There are a total of nine films that will be showing in JFF 2013, and one of them has already been selected to be Japan's entry for the next Foreign Language Oscar, so it is one that is most certainly worth looking forward to. I won't be listing out all nine films, but I'm going to post the trailers for what I'm planning to see while the festival begins in the Klang Valley on Thursday.
For my Sabahan friends, the festival should be making your way when it reaches Suria GSC on October 3 to 6, though some of the movies shown here might not be reaching there.
Until the Break of Dawn (ツナグ)Director: Yuichiro Hirakawa
Cast: Tori Matsuzaka, Kirin Kiki, Ryuta Sato, Mirei Kiritani, Ai Hashimoto
Running Time: 2 Hours 9 Minutes
Language:: Japanese
Classification: U
Synopsis: Ayumi's grandmother is a Connector - she holds the power to bring solace to the living by summoning the dead. Before passing this gift to Ayumi, she wants to be sure that he fully understands what it entails. By helping a series of clients to meet with their departed friends and loved ones, Ayumi learns the importance of living without regret, and at the same time comes to terms with the doubts that have haunted his own past. Based on the prize-winning novel "Tsunagu" by Mizuki Tsujimura.
Trailer Impressions: I think I saw this for sale on DVD but never really bothered to buy it. Well, it has a touching premise so I would recommend bringing some tissue for this (in fact, there are quite a few movies you should do that based on their trailers). I like to think this as a spiritual sequel to Departures, but probably without a cast as strong.
Dearest (あなたへ)Director: Yasuo Furuhata
Cast: Ken Takakura, Yuko Tanaka, Koichi Sato, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kimiko Yo, Haruka Ayase
Running Time: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
Language:: Japanese
Classification: U
Synopsis: Eiji works as a prison officer in Hokuriku. At the age of 53, Eiji loses his wife whom he loves the most. Later, he receives a letter from his dead wife requesting that her ashes be scattered in the sea next to her hometown. Eiji is taken by surprise because she had never mentioned such a thing when she was alive. In order to find out her real intentions, Eiji heads to his wife's hometown of Nagasaki with his homemade camper van.
Trailer Impressions: Another one primed to be a tearjerker. After last year's Death of a Japanese Salesman, I should be prepared to go into this to end up as a mess afterwards. I guess you can see this as a Japanese version of P.S I Love You but with a much elderly cast, and seeing great performances from veteran actors is just one of the few things to remind me of what good cinema is about.
The Chef of South Polar (南極料理人)Director: Shuichi Okita
Cast: Masato Sakai, Katsuhisa Namase, Kitaro, Kengo Kora, Kosuke Toyohara
Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
Language:: Japanese
Classification: U
Synopsis: Based on two autobiographical novels by Jun Nishimura, the film centers on a research expedition living in Dome Fuji Station near the South Pole. The area, which is located far from Showa Station, has an average temperature of -54 degrees celcius and is situated 3800 meters above sea level. A cook named Nishimura leaves his family behind in order to assist the expedition. Out in the middle of nowhere, Nishimura manages to cook extravagant meals consisting of high-class ingredients like foie gras, spiny lobster, and Matsuzaka beef in this true story of wintering party male bonding.
Trailer Impressions: A kitchen comedy set in a unusual setting. If there's one thing that the cast is good at doing in the trailer is making you crave for some Japanese food afterwards, so maybe best to go in with a stuffed stomach to resist the temptation? If you are looking for some light entertainment, that is not an animation from the selection, this is probably the one that I would go for.
The Kirishima Thing (桐島、部活やめるってよ)Director: Daihachi Yoshida
Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Ai Hashimoto, Suzuka Ohgo, Masahiro Higashide
Running Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
Language:: Japanese
Classification: P13
Synopsis: A rumor that Kirishima, the most popular student in school, is going to withdraw from after-school activities sends the other cool kids into an uproar. This has little effect on uncool film club member Maeda, who begins to shoot a zombie movie. The emotion of the school's various student factions gradually intersect, and during the shooting of Maeda's movie, a little incident occurs that sway their hearts.
Trailer Impressions: Admittedly this is the weirdest looking one from this year's selection, but guessing on its theme from the trailer, it looks like it has some pretty meta-stuff about filmmaking, which is something that is right up my alley.
The Great Passage (舟を編む)Director: Yuya Ishii
Cast: Ryuhei Matsuda, Aoi Miyazaki, Joe Odagiri, Haru Kuroki
Running Time: 2 Hours 13
Language:: Japanese
Classification: U
Synopsis: Mitsuya Majime is, by all accounts, a word person. Physically clumsy and socially awkward, he only truly feels at home within the rules and confines of lexicography, or when relaxing in solitude at his boarding house with his cat, Tora-san. After struggling in the sales division of the Genbu Books publishing company, he manages to land his dream job in the Dictionary Editorial Department, where he can use his talents to compile a new dictionary, called "The Great Passage". Partnering with Mitsuya are an elderly professor who is nearing retirement after devoting his life to studying the Japanese language and a callow young man who is slow to develop an appreciation for the challenging task ahead. Mitsuya's love of language, however, leaves him speechless when he meets Kaguya, his landlady's granddaughter, who moves into his building and beguiles him with her obsession with cooking knives and fine cuisine.
Trailer Impressions: A strong cast coupled with a story that is uniquely Japanese, which might make it a little harder to comprehend. But if this is chosen to be Japan's representative for the Best Foreign Language at the next Oscars, then I think there is going to be high expectations going into this one. I don't think this one is going for the heart tugging emotions like in Departures, so there should be something else to make this a highly recommended watch.
Another movie that I couldn't find the trailer for is Ken & Mary, which is a Japanese and Malaysian co-production that was made and shown here a couple years ago, but only had its world premiere recently. But without a trailer, I can't really gauge how I would like it, but I think it is definitely worth checking out to see how the Japanese shoot in our local sights.
Releases and details according to CinemaOnline.
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