Horror anthologies are alive and well in Japan. From books and manga to television and film, the Japanese clearly enjoy their scares in segments. Especially during summer, a season where spirits are said to return to the mortal realm. And many times the literary side of kaidan (ghost stories) entail collections called kaidan-shū, a style of book born from the Edo-period game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai (the gathering of 100 supernatural tales). Perhaps the most famous of these kinds of books, on account of its 1964 film adaptation, is Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1904) by Yakumo Koizumi/Lafcadio Hearn. Meanwhile, more modern authors have dabbled in or embraced the kaidan-shū format.
Fuyumi Ono, who is known for writing the light novel series Jūni Kokuki, found herself amassing other people’s kaidan over the years. In time, these same accounts — including ones submitted to the magazine Yū — and several others were published...
Fuyumi Ono, who is known for writing the light novel series Jūni Kokuki, found herself amassing other people’s kaidan over the years. In time, these same accounts — including ones submitted to the magazine Yū — and several others were published...
- 7/12/2024
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
On the occasion of his films, Her Love Boils Bathwater, A Long Goodbye and The Asadas screening at at Japan Society as part of Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux program, Ryota Nakano talks to Panos Kotzathanasis about him working on family dramas, how has changed through the years, the three movies in detail, working with Tsutomu Yamazaki and the late Yuko Takeuchi, Masashi Asada and other topics.
- 2/25/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Family-centred dramas seem to have become the specialty of director Ryota Nakano since his feature debut “Capturing Dad”. His 2016's film “Her Love Boils Water” earned him a remarkable number of awards and nominations and “A Long Goodbye” was the following work, with a stellar cast. It will be followed in 2020, by another family narration, “The Asadas”, where a real story gives him a vehicle to talk about the dramatic events of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
A Long Goodbye is screening at Japan Society as part of the Family Portrait program
It's 2007 and Fumi (Yu Aoi) and older sister Mari (Yuko Takeuchi) are summoned by their mum Yoko (Chieko Matsubara) to celebrate the 70th birthday of their father Shohei (Tsutomu Yamazaki), a former headmaster, stern and entirely dedicated to his work. Soon it's clear that the birthday celebration is just an excuse to deliver an uneasy message. Shohei was...
A Long Goodbye is screening at Japan Society as part of the Family Portrait program
It's 2007 and Fumi (Yu Aoi) and older sister Mari (Yuko Takeuchi) are summoned by their mum Yoko (Chieko Matsubara) to celebrate the 70th birthday of their father Shohei (Tsutomu Yamazaki), a former headmaster, stern and entirely dedicated to his work. Soon it's clear that the birthday celebration is just an excuse to deliver an uneasy message. Shohei was...
- 2/22/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Presented by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, and Japan Society
February 15-24, 2024 at Japan Society
and partner venues in NYC
New York, NY – Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and Japan Society are proud to announce the eighth installment of the Aca Cinema Project film series – Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux – an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States. The Aca Cinema Project has presented events in both New York and LA since 2021, and its upcoming edition will showcase over nine contemporary and classic films from February 15-24, 2024 all with the central theme of the modern family. The bonds of the Japanese family are often revered in the West, and this series will both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.
February 15-24, 2024 at Japan Society
and partner venues in NYC
New York, NY – Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and Japan Society are proud to announce the eighth installment of the Aca Cinema Project film series – Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux – an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States. The Aca Cinema Project has presented events in both New York and LA since 2021, and its upcoming edition will showcase over nine contemporary and classic films from February 15-24, 2024 all with the central theme of the modern family. The bonds of the Japanese family are often revered in the West, and this series will both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.
- 1/24/2024
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
As part of the Aca Cinema Project––”an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States”––Japan Society will run “Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux” from February 15-24. A mix of American premieres and repertory showings, this series puts “bonds of the Japanese family” front and center to “both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.”
U.S. premieres include Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Yoko, starring Rinko Kikuchi, and Keiko Tsuruoka’s Tsugaru Lacquer Girl. A special spotlight is given to Ryota Nakano, whose A Long Goodbye and exquisitely titled Her Love Boils Bathwater will be making New York debuts; his 2020 feature The Asadas also plays.
Repertory screenings will be held for Kohei Oguri’s Muddy River, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, Kore-eda’s Still Walking,...
U.S. premieres include Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Yoko, starring Rinko Kikuchi, and Keiko Tsuruoka’s Tsugaru Lacquer Girl. A special spotlight is given to Ryota Nakano, whose A Long Goodbye and exquisitely titled Her Love Boils Bathwater will be making New York debuts; his 2020 feature The Asadas also plays.
Repertory screenings will be held for Kohei Oguri’s Muddy River, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, Kore-eda’s Still Walking,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Tokyo – As the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) roars back into life this year after two years of going hybrid, it brings along with it the jejune of milestones and the dim realities that have beleaguered the Japanese film industry, pre- and during the pandemic.
In one of the festival’s most notable highlights, Japanese director Koji Fukada and Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu were accorded the 2022 Kurosawa Akira Award on Oct. 29, the re-emergence of which after 14 years could not have come at a more critical time according to Hiroyasu Ando, chairman of this year’s filmfest.
“A family member of Kurosawa told me that justice and humanity have been the underlying common themes of his films,” Ando said during the awarding ceremony. Looking at the world now, the former diplomat-turned TIFF head said that these are the very same things we currently “need the most.” “The rebirth...
In one of the festival’s most notable highlights, Japanese director Koji Fukada and Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu were accorded the 2022 Kurosawa Akira Award on Oct. 29, the re-emergence of which after 14 years could not have come at a more critical time according to Hiroyasu Ando, chairman of this year’s filmfest.
“A family member of Kurosawa told me that justice and humanity have been the underlying common themes of his films,” Ando said during the awarding ceremony. Looking at the world now, the former diplomat-turned TIFF head said that these are the very same things we currently “need the most.” “The rebirth...
- 10/30/2022
- by Purple Romero
- AsianMoviePulse
★★☆☆☆ The unnerving neighbour is a shopworn trope of domestic thrillers and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Creepy is only an occasionally effective entry into the genre. Following a face-off with a psychopath that almost costs him his life, Detective Takakura (Hidetoshi Nishijima) resigns from the force, and retreats to the relative tranquillity of academia. Along with his beautiful wife Yasuko (Yuko Takeuchi) and their Dulux-ready dog Max, Takakura moves into a new neighbourhood and does the rounds, offering the neighbours gifts as a way of introducing themselves.
- 11/23/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Premiering earlier this year the Berlin International Film Festival, Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Creepy is a detective tale freely adapted from an award-winning novel by Yukata Maekawa. Like his second film shown at film festivals this year, Daguerrotype, it may not be the masterpiece on the level of Cure or Charisma that some of the filmmaker's fans are continually looking for, just like some acolytes of Johnnie To forever want him to make another The Mission. But then again, Kurosawa has always been a B-movie director at his core, with a love for pulp material that he slows down and draws out, mining the schlock and cliché of horror films and thrillers for their deep metaphysical unease. He films a world broken and disturbed at its core, so how can we expect perfection from such a vision?After the ghost romance Journey to the Shore, which debuted last year at Cannes,...
- 11/8/2016
- MUBI
Ryan Lambie Published Date Thursday, October 13, 2016 - 06:39
Can you really trust your neighbours, as respectable as they might seem? Isn’t there something a little strange about the guy who lives two doors down - the unblinking one who walks without swinging his arms? There’s a hint of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window to the Japanese suspense thriller Creepy, mixed with a dash of Joe Dante’s under-appreciated comedy horror, The ‘Burbs: Joe Dante’s a pointed satire of suburban life where a poorly maintained front lawn becomes an early sign of psychopathy.
“Serial killing is a modern sort of crime,” observes Takakura (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a university professor and former detective who’s retired from the force following a grim incident involving a captured murder suspect and a fork. A year after that prickly trauma, Takakura moves with his demure wife, Yasuko (Yuko Takeuchi) to a quiet Japanese...
Can you really trust your neighbours, as respectable as they might seem? Isn’t there something a little strange about the guy who lives two doors down - the unblinking one who walks without swinging his arms? There’s a hint of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window to the Japanese suspense thriller Creepy, mixed with a dash of Joe Dante’s under-appreciated comedy horror, The ‘Burbs: Joe Dante’s a pointed satire of suburban life where a poorly maintained front lawn becomes an early sign of psychopathy.
“Serial killing is a modern sort of crime,” observes Takakura (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a university professor and former detective who’s retired from the force following a grim incident involving a captured murder suspect and a fork. A year after that prickly trauma, Takakura moves with his demure wife, Yasuko (Yuko Takeuchi) to a quiet Japanese...
- 10/11/2016
- Den of Geek
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Sony Pictures Classics have announced they have acquired the rest of Pedro Almodóvar’s full library of films, including “Pepi, Luci, Bom”; “Labyrinth of Passion”; “Dark Habits”; “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”; “High Heels” and “Kika.” Spc will release his latest, “Julieta,” in theaters on December 21.
Based on short stories by Nobel laureate Alice Munro, “Julieta” is “about a mother’s struggle to survive uncertainty. It is also about fate, guilt complexes and that unfathomable mystery that leads us to abandon the people we love, erasing them from our lives as if they had never meant anything, as if they had never existed. The cast includes Adriana Ugarte, Emma Suárez and Rossy de Palma. It...
– Sony Pictures Classics have announced they have acquired the rest of Pedro Almodóvar’s full library of films, including “Pepi, Luci, Bom”; “Labyrinth of Passion”; “Dark Habits”; “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”; “High Heels” and “Kika.” Spc will release his latest, “Julieta,” in theaters on December 21.
Based on short stories by Nobel laureate Alice Munro, “Julieta” is “about a mother’s struggle to survive uncertainty. It is also about fate, guilt complexes and that unfathomable mystery that leads us to abandon the people we love, erasing them from our lives as if they had never meant anything, as if they had never existed. The cast includes Adriana Ugarte, Emma Suárez and Rossy de Palma. It...
- 8/12/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Creepy screening on Fantasia International Film FestivalSTORY75%DIRECTION70%ACTING75%VISUALS72%POSITIVESImposing, horrific atmosphereAll the cast, but particularly Teruyuki Kagawa are greatInteresting storyNEGATIVESSomewhat lagging2016-07-2773%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (0 Votes)0%
Kurosawa’s long-awaited return to his psychological J-horror roots, since his latest films were mostly art-house (Journey to the Shore, Real) or social ones (Tokyo Sonata), finally occurred, and the result is quite similar to “Pulse” (Kairo).
The action in the film starts immediately, as a tragedy occurs when a serial killer detective Takakura was questioning escaped. The result of the incident was for Takakura to resign, and to follow an academic career in criminal psychology. The script then moves in two axes. The first one takes place in the new neighborhood Takakura and his wife, Yasuko move in. While Yasuko wants to become friends with the rest of the neighbors, they treat her with suspicions except for Nishino,...
Kurosawa’s long-awaited return to his psychological J-horror roots, since his latest films were mostly art-house (Journey to the Shore, Real) or social ones (Tokyo Sonata), finally occurred, and the result is quite similar to “Pulse” (Kairo).
The action in the film starts immediately, as a tragedy occurs when a serial killer detective Takakura was questioning escaped. The result of the incident was for Takakura to resign, and to follow an academic career in criminal psychology. The script then moves in two axes. The first one takes place in the new neighborhood Takakura and his wife, Yasuko move in. While Yasuko wants to become friends with the rest of the neighbors, they treat her with suspicions except for Nishino,...
- 7/27/2016
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Yoshihiro Nakamura's The Inerasable screening on Fantasia International Film FestivalSTORY73%DIRECTION70%ACTING67%VISUALS69%POSITIVESIntricate storyGreat atmosphereAccomplished editingNEGATIVESLagging in the end2016-07-2670%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (0 Votes)0%
Yoshihiro Nakamura has managed to adapt a novel to the point that we are not talking about adaptation any more, but rather for visualization.
The film is based on Fuyumi Ono’s horror novel Zang-e, and begins with the story of Ai, a mystery novel writer currently working for a horror magazine, who draws inspiration from the reader’s submissions of supernatural phenomena. One day, she receives a letter from Kubo, a university student who claims to hear odd sounds in her apartment. As Ai remembers of another similar letter stating the same, the two of them start investigating the occurrence, beginning with the apartment’s previous owners. As they delve deeper into the story, they go further back in the past, uncovering...
Yoshihiro Nakamura has managed to adapt a novel to the point that we are not talking about adaptation any more, but rather for visualization.
The film is based on Fuyumi Ono’s horror novel Zang-e, and begins with the story of Ai, a mystery novel writer currently working for a horror magazine, who draws inspiration from the reader’s submissions of supernatural phenomena. One day, she receives a letter from Kubo, a university student who claims to hear odd sounds in her apartment. As Ai remembers of another similar letter stating the same, the two of them start investigating the occurrence, beginning with the apartment’s previous owners. As they delve deeper into the story, they go further back in the past, uncovering...
- 7/26/2016
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Creepy has been touted as Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "return" to horror, but it feels, in its own right, like a new departure for the director. Where vintage Kurosawa fare was vague, mysterious, and mournful, Creepy is bracing, black-humored, and overt. A serial killer yarn instead of a ghost story, Creepy is thinly reminiscent of Kurosawa's early masterpiece Cure, but without that film's opaque existentialism or impenetrable puzzles. The film lays out its plot and choreographs its path toward the climax as if setting up chess pieces for a routine match. Former detective Takakura (Hidetoshi Nishijima) has just relocated to a new neighborhood with his wife, Yasuko (Yuko Takeuchi), and is working as a criminology professor. In classic cinematic fashion, he is pulled back into the fold...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 6/30/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Fans of Kiyoshi Kurosawa will rejoice since his latest film, “Creepy” will signal his return to the thriller genre, which was the one that made him an international sensation.
The film is based on the homonymous novel by Yutaka Maekawa and the story goes like this: After having narrowly escaped an attempt on his life at the hands of a psychopath, detective inspector Takakura quits active service in the police force and takes up a position as a university lecturer in criminal psychology. But his desire to get to the bottom of criminals’ motives remains, and he does not hesitate long when former colleague Nogami asks him to reopen an old case. Six years ago, a family disappeared under mysterious circumstances and to this day no body has been found. Takakura follows Saki’s memory. She is the only surviving family member from the case. While Takakura immerses himself in the old files,...
The film is based on the homonymous novel by Yutaka Maekawa and the story goes like this: After having narrowly escaped an attempt on his life at the hands of a psychopath, detective inspector Takakura quits active service in the police force and takes up a position as a university lecturer in criminal psychology. But his desire to get to the bottom of criminals’ motives remains, and he does not hesitate long when former colleague Nogami asks him to reopen an old case. Six years ago, a family disappeared under mysterious circumstances and to this day no body has been found. Takakura follows Saki’s memory. She is the only surviving family member from the case. While Takakura immerses himself in the old files,...
- 3/23/2016
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
One has to appreciate Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s winking self-awareness in calling his new feature Creepy. It’s as if the Coen brothers released a film entitled Snarky, or Eli Roth named his next stomach-churner Gory. Kurosawa, who’s still best known for Cure (1997) and Pulse (2001), two rare outstanding examples of the highly variable J-Horror genre, instills a sense of creepiness into virtually anything he does, regardless of subject matter. His latest, which sees him return to the realm of horror after excursions into more arthouse territory, certainly lives up to its name and has a lot of fun doing so.
In the excellent, mood-setting opening, we’re introduced to Koichi (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a brilliant detective with an ill-fated fascination for psychopaths. As he interrogates a young and cheerfully remorseless serial killer, he can barely contain his excitement at being able to probe such a compelling subject. His smug over-confidence results...
In the excellent, mood-setting opening, we’re introduced to Koichi (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a brilliant detective with an ill-fated fascination for psychopaths. As he interrogates a young and cheerfully remorseless serial killer, he can barely contain his excitement at being able to probe such a compelling subject. His smug over-confidence results...
- 2/16/2016
- by Giovanni Marchini Camia
- The Film Stage
In the third Berlinale Diary entry, I offer first impressions of Terence Davies's Emily Dickinson biopic A Quiet Passion with Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine, Catherine Bailey, Jodhi May, Emma Bell and Duncan Duff; Mia Hansen-Løve's outstanding Things to Come with Isabelle Huppert, Andre Marcon, Roman Kolinka, Edith Scob and Sarah Le Picard; and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's serial killer thriller (and comedy) Creepy with Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yuko Takeuchi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Haruna Kawaguchi and Masahiro Higashide. Plus: Trailers and a clip. » - David Hudson...
- 2/14/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
In the third Berlinale Diary entry, I offer first impressions of Terence Davies's Emily Dickinson biopic A Quiet Passion with Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine, Catherine Bailey, Jodhi May, Emma Bell and Duncan Duff; Mia Hansen-Løve's outstanding Things to Come with Isabelle Huppert, Andre Marcon, Roman Kolinka, Edith Scob and Sarah Le Picard; and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's serial killer thriller (and comedy) Creepy with Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yuko Takeuchi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Haruna Kawaguchi and Masahiro Higashide. Plus: Trailers and a clip. » - David Hudson...
- 2/14/2016
- Keyframe
Today's list of films added to the lineup for this year's Berlinale (February 11 through 21) is short but big: World premieres of Terence Davies's A Quiet Passion with Cynthia Nixon as Emily Dickinson, Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine, Jodhi May, Catherine Bailey, Emma Bell and Duncan Duff; Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Creepy with Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yuko Takeuchi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Haruna Kawaguchi and Masahiro Higashide; Pernilla August's Den allvarsamma leken (A Serious Game) with Sverrir Gudnason, Karin Franz Körlof, Liv Mjönes, Michael Nyqvist and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard; and Sonia Kennebeck's documentary National Bird. Plus the international premiere of Don Cheadle's Miles Ahead. » - David Hudson...
- 1/18/2016
- Keyframe
Today's list of films added to the lineup for this year's Berlinale (February 11 through 21) is short but big: World premieres of Terence Davies's A Quiet Passion with Cynthia Nixon as Emily Dickinson, Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine, Jodhi May, Catherine Bailey, Emma Bell and Duncan Duff; Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Creepy with Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yuko Takeuchi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Haruna Kawaguchi and Masahiro Higashide; Pernilla August's Den allvarsamma leken (A Serious Game) with Sverrir Gudnason, Karin Franz Körlof, Liv Mjönes, Michael Nyqvist and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard; and Sonia Kennebeck's documentary National Bird. Plus the international premiere of Don Cheadle's Miles Ahead. » - David Hudson...
- 1/18/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
Don Cheadle’s Miles Davies’ biopic to get international premiere.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 11-21) has unveiled the eight-strong line-up for its Berlinale Special strand, which includes recent works by contemporary filmmakers and biopics of renowned personalities.
The programme includes the world premiere of Terence Davies’ drama biopic A Quiet Passion, which stars Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon as the celebrated American poet Emily Dickinson, charting her life from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive artist. Jennifer Ehle (Fifty Shades Of Grey) and Keith Carradine (Nashville) co-star.
The line-up also includes the international premiere of Miles Ahead, Don Cheadle’s directorial debut in which he also stars as jazz pioneer Miles Davis in late 1970s Manhattan, dealing with sycophants, industry executives, career highs and lows and memories of the love of his life, Frances Taylor.
Pernilla August’s A Serious Game will also world premiere...
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 11-21) has unveiled the eight-strong line-up for its Berlinale Special strand, which includes recent works by contemporary filmmakers and biopics of renowned personalities.
The programme includes the world premiere of Terence Davies’ drama biopic A Quiet Passion, which stars Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon as the celebrated American poet Emily Dickinson, charting her life from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive artist. Jennifer Ehle (Fifty Shades Of Grey) and Keith Carradine (Nashville) co-star.
The line-up also includes the international premiere of Miles Ahead, Don Cheadle’s directorial debut in which he also stars as jazz pioneer Miles Davis in late 1970s Manhattan, dealing with sycophants, industry executives, career highs and lows and memories of the love of his life, Frances Taylor.
Pernilla August’s A Serious Game will also world premiere...
- 1/18/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Creepy
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Writers: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Chihiro Ikeda
Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa is set to unveil two films in 2016 (the other snagged our #80 slot on this list). One of these is Creepy, an adaptation of a celebrated novel by Yukata Maekawa. What’s most exciting is the film marks Kurosaw’s return to genre filmmaking, where he made his indelible mark with such items as the genuinely eerie Cure (1997) and Pulse (2001). Kurosawa often blend existential ennui into supernatural or sci-fi narratives, which don’t always seem to spellbind. This latest is a mystery thriller about an ex-detective asked by an old colleague to look into a six year old missing person’s case. Meanwhile, he also moves into a new residence with his wife, and their next door neighbor consists of a man, his ailing wife, and their teenage daughter. One day, the daughter jumps into the detective’s...
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Writers: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Chihiro Ikeda
Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa is set to unveil two films in 2016 (the other snagged our #80 slot on this list). One of these is Creepy, an adaptation of a celebrated novel by Yukata Maekawa. What’s most exciting is the film marks Kurosaw’s return to genre filmmaking, where he made his indelible mark with such items as the genuinely eerie Cure (1997) and Pulse (2001). Kurosawa often blend existential ennui into supernatural or sci-fi narratives, which don’t always seem to spellbind. This latest is a mystery thriller about an ex-detective asked by an old colleague to look into a six year old missing person’s case. Meanwhile, he also moves into a new residence with his wife, and their next door neighbor consists of a man, his ailing wife, and their teenage daughter. One day, the daughter jumps into the detective’s...
- 1/6/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Well this news solves the problem of where we might finally get our grubby paws on an English subtitled copy of Koki Mitani’s critically acclaimed Japanese horror (with a very small “h”) comedy; A Ghost of a Chance. The movies heading for a theatrical bow in Hong Kong on December 6, which means by our reckoning, an English subbed DVD release mid to late January. Happy days. Trailer to see (also with subs!) at the link. Synopsis: Emi is a third-rate defence lawyer with zero prospects. One day, her boss, (Hiroshi Abe) assigns her a particularly unusual case. A man is suspected of murdering his wealthy wife (Yuko Takeuchi) but he has an alibi. At the time of the crime he claims to have been staying at a country inn where he suffered an attack of supernatural sleep paralysis or kanashibari. The only individual able to prove his innocence...
- 11/27/2012
- 24framespersecond.net
On Tuesday, further cast members were announced for the upcoming Strawberry Night movie, including Takao Osawa and Tomokazu Miura as brand new characters.
It was previously known that Yuko Takeuchi would be reprising her role from the 2010 Fuji TV special and 2012 drama as the main protagonist, detective Reiko Himekawa.
The film is based on Tetsuya Honda’s 2009 novel “Invisible Rain” and features a story of forbidden love between Himekawa and a gangster played by Osawa.
The story begins with Himekawa investigating the slaughter of a low-ranking yakuza. Due to the victim’s affiliations, the case is initially written off as a gang dispute and put on the back-burner due to a lack of conclusive evidence. Later, they receive a phone tip implicating a man named Kento Yanai as the perpetrator, but the higher-ups order that no further investigation be done of that particular name.
Going against that order, Himekawa begins...
It was previously known that Yuko Takeuchi would be reprising her role from the 2010 Fuji TV special and 2012 drama as the main protagonist, detective Reiko Himekawa.
The film is based on Tetsuya Honda’s 2009 novel “Invisible Rain” and features a story of forbidden love between Himekawa and a gangster played by Osawa.
The story begins with Himekawa investigating the slaughter of a low-ranking yakuza. Due to the victim’s affiliations, the case is initially written off as a gang dispute and put on the back-burner due to a lack of conclusive evidence. Later, they receive a phone tip implicating a man named Kento Yanai as the perpetrator, but the higher-ups order that no further investigation be done of that particular name.
Going against that order, Himekawa begins...
- 5/29/2012
- Nippon Cinema
On Tuesday, the finale of Fuji TV’s detective series “Strawberry Night” ended with the announcement that a movie adaptation is in the works.
Based on a novel series by Tetsuya Honda, Strawberry Night originally aired as a TV special in 2010 and returned as a drama series in January of this year. Honda also wrote the novel series TV Asahi’s “Jiu Police Criminal Investigation” is based on.
The episodes were organized according to the individual books in the series, with story arcs based on “Symmetry”, “Soul Cage”, and “Kansen Yuugi”—the followup novels to Strawberry Night. Actress Yuko Takeuchi played a detective for the first time in the drama, and the cast included names like Hidetoshi Nishijima, Keisuke Koide, Takashi Ukaji, and Ryuhei Maruyama.
There’s been some logical speculation that Strawberry Night might eventually become a movie series like Fuji TV’s previous theatrical adaptations of “Unfair” and...
Based on a novel series by Tetsuya Honda, Strawberry Night originally aired as a TV special in 2010 and returned as a drama series in January of this year. Honda also wrote the novel series TV Asahi’s “Jiu Police Criminal Investigation” is based on.
The episodes were organized according to the individual books in the series, with story arcs based on “Symmetry”, “Soul Cage”, and “Kansen Yuugi”—the followup novels to Strawberry Night. Actress Yuko Takeuchi played a detective for the first time in the drama, and the cast included names like Hidetoshi Nishijima, Keisuke Koide, Takashi Ukaji, and Ryuhei Maruyama.
There’s been some logical speculation that Strawberry Night might eventually become a movie series like Fuji TV’s previous theatrical adaptations of “Unfair” and...
- 3/21/2012
- Nippon Cinema
Check out the trailer for the Japanes film Golden Slumber from director Yoshihiro Nakamura.
The film had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last summer and was one of the big hits at this years Fantastic Fest in Austin. Unfortunately it still doesn’t have a U.S. distributor. Part of what may be holding that up is the use of the song Golden Slumbers by the Beatles throughout the film.
Watch the trailer below and let us know what you think!
Here is the official synopsis from the Fantastic Fest site:
[In 2010], Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Fish Story saved the world from certain annihilation and became the word-of-mouth hit of the Nyaff. This year, Nakamura’s back with another ode to the human connection, Golden Slumber, a brain-melting thriller send-up that’s two parts The Big Chill, three parts Bourne Identity and a million parts awesome.
In sunny Sendai,...
The film had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last summer and was one of the big hits at this years Fantastic Fest in Austin. Unfortunately it still doesn’t have a U.S. distributor. Part of what may be holding that up is the use of the song Golden Slumbers by the Beatles throughout the film.
Watch the trailer below and let us know what you think!
Here is the official synopsis from the Fantastic Fest site:
[In 2010], Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Fish Story saved the world from certain annihilation and became the word-of-mouth hit of the Nyaff. This year, Nakamura’s back with another ode to the human connection, Golden Slumber, a brain-melting thriller send-up that’s two parts The Big Chill, three parts Bourne Identity and a million parts awesome.
In sunny Sendai,...
- 12/28/2010
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
When most people hear Beatles songs, it makes them feel warm and nostalgic. Well, imagine that feeling wrapped in a whodunit conspiracy film like The Fugitive and you've got Golden Slumber, one of the biggest hits of Fantastic Fest 2010 [1]. The Japanese film directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last summer and still doesn't have a U.S. distributor. Still, you've got to keep this one on your radar because it's everything you go to the movies for. Watch the trailer and read more about the movie after the jump. Thanks to FirstShowing [2] for reminding us of this trailer, which we hadn't posted yet, but has been around for a few months. When Golden Slumber played Fantastic Fest, the rumor was that because the Beatles song Golden Slumbers was used so prominently, it was never going to get U.S. distribution because it...
- 12/28/2010
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
It’s been a long time coming, but a trailer for Mamoru Hoshi’s Boku to Tsuma no 1778 no Monogatari has finally been released, nearly a full year after the project was first announced.
The film is based on the true story of science fiction writer Taku Mayumura whose wife died of colon cancer in 2002. After a doctor told him laughter can help the immune system, Mayumura began writing one story of at least 3 pages every day for his cancer-stricken wife. Although the initial prognosis was that she would only survive one year, she went on to live 5 good years with the help of the 1,778 total stories written by her husband for her over that time.
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi of Smap plays Sakutaro, a character modeled after Mayumura, and Yuko Takeuchi plays his wife Setsuko. The two last co-starred together 8 years ago in Akihiko Shiota’s “Yomigaeri”.
Source: Official website...
The film is based on the true story of science fiction writer Taku Mayumura whose wife died of colon cancer in 2002. After a doctor told him laughter can help the immune system, Mayumura began writing one story of at least 3 pages every day for his cancer-stricken wife. Although the initial prognosis was that she would only survive one year, she went on to live 5 good years with the help of the 1,778 total stories written by her husband for her over that time.
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi of Smap plays Sakutaro, a character modeled after Mayumura, and Yuko Takeuchi plays his wife Setsuko. The two last co-starred together 8 years ago in Akihiko Shiota’s “Yomigaeri”.
Source: Official website...
- 11/1/2010
- Nippon Cinema
A thriller based on a Beatles song, Golden Slumber (Gôruden suranbâ) is one of the most absurdly satisfying odes to friendship captured on film. Yoshihiro Nakamura's latest adaptation of a Kotaro Isaka novel pits the laid-back Aoyagi (Masato Sakai) against an assassination conspiracy wrapped up in revelations about trust.
Aoyagi's plans to catch up with a college buddy (Hidetaka Yoshioka) for a fishing trip are thwarted when the Prime Minister is assassinated. Suddenly the school day reminiscences are over as Aoyagi has been targeted as the prime suspect and it seems impossible he'll survive the day. Help comes from the most surprising of places as friends old and new make it their business to help the fugitive Aoyagi stay half a step ahead of corrupt police and the media. Just who his true friends are, and how they help or hurt him, make Golden Slumber seem like a movie half its 239-minute run time.
Aoyagi's plans to catch up with a college buddy (Hidetaka Yoshioka) for a fishing trip are thwarted when the Prime Minister is assassinated. Suddenly the school day reminiscences are over as Aoyagi has been targeted as the prime suspect and it seems impossible he'll survive the day. Help comes from the most surprising of places as friends old and new make it their business to help the fugitive Aoyagi stay half a step ahead of corrupt police and the media. Just who his true friends are, and how they help or hurt him, make Golden Slumber seem like a movie half its 239-minute run time.
- 10/4/2010
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
Rating: 4.5/5
Writer: Kotaro Isaka
Director:Yoshihiro Nakamura
Cast: Yuko Takeuchi, Masato Sakai
“Once there was a way to get back home.” – “Golden Slumbers,” The Beatles
The third collaboration between novelist Kotaro Isaka and director Yosihiro Nakamura is, on the surface, a conspiracy thriller. Like their previous work (The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck And God; Fish Story) it plays with genre conventions to dig deep into the characters woven through its plot to deliver a heartwarming message. That is not to say, though, that Golden Slumber is a sappy film. It earns the audience’s affection through an engaging plot, tight character work, and a host of wonderful performances.
Read more on Fantastic Fest 2010 Review: Golden Slumber…...
Writer: Kotaro Isaka
Director:Yoshihiro Nakamura
Cast: Yuko Takeuchi, Masato Sakai
“Once there was a way to get back home.” – “Golden Slumbers,” The Beatles
The third collaboration between novelist Kotaro Isaka and director Yosihiro Nakamura is, on the surface, a conspiracy thriller. Like their previous work (The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck And God; Fish Story) it plays with genre conventions to dig deep into the characters woven through its plot to deliver a heartwarming message. That is not to say, though, that Golden Slumber is a sappy film. It earns the audience’s affection through an engaging plot, tight character work, and a host of wonderful performances.
Read more on Fantastic Fest 2010 Review: Golden Slumber…...
- 9/29/2010
- by Brian Kelley
- GordonandtheWhale
I fear that ABC Studios' release of FlashForward: The Complete Series (via Walt Disney Home Entertainment) is destined for a short shelf life on the full-priced DVD market. Any box set of a network show that has the words The Complete Series on the front screams premature cancellation. It is liable, therefore, to be considered a failure by many DVD shoppers who are not already aware of its truncated history. Moreover, most TV viewers know that dramatic shows tend to end on cliffhangers and no-one wants to buy a so-called complete series that has no proper ending.
Some series deserve to be dumped in the bargain bin at Walmart sooner rather than later but FlashForward is not one of them. Sure, the show didn't live up to its potential and somewhat lost its way after a very promising start, but it has much to recommend it as science fiction drama.
Some series deserve to be dumped in the bargain bin at Walmart sooner rather than later but FlashForward is not one of them. Sure, the show didn't live up to its potential and somewhat lost its way after a very promising start, but it has much to recommend it as science fiction drama.
- 9/6/2010
- CinemaSpy
Koki Mitani, the comedy director behind box office hits like “The Uchoten Hotel” and “The Magic Hour” is hard at work on a new film called Suteki na Kanashibari: Once in a Blue Moon. According to Mitani, the film will of course be a comedy, but will also include elements of courtroom suspense, ghost fantasy, and drama. It’s a film he’s been planning for over 10 years, but only got the confidence to go ahead with it when he witnessed the positive reaction to “The Magic Hour”.
The cast includes Mitani regulars such as Eri Fukatsu, Kiichi Nakai, and Toshiyuki Nishida as well as actors he hasn’t previously worked with like Hiroshi Abe, Yuko Takeuchi, and Tadanobu Asano.
Fukatsu will play Emi, a third-rate attorney with zero prospects and Abe will play the boss of her law firm. Takeuchi will play both the wife of a murdered capitalist and her own twin sister.
The cast includes Mitani regulars such as Eri Fukatsu, Kiichi Nakai, and Toshiyuki Nishida as well as actors he hasn’t previously worked with like Hiroshi Abe, Yuko Takeuchi, and Tadanobu Asano.
Fukatsu will play Emi, a third-rate attorney with zero prospects and Abe will play the boss of her law firm. Takeuchi will play both the wife of a murdered capitalist and her own twin sister.
- 6/2/2010
- Nippon Cinema
FlashForward arrived on the scene last fall with lots of hopeful pre-release buzz that it could be the new Lost. The magical thinking failed. Blame it on the awful pilot, on ABC’s curious half-and-half release strategy, or the simple fact that people just don’t really want another Lost. For a whole host of reasons, ABC has officially canceled FlashForward.
FlashForward had its problems. There were some storylines which would have probably been eliminated if there had ever been one defining creative personality at the helm (I’m looking at you, Aaron the ex-soldier alcoholic with the secretly alive...
FlashForward had its problems. There were some storylines which would have probably been eliminated if there had ever been one defining creative personality at the helm (I’m looking at you, Aaron the ex-soldier alcoholic with the secretly alive...
- 5/14/2010
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
Episode Title: "Queen Sacrifice"
Written By: Byron Balasco & Timothy J. Lea
Story: Agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and Miles Vogel (Michael Ealy) begin to suspect that a mole has infiltrated the FBI. The two of them put their differences aside and bring the rest of the agency under federal investigation, unveiling one traitor in the process while at least one other stays hidden in the shadows.
Meanwhile, Keiko Arahida (Yuko Takeuchi) and Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) continue their star-crossed search for one another in Los Angeles, though the law interferes with Keiko while Bryce has to confront his feelings towards Nicole Kirby (Peyton List).
The Mole Is A Hawk: Another episode where you have to stick around until the end, "FlashForward" made one of its most surprising and disappointing reveals yet, as Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) is a mole working against the FBI. Benford, Demetri Noh (John Cho) and the others aren't aware,...
Written By: Byron Balasco & Timothy J. Lea
Story: Agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and Miles Vogel (Michael Ealy) begin to suspect that a mole has infiltrated the FBI. The two of them put their differences aside and bring the rest of the agency under federal investigation, unveiling one traitor in the process while at least one other stays hidden in the shadows.
Meanwhile, Keiko Arahida (Yuko Takeuchi) and Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) continue their star-crossed search for one another in Los Angeles, though the law interferes with Keiko while Bryce has to confront his feelings towards Nicole Kirby (Peyton List).
The Mole Is A Hawk: Another episode where you have to stick around until the end, "FlashForward" made one of its most surprising and disappointing reveals yet, as Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) is a mole working against the FBI. Benford, Demetri Noh (John Cho) and the others aren't aware,...
- 4/9/2010
- by Josh Wigler
- MTV Movies Blog
Tokyo fest rolls out red carpet
TOKYO -- The 20th annual Tokyo International Film Festival kicks off with an opening reception today and begins in earnest Saturday night with a red-carpet event that officially launches the nine-day event.
The opening film, the premiere of Shochiku/Universal Japan co-production "Midnight Eagle", tells the story of a stealth bomber that goes missing in the mountains of northern Japan. Directed by Izuru Narushim and starring Takao Osawa, Yuko Takeuchi and Hiroshi Tamaki, it was made with the help of the Japanese military.
The closing film, "Silk", is a collaborative venture of Japan, Italy and Canada. Directed by Francois Girard, "Silk" is the story of a married silk trader who is drawn to a mysterious Japanese woman from a nobleman's court. Set in Japan and based on a novel by Alessandro Baricco, it stars Keira Knightley, Michael Pitt, Miki Nakatani and Koji Yakusho.
A jury of six, led by Alan Ladd Jr., will select the winner of the festival's main competition, the $50,000 Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix, as well as a $20,000 Special Jury Prize.
The opening film, the premiere of Shochiku/Universal Japan co-production "Midnight Eagle", tells the story of a stealth bomber that goes missing in the mountains of northern Japan. Directed by Izuru Narushim and starring Takao Osawa, Yuko Takeuchi and Hiroshi Tamaki, it was made with the help of the Japanese military.
The closing film, "Silk", is a collaborative venture of Japan, Italy and Canada. Directed by Francois Girard, "Silk" is the story of a married silk trader who is drawn to a mysterious Japanese woman from a nobleman's court. Set in Japan and based on a novel by Alessandro Baricco, it stars Keira Knightley, Michael Pitt, Miki Nakatani and Koji Yakusho.
A jury of six, led by Alan Ladd Jr., will select the winner of the festival's main competition, the $50,000 Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix, as well as a $20,000 Special Jury Prize.
- 10/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Closed Note
Pusan International Film Festival
Closed Note (Kurosudo Nooto), as its title suggests, is a closed world where ugly reality is locked out, offering gift-wrapped romance made for escapists. Director Isao Yukisada pulls the done-to-death trick of the old diary connecting one person to another living in a different time and world.
The film opened in third place at the Japanese boxoffice Sept. 29, partially stimulated by controversy about lead actress Erika Sawajiri's "attitude problem." Yukisada's unabashedly commercial romances "Crying Out Love From the Center of the World" and Spring Snow replicated their domestic success in Asia, but the new film is slack on originality and chemistry, so it probably won't perform a hat trick in the overseas market.
Kae (Erika Sawajiri), a college student training to be a school teacher, discovers a notebook tucked away in her newly rented apartment. It is the handwritten diary of former tenant, Ibuki Mano (Yuko Takeuchi), a elementary school teacher. She starts to follow Ibuki's floridly written entries like a Harlequin addict. Ibuki who has more patience for her nauseatingly cherubic pupils than Mother Teresa for the sick, becomes the diffident Kae's role model. As Kae serializes Ibuki's love life in her mind, she casts her TV idol in the role of Ibuki's boyfriend Takashi.
When not strumming her mandolin like a Vermeer portrait, Kae works part-time in a shop specializing in rare fountain pens. And who could have walked in but the most classically chiseled face in Japanese cinema -- Yusuke Iseya (Sukiyaki Western Django, Memories of Matsuko) playing a man named Ryu Ishitobi. He is looking for the right pen for his exhibition though it's not ink but corny dialogue that flows.
It turns out that Ryu has been loitering in Kae's neighborhood, and she is driven to distraction by expectations of a full-blown romance with his mildly suggestive overtures. Kae eventually summons the courage to confess her love to Ryu, but overhears a crushing truth. This is supposed to be a big revelation, though there'll be few gasps of surprise in the cinema. Hearts are broken and healed, tears are shed, but there follows a resolution that helps wash down the emotional heartburn from too much syrupy sweetness and melodrama.
With many outdoor locations set in or around Kyoto, every encounter between the main protagonists are framed by a lush backdrop, sprinkled with conventional visual tropes like rain falling at a sad moment, or a close-up of blue andrangeas under the window sill to suggest a romantic interlude. The problem is that every character is too damn nice -- to look at and to each other -- so every scene feels cosmetic and lacks enough contrast and tension to justify the running length. Love scenes are scrubbed clean of sexual passion, leaving only a bland chasteness.
Closed Note still makes a good date movie, if only to let the female audience swoon over Yusuke Iseya, whose flowing mane and real illustrations (he was an art college graduate) make him look the part. Guys get to drool over Japan's two loveliest actresses for the price of one ticket.
CLOSED NOTE
Toho Company Ltd./Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc./SDP Inc./Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc./Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co. Ltd.
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Isao Yukisada
Screenwriters: Tomoko Yoshida, Chihiro Ito
Based on the novel by: Shusuke Shizukui
Producers: Kei Haruna, Morio Amagi, Akihiro Yamauchi, Hasashi Usui
Executive producer: Minami Ichikawa
Director of photography: Koichi Nakayama
Production designer: Yuji Tsuzuki
Music: Meina Co
Costume designer: Sachiko Ito
Editor: Tsuyoshi Imai
Cast:
Kae Horii: Erika Sawajiri
Ryu Ishitobi: Yusuke Iseya
Ibuki Mano: Yuko Takeuchi
Running time -- 138 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Closed Note (Kurosudo Nooto), as its title suggests, is a closed world where ugly reality is locked out, offering gift-wrapped romance made for escapists. Director Isao Yukisada pulls the done-to-death trick of the old diary connecting one person to another living in a different time and world.
The film opened in third place at the Japanese boxoffice Sept. 29, partially stimulated by controversy about lead actress Erika Sawajiri's "attitude problem." Yukisada's unabashedly commercial romances "Crying Out Love From the Center of the World" and Spring Snow replicated their domestic success in Asia, but the new film is slack on originality and chemistry, so it probably won't perform a hat trick in the overseas market.
Kae (Erika Sawajiri), a college student training to be a school teacher, discovers a notebook tucked away in her newly rented apartment. It is the handwritten diary of former tenant, Ibuki Mano (Yuko Takeuchi), a elementary school teacher. She starts to follow Ibuki's floridly written entries like a Harlequin addict. Ibuki who has more patience for her nauseatingly cherubic pupils than Mother Teresa for the sick, becomes the diffident Kae's role model. As Kae serializes Ibuki's love life in her mind, she casts her TV idol in the role of Ibuki's boyfriend Takashi.
When not strumming her mandolin like a Vermeer portrait, Kae works part-time in a shop specializing in rare fountain pens. And who could have walked in but the most classically chiseled face in Japanese cinema -- Yusuke Iseya (Sukiyaki Western Django, Memories of Matsuko) playing a man named Ryu Ishitobi. He is looking for the right pen for his exhibition though it's not ink but corny dialogue that flows.
It turns out that Ryu has been loitering in Kae's neighborhood, and she is driven to distraction by expectations of a full-blown romance with his mildly suggestive overtures. Kae eventually summons the courage to confess her love to Ryu, but overhears a crushing truth. This is supposed to be a big revelation, though there'll be few gasps of surprise in the cinema. Hearts are broken and healed, tears are shed, but there follows a resolution that helps wash down the emotional heartburn from too much syrupy sweetness and melodrama.
With many outdoor locations set in or around Kyoto, every encounter between the main protagonists are framed by a lush backdrop, sprinkled with conventional visual tropes like rain falling at a sad moment, or a close-up of blue andrangeas under the window sill to suggest a romantic interlude. The problem is that every character is too damn nice -- to look at and to each other -- so every scene feels cosmetic and lacks enough contrast and tension to justify the running length. Love scenes are scrubbed clean of sexual passion, leaving only a bland chasteness.
Closed Note still makes a good date movie, if only to let the female audience swoon over Yusuke Iseya, whose flowing mane and real illustrations (he was an art college graduate) make him look the part. Guys get to drool over Japan's two loveliest actresses for the price of one ticket.
CLOSED NOTE
Toho Company Ltd./Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc./SDP Inc./Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc./Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co. Ltd.
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Isao Yukisada
Screenwriters: Tomoko Yoshida, Chihiro Ito
Based on the novel by: Shusuke Shizukui
Producers: Kei Haruna, Morio Amagi, Akihiro Yamauchi, Hasashi Usui
Executive producer: Minami Ichikawa
Director of photography: Koichi Nakayama
Production designer: Yuji Tsuzuki
Music: Meina Co
Costume designer: Sachiko Ito
Editor: Tsuyoshi Imai
Cast:
Kae Horii: Erika Sawajiri
Ryu Ishitobi: Yusuke Iseya
Ibuki Mano: Yuko Takeuchi
Running time -- 138 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/5/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Eagle' soars into Tokyo opening slot
TOKYO -- Director Izuru Narushim's Midnight Eagle has been selected to open the 20th annual Tokyo International Film Festival.
Starring Takao Osawa, Yuko Takeuchi and Hiroshi Tamaki, the thriller is about a stealth aircraft that disappears in the mountains of northern Japan while still carrying a bomb with enormous destructive power.
"We decided to lead with 'Midnight Eagle' because it's a large-scale, spectacular movie that is just perfect to open an event as large as this year's TIFF," Mariko Yoshida, a spokeswoman for the festival's organizing committee, said Tuesday. "And we must also point out that this is a joint production between Shochiku and Universal Japan, and that collaboration underlines the importance of this international film festival."
Based on the novel by Tetsuo Takashima, Eagle was filmed with the assistance of Japan's military on a budget of $10 million.
The festival runs Oct. 20-28, though Eagle will make its world premiere Oct. 2 in Los Angeles, with Shochiku apparently hoping to attract attention ahead of the American Film Market in Santa Monica.
Starring Takao Osawa, Yuko Takeuchi and Hiroshi Tamaki, the thriller is about a stealth aircraft that disappears in the mountains of northern Japan while still carrying a bomb with enormous destructive power.
"We decided to lead with 'Midnight Eagle' because it's a large-scale, spectacular movie that is just perfect to open an event as large as this year's TIFF," Mariko Yoshida, a spokeswoman for the festival's organizing committee, said Tuesday. "And we must also point out that this is a joint production between Shochiku and Universal Japan, and that collaboration underlines the importance of this international film festival."
Based on the novel by Tetsuo Takashima, Eagle was filmed with the assistance of Japan's military on a budget of $10 million.
The festival runs Oct. 20-28, though Eagle will make its world premiere Oct. 2 in Los Angeles, with Shochiku apparently hoping to attract attention ahead of the American Film Market in Santa Monica.
- 8/29/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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