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London East Asia Film Festival · 2017

London East Asia Film Festival 2017

Retrospective: Japanese Cinema

Programme

4 films · 4 reviews

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Before We Vanish (Sanpo suru shinryakusha)

Review preview for Before We Vanish

Sometimes absurd, sometimes bone-chilling, strikingly original.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Narumi and her husband Shinji are going through a rocky patch when Shinji suddenly vanishes, returning several days later, utterly transformed. At the same time, a family is brutally murdered, and the town beset by strange phenomena. Journalist Sakurai begins to investigate the mystery…

(Country: Japan; Year: 2017; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Tomohiro Maekawa, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Sachiko Tanaka; Stars: Masami Nagasawa, Ryûhei Matsuda, Hiroki Hasegawa, Mahiro Takasugi)

Full review

The Mourning Forest (Mogari No Mori)

Review preview for The Mourning Forest

Naomi Kawase approaches it with a sincerity and grace that make it both believable and magical.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A carer and a patient from a small retirement home become stranded in the forest.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2007; Director: Naomi Kawase; Writer: Naomi Kawase; Stars: Yôichirô Saitô, Kanako Masuda, Machiko Ono)

Full review

Our Little Sister (Umimachi Diary)

Review preview for Our Little Sister

It is in the women's emotions that the heart of the matter lies and Kore-eda, as always, handles them with an elegant lightness of touch.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Three sisters take their 15-year-old half sister into their home and hearts.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2015; Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda; Writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda, based on the manga by Akimi Yoshida; Stars: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose, Ryô Kase, Ryôhei Suzuki)

Full review

Tokyo Sonata (Tôkyô Sonata)

Review preview for Tokyo Sonata

Considering each aspect individually, this is a picture of outstanding quality, from the strong cast to the photography and haunting soundtrack to the acute character studies.

Emma Slawinski · 3.5 out of 5
A Tokyo salaryman loses his job and tries to conceal it from his already dysfunctional family.

(Country: Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong; Year: 2008; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Max Mannix, Sachiko Tanaka; Stars: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Kai Inowaki, Yu Koyanagi, Koji Yakusho)

Full review