Raindance Film Festival · 2010
Outstanding independent work from Japan, including exciting new films and old favourites.
13 films · 7 reviews
Autumn Adagio approaches the deeply personal with respect and penetrating sensitivity.
(Country: Japan; Year: 2009; Director: Tsuki Inoue; Writer: Tsuki Inoue; Stars: Payton Chiba, Kazuhiro Nakajima, Rei Shibakusa, Takumi Shibuya)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Daisuke Miura; Writer: Kengo Hanazawa, Daisuke Miura; Stars: Kazunobu Mineta, Mei Kurokawa, Ryûhei Matsuda, You, Denden, Yûya Endô, Lily Franky, Ryô Iwamatsu, Kaoru Kobayashi, Eiko Ohtani, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Ryotaro Yonemura)
The direction shows flair, picking out striking visual lines and depth in the most ordinary of locations, all awash with over-saturated video colours.
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Yu Katsumata; Writer: Yu Katsumata; Stars: Aya Enoji, Kana Kobayashi, Mayuko Arisue)
A quiet, gentle film that encourages reflection.
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Nobuyuki Miyake; Writer: Maki Arai, Nobuyuki Miyake; Stars: Shun Sugata, Tomoyuki Hatanaka, Kaori Fujii)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Daisuke Yamaoka; Writer: Daisuke Yamaoka)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Akihiro Suzuki; Writer: Akihiro Suzuki; Stars: Kanaha Saeki, Makiko Oku, Eri Iwamoto)
My Neighbour Totoro is a true family film, both about, and for, families and while it is wholly concerned with good, decent, likeable people (as well as endearing rustic entities), it somehow avoids saccharine sentiments or a pat resolution.
(Country: Japan; Year: 1988; Director: Hayao Miyazaki; Writer: Hayao Miyazaki; Stars: (voices, original Japanese version) Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi, Sumi Shimamoto, Tanie Kitabayashi, Hitoshi Takagi, Yuko Maruyama; (voices, English-language version) Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Timothy Daly, Pat Carroll, Lea Salonga)
(Country: Japan; Year: 1984; Director: Hayao Miyazaki; Writer: Hayao Miyazaki)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Ikki Katashima; Writer: Junichi Inoue; Stars: Hanae Kan, Shige Kasai)
The film appears to be trying to work on some higher metaphorical level where conventional narrative is not needed, and it is up to audiences to carefully unpick what ideas and themes are being offered up without any real guidance.
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto; Writer: Hitoshi Matsumoto, Mitsuyoshi Takasu; Stars: Hitoshi Matsumoto, David Quintero, Luis Accinelli)
Shutaro challenges us to stay with this quietly brutish character.
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Shutaro Oku; Writer: Shutaro Oku; Stars: Kazushi Watanabe, Kaori Momoi, Kazunobu Mineta)
This is no ordinary underdog boxer story. Mariko's film instead shares DNA with Taxi Driver or Raging Bull.
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Tetsuya Mariko; Writer: Tetsuya Mariko; Stars: Kaname Endo, Ryo Iwase, Kazuki Namioka)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Kota Yoshida; Writer: Kota Yoshida; Stars: Noriko Eguchi, Shota Sometani, Saori Hara)
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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