festival. This news would be exciting enough, but there will be a lot of extra (and exciting things) on my plate during his stay - shopping for films for the 3rd annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival, conducting interviews with people for the book on butoh on film I am working on, as well as seeing friends. I would love to spend the two weeks blogging on the Pow-Wow like a fiend, but things will be very busy, so here's an apology in advance if posting gets a bit erratic for the rest of this month. Bob, Marc, Matt and Eric will be chipping in with news items when they can and I will definitely be posting film reviews during my stay including my take on the NHK produced "Kaidan Horror Classics" films directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, Hirokazu Koreeda, Sang-Il Lee and Masayuki Ochiai, as well as "Peace" the latest documentary by Peabody Award-winner Kazuhiro Soda.

So, exciting and busy times ahead! Keep checking back throughout the month for treats from Tokyo!

KimStim to bring the work of animator Koji Yamamura to Region 1 DVD on December 7th

by Chris MaGee

Toronto is going through Koji Yamamura mania this weekend as the Oscar-nominated animator is in town as part of the 14th annual Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Yamamura will not only be at a retrospective screening of his films at the NFB Theatre today, but hew will also be conducting a free masterclass as part of the fest. Now, before all of you across North America get angry at missing the chance to see all of Yamamura's amazing animated shorts you should read on for some very exciting news.

The KimStim Collection, the same folks who have brought the work of such legendary Japanese animators as Osamu Tezuka and Kihachiro Kawamoto to North American Region 1 DVD over the past couple years, have announced via their website that they will be relesing a collection of Yamamura's films on DVD December 7th titled "Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor & other Fantastic Films by Koji Yamamura". This disc will bring together 15 of Yamamura's animated shorts including his 2002 Oscar-nominated "Mt. Head", 2007's "Franz Kafka‘s A Country Doctor" (above) and 2005's "The Old Crocodile". Along with the films the DVD will include a special introductory essay titled "Koji Yamamura: The Long Cherished Story Book" written by yours truly.

If you're looking to add the work of Koji Yamamura to your DVD collection or want to start your Christmas shopping early then click here to pre-order your copy of "Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor & other Fantastic Films by Koji Yamamura" today.

REVIEW: Nightmare Detective 2

悪夢探偵 2 (Akumu Tantei 2 )

Released: 2008

Director:
Shinya Tsukamoto

Starring:
Ryuhei Matsuda
Yui Miura
Miwako Ichikawa
Ken Mitsuishi
Hanae Kan

Running time: 102 min.


Reviewed by Chris MaGee

Everyone has heard Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous quote from his 1933 inaugural speech, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." I couldn't help thinking of this quote over and over again while watching Shinya Tsukamoto's sequel to his 2006 horror crossover film "Nightmare Detective". Tsukamoto has become internationally recognized for exploring obsession, transformation, lust and fear throughout his 25-year filmmaking career, but with 2008's "Nightmare Detective 2" he attempts to take his audience deeper into the dark corners and crevices of fear than he has ever done before with the end result being both masterful and maddeningly obscure.

As a refresher the original film starred Ryuhei Matsuda as Kyoichi Kagenuma, the Nightmare Detective of the title, and follows the manhunt for a psychopathic serial murderer who convinces people to kill themselves via cell phone. Police detective Keiko Kirishima (pop singer Hitomi) asks for Kagenuma's help to get into the minds and dreams of those involved in the case to stop this spree of suicide/ murders from continuing. Tsukamoto gave us teasing glimpses of Kagenuma's youth in the first "Nightmare Detective", but I at least felt that we never got enough information to ever really know who this sullen young psychic really was. "Nightmare Detective 2" delivers on this lack of background for Ryuhei Matsuda's character.

Nearly half of the running time for "Nightmare Detective 2" is told in flashback, or flashbacks in the form of recurring nightmares that are plaguing Kagenuma. Night after night the details of Kagenuma's childhood play out in his dreams - his fragile mother Itsuko (Miwako Ichikawa) being possessed by sudden terror, terror inspired by her own little son. Kagenuma's father (Ken Mitsuishi) does his best to protect his son from his wife's violent panic attacks, but he can't be around 24 hours a day. The audience witnesses Itsuko hiding on top of wardrobes to escape her boy, horrific attempts to drown him in the bathtub and finally Kagenuma is witness to her suicide in an upstairs bedroom. Terrifying indeed, especially given that Tsukamoto casts an adorable child actor to play Kagenuma as a boy. This young version of Kagenuma is already frightened by the psychic visions that plague him such as a group of school children who died in a bus accident and the ghost of his won mother who crawls through his window nightly. Each morning the now adult Kagenuma is jolted awake by these horrible visions, but instead of finding some peace during waking hours he is confronted by a high school girl with her own nightly terrors.

Yukie (Yui Miura) and her friends fear for their lives after they begin having nightmares about a classmate who they once bullied. This girl, Kikugawa (Hanae Kan), appears to them in their dreams and throws a glass of water on them. Whichever girl is dowsed in the dream ends up dying under mysterious circumstances in waking life. Kagenuma wants nothing to do with Yukie and her nightmares, but as she tells him more about Kikugawa, how she was suddenly gripped by unexplained terror, Kagenuma wonders if this case may provide answers to his own mother's affliction.

It's hard to say if "Nightmare Detective 2" is a sequel or a prequel to the original film. Matsuda is the only character that has carried over from "Nightmare Detective", but linear progression from the first film, or the events in "Nightmare Detective 2" don't seem to be what Tsukamoto is after. What the primary purpose of "Nightmare Detective 2" is is to unnerve and frighten its audience and it does just that again and again. Tsukamoto does this in two ways - he constructs his film almost entirely using claustrophobic close-up and he employs some truly effective (and frightening) sounds effects. One of the very few long shots that Tsukamoto uses in the film are in Yukie's nightmare and after the tight, hand held close-ups you'd think a shot with some breathing room would be a relief, but Tsukamoto uses to terrifying sound work and music to make a girl holding a glass of water and walking backwards one of the scariest images I've seen in film for a very long time.

Still "Nightmare Detective 2" doesn't get everything right, although I would say that it greatly improves on the original film, a work that I found disappointing. Fear is a constant in "Nightmare Detective 2" whether it is paralyzing its characters or being whispered by Kagenuma's mother. Something is genuinely driving people mad with fear, but to avoid spoilers all I can say is that the reason behind this is revealed with a bit of a clunk near the end of the film. I would have expected more than the easy explanation given, although it does leave the story of "Nightmare Detective" open for additional sequels/ prequels with the character of Yukie possibly being Robin to Kagenuma's Batman. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," but Tsukamoto at least gives us a hope that more "Nightmare Detective" films will bring more chills, otherwise the only thing we'll have to fear is the curse of the half-baked movie franchise.

At long last Kinji Fukasaku's "Battle Royale" comes to North American DVD!

by Chris MaGee

Probably the biggest news amongst fans of Japanese film this week had to have been that Kinji Fukasaku's cult classic "Battle Royale" will finally be getting a North American DVD release. Fukasaku's dystopian 2000 film has been the introduction for thousands of young Japanese film buffs worldwide, but despite its popularity it has been unavailable on a legitimately released Region 1 DVD on these shores. Some fans had whispered that the highly violent content of the film, which tells the tale of a class of high schoolers who are forced to battle it out on a deserted island, was what was keeping it from being released on DVD in America and Canada. It's true that in the wake of a rash of school shooting in the U.S. in the past 10 years people were a little wary of a film like "Battle Royale", but the main reason for the decade long wait time for this film to come to DVD was that Toei, the studio that produced and distributes "Battle Royale", had been asking for an exorbitant amount of money from already cash-strapped North American DVD distributors.

Obviously no price tag for "Battle Royale" was announced publicly, but we can assume Toei's asking price was with the budget of Anchor Bay Entertainment as they will be releasing not only the original film, but "Battle Royale 2" on Region 1 DVD in 2011. May fans are saying that it's about time, but let's hope that all thye people who have already got "Battle Royale" on Region 2 or grey market DVDs will replace them with this new release. Anchor Bay should pack the disc with extras to make sure that they make back whatever large sum was paid out to Toei.

To work all of you "Battle Royale" fans into a frenzy of this news here's the thatrical trailer for you to play on repeat until Anchor Bay delivers its new DVD for all of you. Thanks to Tokyograph for this news.

Sion Sono gets ready to stir up controversy with upcoming film "Guilty of Romance"

by Chris MaGee

To say that Sion Sono has fast become one of the hottest directors in Japan at the moment would be an understatement. While he is definitely not a newcomer to Japan's independent film scene, having made 17 films since his debut with 1990's "Bicycle Sighs", one of the biggest reasons for Sono's recent superstar status is his 2008 epic "Love Exposure" Since its release every new Sono project has become that much more of a hot property. Having already followed up "Love Exposure" with the ultra-violent true crime film "Cold Fish" news now comes of another new film by Sono that is just finishing production.

The Hollywood Reporter this week ran a story that Sono is just finishing up shooting on a new film entitled "Guilty of Romance". Not much has been revealed about the plot of the film or the cast yet except two things - it starts with the discovery of a woman's dismembered corpse being found attached to a wooden mannequin in a warehouse, and that the film will include "hard sex scenes". How hard? We can assume that they will be pretty hard as Yuko Shiomaki, the head of Pictures Dept. the company who along with Nikkatsu are producing "Guilty of Romance", was quoted as saying that the sex in the film will make its release "very sensitive in Japan".

We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this new Sion Sono film as more details are released. Thanks to Wildgrounds for giving us the heads up about this.

REVIEW: Tampopo

タンポポ (Tampopo)

Released: 1985

Director:
Juzo Itami

Starring:
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Nobuko Miyamoto
Ken Watanabe
Koji Yakusho
Rikiya Yasuoka

Running time: 114 min.


Reviewed by Marc Saint-Cyr

"Tampopo" is one of those films that occupied a spot at the top of my endless to-see list of Japanese cinema for a very, very long time. I first heard about the so-called “first Japanese noodle Western” years ago, and was enticed by descriptions of it as an affectionate ode to food thinly disguised as a crowd-pleasing underdog story. Later, when I learned of the involvement of great filmmaker Juzo Itami (whose first film, "The Funeral," I greatly enjoyed) and such notable actors as Koji Yakusho and Ken Watanabe, my eagerness to see the film only intensified. Alas, I discovered that the DVD was something of a rarity, only available to purchase from independent sellers at ridiculously steep prices and high in demand as a rental. So I added "Tampopo" to the top of my Zip queue and waited, and waited. But now I have finally seen Itami’s beloved second film – and it was certainly worth the wait.

The titular character (played by Nobuko Miyamoto, who was married to Itami until his death in 1997 and appeared in all of his films) is a struggling roadside noodle shop proprietress and single mother of a young son. One rainy night, in true Western fashion, an alluring stranger appears: the truck driver Goro (Tsutomu Yamazaki) with his partner Gun (Watanabe) in tow. After taking note of her lackluster cooking methods and fighting off a gang of bullies, they vow to help turn her place into one of the best eateries in town. They soon put her to work with athletic-style training sessions, observing (and sometimes stealing) competitors’ techniques and recipes and re-designing the entire décor of her restaurant. Along the way, other helpful benefactors join their team à la "Seven Samurai," including Pisken (Rikiya Yasuoka), a gruff contractor; Shohei (Kinzoh Sakura), a gifted noodle chef and an old master who presides over a group of mangy beggars with highly developed culinary tastes.

That is the central narrative strand of "Tampopo," but part of what makes Itami’s film so delightful is how it wanders over to separate episodes that all have one thing in common: a passion for food. Many of them feature Yakusho’s character, a mysterious yakuza clad in white who, in the film’s meta-cinematic opening scene, seats himself with his mistress in a movie theatre as a table full of food and drink is set up before them. Breaking the fourth wall, he warns the audience not to interrupt the film with watch alarms or, ironically, sounds from snacks. We see him at various points throughout the film, most often engaged with his lover in what could be called “food play,” in which they savor food and sex all at once and in equal measure. A justly famous scene focuses in close-up on them transferring an egg yolk back and forth between their conjoined mouths. Other side stories drop in on a young executive who dares to order a grand lunch for himself while his comparatively frugal superiors growl and blush in silent protest, a pearl diver whose offering of a fresh oyster to Yakusho is presented as an erotically-charged epiphany, a food-fondling old lady who wreaks havoc in a grocery store and a man who arrives home just in time for his dying wife to cook their family one last meal. All of these stories and more not only savor the sumptuous delights of food, but also show compassion and humor worthy of Ozu, Renoir or Truffaut. Many times, Itami pulls off a perfect moment of pure humanism, like the one in which a man recovering from dental surgery shares his ice cream cone with a timid tyke.

The main tone present throughout "Tampopo" is one of quirkiness and camp, but it remains fun and fresh throughout its entire duration. More remarkable, though, is how Itami nurtures genuine empathy for all of its characters – particularly for Goro and Tampopo. Late in the film, the two of them go on a quiet date together and share their previous experiences with love and family. At this point, as their bittersweet love story unfurls, you suddenly become aware of just how much you care for these characters. You not only desperately want to see Tampopo succeed with her restaurant, but also to find happiness and balance in her life. That Itami can evoke such strong feelings while also composing a love letter to dining and throwing in playful references to everything from American Westerns to Charlie Chaplin to Kon Ichikawa’s "The Burmese Harp" is an impressive feat.

"Tampopo" is one of the most enjoyable viewing experiences I’ve had in some time, and it was well worth waiting to see it. More than a certified classic of Japanese cinema, it is a generous, jam-packed smorgasbord that mixes together love, death, rivalry, comedy, obsession and mischief all into one perfect film. Oh, and one more thing that you can count on from "Tampopo": if you don’t have a rumbling appetite or fierce craving when it starts, you definitely will by the time it ends, so make sure a suitable eating establishment is nearby for afterwards.

Read more by Marc Saint-Cyr at his blog

Breast Fest 2010 screens Ryuichi Hiroki's "April Bride" to highlight the fight against breast cancer

by Chris MaGee

All of us here at the Pow-Wow have important women in our lives - wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters and friends - so when the folks at the 3rd annual Breast Fest Film Festival contacted us about a special screening of a Japanese film they are holding we knew we wanted to share the news with you. This is especially true as Breast Fest is out there screening films for a great cause, "to frame and explore the spectrum of issues surrounding breast cancer."

As part of this mandate Breast Fest will be presenting a screening of Ryuichi Hiroki's "April Bride" at The Royal Ontario Museum on Sunday, November 21st at 3:00PM. "April Bride" stars Nana Eikura as Chie, a corporate public speaker who falls in love and embarks on a relationship with a young salaryman named Taro, played by Eita. When the two begin considering marriage Chie reveals a secret she's been keeping from Taro - she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The news rocks the foundations of their relationship, but soon the two are battling the disease together.

You can find out more details about "April Bride" and the Breast Fest Film Festival, running from November 19th to the 21st at The Royal Ontario Museum here, plus you can check out the trailer for "April Bride" below.

Makoto Shinkai takes "the next Hayao Miyazaki" tag to heart with upcoming film

by Chris MaGee

For years now people have been quoted as saying that anime director Makoto Shinkai was going to be the next Hayao Miyazaki. While I, like so many anime fans, was impressed by Shinkai's films "Voices of a Distant Star" and "5 Centimetres Per Second" I just couldn't see the comparison between him and Miyazaki. Yes Shinkai produces some jaw-droppingly beautiful set pieces for his films, but lovelorn teens separated by great distances don't bring to mind the spunky heroines of MIyazaki's films in my mind. This past week, though, a teaser trailer for Shinkai's upcoming film "Hoshi o Ou Kodomo: Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below" hit the net and I could finally see the comparison making sense.

A story that centers around a female heroine who uses the crystal radio set given to her by her father to go on a magical journey, a sweeping, tuneful orchestral score, lush landscapes, and a clip of a young female character falling with a fiery gem around her next that screams "Castle in the Sky" - all this combined and Shinkai's latest looks like it's taking the Miyazaki comparisons to heart. Check out the trailer below to see what we mean.

Anime fans in Japan will get to see "Hoshi o Ou Kodomo: Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below" when it opens in theatres in May of next year. Here's hoping that anime fans worldwide won't have to wait that much longer after that. Thanks to Anime News Network for this.

REVIEW: Sway

ゆれる (Yureru)

Released: 2006

Director:
Miwa Nishikawa

Starring
Jo Odagiri
Teruyuki Kagawa
Masato Ibu
Hirofumi Arai
Yoko Maki

Running time: 120 min.


Reviewed by Eric Evans

The first 30-40 minutes of Miwa Nishikawa’s “Sway” are unassailably good: confident, stylish filmmaking introducing character after character though dialogue and exchanges that seem natural and true. That the film loses its way somewhat in the second half wouldn’t be so obvious were it not for the assured, crackling first half, and Nishikawa (who scripted as well) deserves overachiever’s credit for trying to do as much as she does. What could have been a fairly standard albeit entertaining family drama about a black sheep returning home takes a shocking turn, playing out in a courtroom with fraternal rivalry having the most serious of consequences.

We know everything we need to know about the dynamic between brothers Takeru (Joe Odagiri) and Minoru (Teruyuki Kagawa) from a handful of scenes. Takeru—handsome and stylish, successful with work and women, something of a shit—returns home to honor his mother on the first anniversary of her death, and walks in mid-ceremony having yet to change into his suit. It’s uncertain which is more rude, his lateness or his maroon leather jacket. Older brother Minoru—provincial, reliable, boring—immediately welcomes him anyway, the two settling into well-worn grooves. Later at dinner Takeru and their ill-tempered father (an explosive Masato Ibu) have an ugly exchange, and the differences between the brothers are made clear. Minoru establishes a shaky detente between the two, then sets about cleaning up their father’s upturned dinner plate from the tatami beneath. In their mother’s absence he’s become the surrogate caregiver, doing laundry and otherwise enabling their father to live as he’s accustomed. Worse, he also works at the family business, a gas station on the road into town. Minoru’s only joy comes from co-worker Chieko (subdued yet radiant Yoko Maki), the sort of small-town girl far too pretty to be pumping gas but trapped by her circumstances. Further complicating things, Chieko and Takeru used to be an item; she was too scared to accompany him to Tokyo years earlier, and seeing him again gives her hope for a second chance at a new life. Her situation is clear, both to her and the brothers: Minoru wants her for a wife, but that would mean a stultifying small-town life pumping gas; Takeru, meanwhile, doesn’t want her for more than a plaything, but he represents passion, art, and most importantly, escape. After a few minutes of catching up Takeru and Chieko fall into bed. For her it’s a rekindling full of promise, for him a few hours’ diversion. For Minoru, who swallows his pain and plays dumb, it’s a major blow.

At Minoru’s urging the three take a trip to a river park the next day to relive childhood vacations playing at water’s edge. Chieko’s choice between the two becomes frighteningly literal on an aged cable suspension bridge above the river gorge: does she cross, following Takeru into the unknown on the other side, or stay put, settling for the security but certain monotony and boredom of Minoru? The symbolism of the bridge isn’t lost on Minoru, who fights to keep her with him. They struggle, she falls to her death, and what follows is a near-miss courtroom drama where old grudges and resentment between brothers colors the memory of the only possible witness: Takeru, who saw only glimpses of the before and after, not the fateful event itself. His memory replays the event based on how he thinks it may have happened with more than a nod to “Rashomon”. Did Minoru throw Chieko off the bridge, enraged at rejection? Did she slip as she fought to escape his grasp? Takeru can easily imagine either, and since the rest of the case is entirely circumstantial his word will carry undue weight.

Once “Sway” moves into the courtroom it loses a bit of its swagger. That’s not to say it falls apart; the film is still compelling, and the performances—especially a fun supporting turn by Keizo Kanie as the brothers’ uncle, a lawyer willing to use any theatricality to make his case—are uniformly strong. Kagawa is perhaps Japan’s best actor, bringing a humanity to every part he plays. His Minoru smiles though hardship, but it’s a smile that says beaten by life. Even heartthrob OdaJo, who often has decent work dismissed owing to his matinee-idol looks, gives a thoughtful turn to a character who is not in the least sympathetic.

Critical response to the film was mixed, particularly in regard to how the story resolves itself. Nakashima avoids the twists and theatricalities endemic to courtroom drama, and maybe that’s the film’s problem. You can’t fault a filmmaker for avoiding genre expectations, but “Sway”’s courtroom half feels somewhat anticlimactic and might have benefitted from a Turowesque turn. I would argue that anyone who has a sibling, especially if they have a parent prone to anger, will sense a truth to the story that elevates it beyond typical fare. Brothers can imagine the best and worst of one another, sometimes in the same moment. Nakashima wrote and directed this film more or less concurrent with her work in a pair of omnibus collections: “Jam Films Female” and “Ten Nights of Dreams”. Her work in the former is a highlight of that collection, in which characters communicate on both verbal and nonverbal levels, often with differing intents. Both there and in “Sway”, glances are meaningful. I haven’t seen her tremendous critical and popular success, 2009’s “Dear Doctor”, but “Sway” is very good if shy of great.

Singer Salyu and Takeshi Kobayashi record new single as Lily Chou-Chou

by Chris MaGee

One of our favorite films here at the J-Film Pow-Wow has got to be Shunji Iwai's 2001 coming-of-age drama "All About Lily Chou-Chou". It's a film that has a hell of a lot going for it - compelling drama, some heartbreaking performances, some of the most beautiful digital cinematography ever to be captured and of course we can't forget the music. Without the work of composer Takeshi Kobayashi and singer Salyu (above) as the fictional pop star Lily Chou-Chou (and Erik Satie and Claude Debussy) the film just wouldn't be the miracle it is. The original music that Kobayashi and Salyu recorded for the film became so popular with its fans that the two released a Lily Chou-Chou album titled "Kokyuu", but for the past 9 years no new music under the Lily Chou-Chou moniker has been released. That though is about to change.

It was reported this week on Tokyograph that Kobayashi, Salyu and guitarist Yukio Nagoshi are reuniting as Lily Chou-Chou and have recorded a new single which will hit stores in Japan on December 8th to be followed up by a live performance in Tokyo on the 15th. The trio has set up a new official website and have released a teaser sampling of their new single on YouTube. Check it out below.

"Space Battleship Yamato" producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki, 1938-2010

by Chris MaGee

Sad news for the world of anime this past week. Yoshinobu Nishizaki, the producer of of the classic 1970's anime series "Space Battleship Yamato" as well as its various reboots died on Sunday, November 7th after falling from a boat cruising the Ogasawara Islands, also known at The Bonin Islands, in the waters roughly 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo. He was 75.

Born in 1938 in Tokyo (real name Hirofumi Nishizaki) he would study at the Faculty of Arts at Nihon University and go on to work as a host in a number of jazz night clubs. In 1963 he founded his own production company named Office Academy with the intention of producing musical acts. By 1972 that mandate had changed with Office Academy producing the anime series "Triton of the Sea" based on a story by Osamu Tezuka. The following year Nishizaki's company would begin production an animated TV series about a group of people who flee a devastated Earth in a spaceship constructed out of the remains of the WW2-era battleship Yamato. Originally titled "Asteroid Ship Icarus"the name would be changed to "Space Battleship Yamato". The orignal series ran on Yomiuri TV from 1974-1975 and became hugely popular. It was dubbed in to English and aired across North America as "Star Blazers". In Japan the series would go through many re-imaginings and reboots, the most recent being a live-action remake directed by "Always: Sunset on Third Street" helmer Takashi Yamazaki.

"Space Battleship Yamato" would define Yoshinobu Nishizaki's career and he would often contribute story ideas for the many remakes and took genuine pride in his creation. Our deepest condolences go out to Nishizaki's family and friends at this time. Thanks to Anime News Network for the details of his remarkable life and career.

Weekly Trailers

A Night in Nude: Salvation - Takashi Ishii (2010)

Takashi Ishii brings us the sequel to his 1993 film "A Night in Nude". Naoto Takenaka returns in this neo-noir thriller as Kojiro, a man who takes on jobs for people who are too afraid to take them on themselves. This time out Kojiro is hired by a mother daughter team, but the job leads to sex, danger and murder. Co-starring Hiromi Inoue, Hiroko Sato and Joe Shishido.




Wet Sand in August - Toshiya Fujita (1971)

Toshiya Fujita, the director behind "Lady Snowblood" and two of the "Stray Cat Rock" films, takes us into the world of the Taiyozoku, or "Sun Tribe", the same group of restless and rebellious teens immortalized in Ko Nakahira's 1956 classic "Crazed Fruit". One of the last films to be produced by Nikkatsu before it switched to making Roman Porno films in 1971. Ranked at number 112 on Kinema Junpo's best films list.

REVIEW: Apartment 1303

1303号室 (1303 Gou shitsu)

Relased: 2007

Director:
Ataru Oikawa

Starring:
Eriko Hatsune
Yuka Itaya
Naoko Otani
Arata Furuta
Noriko Nakagoshi

Running time: 94 min.


Reviewed by Matthew Hardstaff

Oh Ataru Oikawa, where did you go wrong? You always seem to try and veer yourself away from the j-horror cliché, but somehow the further you seem to run from it, the closer you find yourself venturing into the world of cliché in the end. I’m not sure how the development of "Apartment 1303" went, but it’s based on a book by Koi Oishi, who also had some assistance in the script writing phase. What I do know is that at some point, Ataru found himself in the hands of Daniel Fridell, Cindy Nelson-Mulle, Michele Taverna and MonteCristo International. Not sure how much these people, who had a hand in funding and distributing the film, had a hand in its actual creative culmination, but they must have had some input, seeing as how they are also doing an English language remake. Good business sense, since they get two films and don’t have purchase the English language remake rights from anyone since they’re doing both, but could they have watered down Ataru’s concept?

Sayaka moves into apartment 1303, a small but affordable residence in a very nice building. Her friends are shocked how cheap it is, joking that maybe someone must have died there. Then, unexpectedly, in front of all of her friends, Sayaka jumps from the balcony to her death. At Sayaka’s funeral, her older sister Mariko (Noriko Nakagoshi from Orochi) talks with one of her friends who witnessed her suicide. She was never depressed, never showed any signs of suicidal tendencies, it was just out of the blue. Mariko wants to investigate. She visits the apartment and meets a strange young girl with a teddy bear that lives next door. The closet in one of the rooms seems to emanate a strange smell, and appears to be almost hypnotic for most young, single women. Then Mariko discovers Sayaka isn’t the only one to have jumped from the balcony of Apt. 1303. A string of suicides have taken place there over the years, and yet the superintendent continues to rent it out. With the help of a friendly detective Sakurai (Arata Furuta who seems very out of place in the film, and must have been doing somebody a favour to appear here), Mariko begins a quest to discover what caused her sister to leap to her death.

"Apt. 1303" is all over the place. Either there were too many hands in the pot or Ataru is on the pot, but I don’t think anyone knew what kind of a horror film they were making. What starts off mocking the j-horror cliché of the vengeful ghost woman in white with long black hair actually incorporates all those clichés by the films end. What has at its heart a tale of a cyclical, almost viral relationship between mother and daughter turns into a shallow excuse to create sympathy for Mariko, who really has no real character or development. Ataru has a few original ideas here, like most of his films, but they degenerate into terrible CG and predictable outcomes. He’s even able at times able to create some striking visual imagery and tense, claustrophobic moments, but then those powerful images are followed by trite, cheap, poorly shot cinematography with terrible climaxes and cheap scares. Plus, there are gapping plot holes, the biggest of which is the book written about the occurrences at the apartment. It’s a good narrative device, and a clever way for Ataru to give us lots of exposition without actually giving us talking heads, however, if the occurrence at Apt 1303 are widely known enough to have been all over the papers and have books written about it, why does no one in the film except for the detective know about it?

Why they are remaking this film is beyond me. Why they made this film in the first place is beyond me. There is unfortunately very little here we haven’t seen before, a mess created by mixing one part Stephen Kings "1408", one part Hideo Nakata’s adaptation of "Dark Water" and one part crap.

Read more by Matthew Hardstaff at his blog.