| Start: | Jun 20, '07 |
| End: | Jul 8, '07 |
| Location: | Shangri-la Plaza / UP Film Institute / Cultural Center of the Philippines |
THE JAPAN FOUNDATION, MANILA'S
MONTH-LONG EIGA SAI
The Japan Foundation, Manila, in cooperation with the Shangri-La Plaza Mall, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and the UP Film Institute, proudly presents slices of Japanese life as seen through the eyes of contemporary Japanese directors of "Eiga Sai 2007": a showcase of modern film genre at the Shang Cineplex, UP Film Institute and CCP Dream Theater.
Among the films to be featured are Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari, 2004, directed by Tetsuya Nakashima), Harmful Insect (Gaichu, 2002, directed by Akihiko Shiota), Hotel Hibiscus (Hotel Hibiscus, 2002, directed by Yuji Nakae), No One's Ark (Baka no Hakobune, 2002, directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita), Inochi (Inochi, 2002, directed by Tetsuo Shinohara), Out of this World (Kono Yo no Sotoe-Club Shinchu Gun, 2003, directed by Junji Sakamoto), The Stars Converge (Chirusoku no Natsu, 2003, directed by Kiyoshi Sasabe), Blue (Blue, 2001, directed by Hiroshi Ando), Blue Spring (Aoi Haru, 2001, directed by Toshiaki Toyoda) and Shangri-la (Togenkyo No Hitobito, 2002, directed by Takashi Miike).
The Eiga Sai (literally, 'film festival' in Japanese) opens at the Shangri-la Plaza Mall on June 20 with light comedy, "Kamikaze Girls" (2004, 103 minutes, Color), written by Novala Takemoto and directed by Nakashima Tetsuya. It tells the story of two very different teenagers who become best friends, even though neither will admit it. J-Pop star Kyoko Fukada stars as Momoko, a 17-year-old girl so obsessed with everything rococo that she wears old-fashioned frilly white clothing and carries a parasol. After Momoko's mother leaves her small time crook husband, her young daughter grows up on the farm, 60 miles from Tokyo, with her ex Yakuza father who sells fake Versace merchandize and grandmother, a woman with an extraordinary ability to catch flies in mid air. Desperate for money, Momoko starts selling the remainder of her father's counterfeit clothing, but her only customer is a tough-talking young biker chick, Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya), who belongs to an all-girl gang. Their lives exemplify some of the fascinating intricacies of Japanese youth culture in a feel good film with art direction creatively designed to blow your socks off. The movie garnered critical acclaim and won numerous awards in Japan and abroad.
All films will be shown with English subtitles. Screening venues are at the Cinema 3, Shangri-La Plaza Mall (June 20-26), UP Film Institute (July 2-5), and CCP Dream Theater (July 4-8). Admission is free. For detailed screening schedules and inquiries, please check the Japan Foundation, Manila website: www.jfmo.org.ph or call the JFM telephone numbers 811-6155 to 58.
Kamikaze Girls
Japanese Title Shimotsuma Monogatari
Format 2004 / HD or 35mm / 103 min / Color
Production Companies Amuse/ TBS/ SHOGAKUKAN/ Toho/ TOKYO FM/ Horipro/ Hakuhodo DY
Media Partners/ PARCO/ Ogura Jimusho
Producers Yuji Ishida/ Takashi Hirano/ Satoru Ogura
Director Tetsuya Nakashima
Screenplay: Testsuya Nakashima Original Story: Novala Takemoto Music: Yoko Kanno
Cast: Anna Tsuchiya as Ichigo Shirayuri, Kyoko Fukada as Momoko Ryugasaki
Japanese Release 2004
Synopsis
Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) escapes from the boredom of life in her humdrum rural hometown Shimotsuma by swathing herself from head to toe in doll-like "Lolita" garb. One day she meets her diametrical opposite on the fashion scale, the surly black lipstick biker chick Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya, winner of a 2005 Japan Academy Prize for best newcomer), who takes a liking to Momoko's unexpectedly gutsy nature and the two form an unlikely alliance. Momoko consoles Ichigo after she suffers a broken heart at the hands of a local pompadoured lothario, and uses her embroidery skills to embellish Ichigo's biker uniform for the graduation ceremony of a respected senior. In return, she takes Momoko to the best Lolita boutique in the city where her sewing skills gain her a chance to work for her favorite designer. However, Ichigo's fellow delinquents don't take kindly to her friendship with Momoko, which leads to a final showdown with the gang boss. Severely outnumbered, Ichigo looks doomed until the loyal Momoko rides to her rescue. A mildly surreal, frenetically comic journey into Japan's youth subcultures based on a graphic novel by cult manga creator Novala Takemoto and directed by TV commercial maestro Tetsuya Nakashima.
Hotel Hibiscus
Japanese Title Hotel Hibiscus
Format 2002 / 35mm / 92min / Color
Production Companies Office Shirous/ YES VISIONS CO., LTD./ BANDAI VISUAL CO., LTD./ YOMIURI
TELECASTING CORPORATION/ Yomiuri-TV Enterprise
Executive Producer: Shiro Sasaki Producers: Isao Takenaka/ Kazumi Kawashiro/ Kenji
Takahara/ Kazushi Yoshikawa Producers: Miyuki Sato/ Suguru Kubota/ Mariko Arai
Director Yuji Nakae
Screenplay: Motoko Nakae/ Yuji Nakae Original Story: Miiko Nakasone
Cinematography: Kenji Takama (J.S.C.) Music: Ken-ichiro Isoda
Cast: Honami Kurashita as MiekoYo, Kimiko as Mom, Tomi Taira as Grandma
Japanese Release 2003
Synopsis
"Hotel Hibiscus" is the story of one very young energetic girl named Mieko and her extraordinarily international family who live in Okinawa. They live in a run down old hotel called Hotel Hibiscus with only one room for rent. It is an extraordinarily serene film that shares similarities in style to some of Takeshi Kitano's stone cold calm film moments as well as owing a bit to Hayao Miyazaki in its celebration of childlike irreverence. The film focuses on a dilapidated hotel which is run by an interesting melting pot of a family that never ceases to remind themselves of their international roots. The story begins when Mieko and her two friends saves a teenage boy named Notojima (Wada Toshihiro) and he becomes the hotel's sole guest. Along with her classmates, Mieko spends her days trying to find Kijimuna the Forest Fairy. One day, her mother and half sister depart for the States to meet her sister's real father, leaving Mieko very busy with all the cooking and cleaning chores at the hotel. She delivers a letter to her father, who's working at a pineapple orchard, and meets a strange old man who calls himself Old Man Kijimuna. She also runs into a girl that's a dead ringer for herself. Mieko's summer holiday is filled with all sorts of experiences.
No One's Ark
Japanese Title Baka no Hakobune
Format 2002 / 35mm / 111min / Color
Production Companies Planet Plus One
Producers Kunihiko Tomioka
Director Nobuhiro Yamashita
Screenplay: Kosuke Mukai/ Nobuhiro Yamashita
Cinematography: Ryuto Kondo Music: AKA-INU
Cast: Hiroshi Yamamoto as Daisuke Sakai, Tomoko Kotera as Hisako Shimada, Takeshi
Yamamoto as Mitsuru Ozaki
Japanese Release 2003
Synopsis
The second feature film from director Nobuhiro Yamashita, well-known on the international festival circuit and whose first feature Hazy Life won the Grand Prix for independent films at the Yubari Fantastic Film Festival in the year 2000. The young Daisuke Sakai (Hiroshi Yamamoto) and his girlfriend Hisako Shimada (Tomoko Kotera) are in debt five million yen. They leave Tokyo in a small motorboat and go off to Daisuke's hometown, a small island in an attempt to persuade the locals to buy a health drink named "Akajiru" which, due to its awful taste, they haven't been able to sell in Tokyo. However, not even his family and childhood friends are willing to support their enterprise. Besides, Daisuke's ex-girlfriend and her younger sister complicate matters in his relationship. Set in the early 90's, this picture shows how it's hard for the young generation to find a place in the economy of its country.
Inochi
Japanese Title Inochi
Format 2002 / 111min / Color
Production Companies THE INOCHI PRODUCTION COMMITTEE
Producers Hidenori Iyoda/ Junichi Shindo
Director Tetsuo Shinohara
Screenplay: Sumio Omori Original Story: Miri Yu
Photography: Takeshi Hamada Music: Tatsuya Murayama
Cast: Makiko Esumi as Yu Miri, Etsushi Toyokawa as Yutaka Higashi, Toshio Kakei as Kamata
Japanese Release 2002
Synopsis
The film is based on a bestselling novel, in which the Japanese-Korean author Yu Miri candidly wrote down her own experiences. Yu Miri (Makiko Esumi) is a writer who's just become pregnant by her married lover. When she decides to keep the baby without his help, her ex-boyfriend Yutaka (Etsushi Toyokawa), now struggling with terminal cancer, decides to help raise him, pledging to "live long enough to hear the child call his name."
Out of this World
Japanese Title Kono Yo no Sotoe -
Club Shinchu Gun
Format 2003 / 35mm / 123 min / Color
Production Companies SHOCHIKU/ Eisei Gekijo/
Kadokawa-Daiei Pictures/ ABC/ FCB Worldwide
(Japan)/ Sedic International/ System D/ KÈHO
Producers Yukiko Shii
Director Junji Sakamoto
Staff Cinematography: Norimichi Kasamatsu
Editor: Toshihide Fukano
Lighting: Takashi Sugimoto
Cast: Mullan Peter as Sgt. Jim, Shea Whigham as Russell Reade
Masato Hagiwara as Kentaro Hirooka
Japanese Release 2004
Synopsis
Featuring a multinational cast directed by Junji Sakamoto (KT, Bokunchi), Out Of This World is an ensemble drama set in the aftermath of World War II. Kentaro (Masato Hagiwara) returns to U.S.- occupied Japan after being stationed in the Philippines, and is shocked to see what has become of his country. The sound of jazz drifts through the streets, as do thousands of American GIs, and the drink of choice is now Coca Cola. Sensing an opportunity, Kentaro hooks up with Shozo (Jo Odagiri) and some other likeminded musicians to form a jazz band called "The Lucky Strikers."
They land a gig at a servicemen's club on an American air force base but their audience doesn't have much patience for their substandard performances, especially the antagonistic jazz aficionado Russell (Shea Whigham). Kentaro's insensitivity towards the friendly club manager Jim (Peter Mullan) gets them barred from the base. Drug addiction, poverty and ideology draw them away from their music, and eventually the band members go their separate ways. Upon the death of one of their number, The Lucky Strikers reform and are given another chance to play at the American base. They perform one of Russell's songs, "Out Of This World," in tribute to their friend.
Harmful Insect
Japanese Title Gaichu
Format 2002 / 92min / Color
Production Companies Nikkatsu Corporation/
Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc. /Sony PCL, Inc.
Producers Hiroyuki Negishi/ Takashi Hirano
Director Akihiko Shiota
Screenplay: Yayoi Kiyono Photography: Tokusho Kikumura Music: Number Girl
Cast: Aoi Miyazaki as Sachiko Kita, Seiichi Tanabe as Ogata Satoshi, Ryo as Toshiko Kita
Japanese Release 2002
Synopsis
This film is about a junior high school girl who is determined to choose her own way of life amidst the cruel tricks of fate. The film won the Special Jury Award and the Best Actress Award at the 2001 Festival des 3 Continents, Loire-Atlantique, France. Sachiko, a 12-year-old girl in junior high school, has a complicated life. When she was still an infant, her father disappeared. Her mother, who works in a bar, is secretive and distant. Longing for an escape from her dreary existence and lacking any kind of parental guidance, Sachiko has a shortlived affair with her sixth-grade teacher, Ogata. But fearing that his indiscretion might be discovered, Ogata moves to a town far away. Although he and Sachiko continue a written correspondence, soon the absence of her only real friend and confidant leads Sachiko into a deep melancholy. When her mother attempts to commit suicide, the turbulence of Sachiko's life becomes too much to bear. After dropping out of school, she finds temporary solace in the company of others who have fallen through the cracks of middleclass society. But when she is forced back into the confines of her classroom, her long-dormant rage begins to surface and her life quickly spins out of control.
The Stars Converge
Japanese Title Chirusoku no Natsu
Format 2003 / 35mm / 114 min / Color
Production Companies Premier International/ Prenom H./ Japan Home Video/
Eisei Gekijo/ MAX-A/ CODE/ Yamaguchi Broadcasting
Producers Masaaki Usui
Director Kiyoshi Sasabe
Screenplay: Kiyoshi Sasabe Cinematography: Masaaki Sakae
Original Music: Mino Kabasawa
Cast: Yuri Mizutani as Ikuko Endo, Juri Ueno as Mari Sugiyama , Asami Katsura as Tomoe
Fujimura, Takayo Mimura as Reiko Kikawa
Japanese Release 2004
Synopsis
In 1977 in the port city of Shimonoseki, Ikuko (Yuri Mizutani) is an entrant in a track and field meet being held as a goodwill event with South Korean sister city Pusan. There she meets and falls in love with South Korean boy An Tei Hou (Junpei), a fellow high jump competitor. A year later on the day of the Tanabata festival (known as "Chirusoku" in Korean), the young lovers are reunited and vow to meet again in four years time. Some twenty-six years later, Ikuko has become a high school P.E. teacher and fondly remembers her youthful love affair. The track and field event she competed in has not been held since the onset of Japan's economic recession, but is to be revived this year. Ikuko participates as a coach, and she comes to know that a Korean man is the sponsor to make this event happen again.
Blue
Japanese Title Blue
Format 2001 / 35mm / 116 mins. / Color
Production Companies
Producer Dai Miyazaki
Director Hiroshi Ando
Screenplay: Yuka Honcho Cinematography: Kazuhiro Suzuki
Editing: Nobuko Tomita Music: Yoshihide Otomo
Cast: Mikako Ichikawa, Manami Konishi, Asami Imajuku, Jun Murakami
Japanese Release 2003
Synopis
Based on a manga created by very popular artist Kiriko Nananan. Mikako Ichikawa received the best actress award at the Moscow International Film Festival for her performance. Set in a small seaside town in Japan, Kayako Kirishima (Mikako Ichikawa) has become a third-year student. She's concerned about her classmate Masami Endo (Manami Konishi), who for some reason has failed and stayed behind in the same year. Everyone in the class ignores Masami even though they all have an interest in her. One day Kayako asks her to join lunch with the others and they quickly become close friends. Though Kayako never believed herself to be a lesbian, she ends up sharing a kiss with Masami. Their feelings for one another are put to the test when Masami sets off to visit the man who had impregnated her sometime earlier, and Kayako is left on her own.
Blue Spring
Japanese Title Aoi Haru
Format 2001 / 35mm / 83min / Color
Production Companies Micott Inc./ There's Enterprise Inc./ SHOGAKUKAN INC./ KSS Inc./ Nikkatsu
Corporation/ Nippon Shuppan Hanbai, Inc.
Producers Dai Miyazaki/ Tomohiro Kobayashi
Director Toshiaki Toyoda
Screenplay: Toshiaki Toyoda Original Story: Taiyo Matsumoto
Photography: Norimichi Kasamatsu Music: Kenji Ueda
Cast: Ryuhei Matsuda as Kujo, Hirofumi Arai as Aoki, Sosuke Takaoka as Yukio
Japanese Release 2002
Synopsis
This film is the third feature film by Toshiaki Toyoda following his gritty boxing documentary Unchained. It is his first film adaptation of a book made by popular manga-artist Taiyo Matsumoto. The film opens with the quiet yet brutal Kujo (played by Gohatto's Ryuhei Matsuda) winning a particularly hair-raising version of chicken — clapping as many times as you can while hanging on the outside of the school's rooftop railing. The winner of the game traditionally gets to rule the school, and Kujo sets a new record of eight claps. To him, however, both this game and the ruling of the school is meaningless and bothersome. Annoyed by Kujo's wavering attitude, Aoki suddenly changes his hairstyle and behavior. One morning, Aoki is standing on the roof of the school building. He starts doing the balcony game on his own. Driven by an ominous presentiment, Kujo runs up to the roof. The instant he opens the door to the roof, Aoki's body lets go of the railing. When his count reaches thirteen, Aoki hits the ground. The film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival.
Shangri-la
Japanese Title Togenkyo No Hitobito
Format 2002 / 35mm / 109 mins. / Color
Production Companies Daiei Company
Producers Yomiuri TV
Director Takashi Miike
Screenplay: Masakuni Takahashi Editing: Yasushi Shimamura
Cinematography: Hideo Yamamoto Music: Koji Endo
Cast: Sho Aikawa,Shiro Sano, Yu Okui, Akaji Maro, Shigeru Muroi,
Houka Kinoshita, Nao Omori, Takashi Ebata
Japanese Release 2002
Synopsis
This film is a story of a typical small business printing company heading straight into bankruptcy after another burst over the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Umemoto Printers, already creaky thanks to antique equipment, is only the smallest domino to fall as owner Seisuke Umemoto fails to collect on debts from the larger companies he supplies; in turn, he can't pay his loyal employees. This mousy man-of-honor goes on a near-suicidal bender, eventually ending up in a ramshackle shantytown on the edge of Tokyo. Far from being a creepy slum, the ad-hoc village is well run by a quiet powerhouse and possible former yakuza everyone calls the Mayor. With the help of super-organized squatters, like an unemployed postal worker, a blocked novelist, and a would be private snoop, Umemoto is able to navigate tricky bureaucratic waters in order to get the goods on Nagashima, a corporate CEO who has declared high-profile bankruptcy while secretly funneling his assets through various mistresses and side-companies. After several smaller schemes, the Mayor and company finally get back to Umemoto's beloved Heidelberg presses where they literally give him a license to print money — or something as good as money.
Schedule
Shangri-la Plaza
June 20 (Wed)
7:00 PM
Kamikaze Girls
June 21 (Thu)
2:00 PM
Shangri-la (Togenkyo No Hitobito)
5:00 PM
Blue Spring
8:00 PM
Out of this World
June 22 (Fri)
2:00 PM
Hotel Hibiscus
5:00 PM
Inochi
8:00 PM
No One's Ark
June 23 (Sat)
2:00 PM
Blue
5:00 PM
Kamikaze Girls
8:00 PM
The Stars Converge
June 24 (Sun)
2:00 PM
Kamikaze Girls
5:00 PM
Hotel Hibiscus
8:00 PM
Blue Spring
June 25 (Mon)
2:00 PM
Blue
5:00 PM
Inochi
8:00 PM
Out of this World
June 26 (Tue)
2:00 PM
Shangri-la
5:00 PM
The Stars Converge
8:00 PM
Harmful Insect
UP Film Institute
July 2 (Mon)
2:00 PM
Shangri-la
5:00 PM
Out of this World
7:00 PM
Blue Spring
July 3 (Tue)
2:00 PM
Blue
5:00 PM
Inochi
7:00 PM
Kamikaze Girls
July 4 (Wed)
7:00 PM
Hotel Hibiscus
July 5 (Thu)
2:00 PM
Harmful Insect
5:00 PM
No One's Ark
7:00 PM
The Stars Converge
Cultural Center of the Philippines
July 4 (Wed)
4:00 PM
Out of this World
7:00 PM
Blue Spring
July 5 (Thu)
4:00 PM
Blue
7:00 PM
Shangri-la
July 6 (Fri)
4:00 PM
Inochi
7:00 PM
Kamikaze Girls
July 7 (Sat)
4:00 PM
Harmful Insect
7:00 PM
The Stars Converge
July 8 (Sun)
4:00 PM
No One's Ark
7:00 PM
Hotel Hibiscus
No comments:
Post a Comment