Montreal based Vietnamese author Kim Thuy‘s award winning novel Ru has been adapted into a feature length French language film that is currently screening in Montreal. It stars Chloé Djandji in what I believe is her first film role.
Tag: Novel Adaptation
Small, Slow But Steady – Nouveau Cinéma 2022 – film review
Small, Slow But Steady / ケイコ 目を澄ませて (2022)
Director: Shô Miyake
Production: Koichiro Fukushima, Masahiro Handa, Keisuke Konishi, Shunsuke Koga
Writers: Shô Miyake, Masaaki Sakai
Cast: Yukino Kishii, Tomokazu Miura, Masaki Miura
This film will have a screening on Oct 16, 2022.
Keiko is a deaf boxer. Despite being deaf she is able to turn pro. The story is fictional but inspired by true people and events. It’s based on a book “Makenaide!” by Keiko Ogasawara.
Anime Supremacy! – film review – Fantasia 2022
Anime Supremacy! / ハケンアニメ！(2022)
Director: Kohei Yoshino
Producer: Maki Kimura, Naoya Takahashi
Writer: Yosuke Masaike
Cast: Riho Yoshioka, Tasuku Emoto, Tomoya Nakamura, Machiko Ono
Cinematographer: Motonobu Kiyoku
Editor: Soichi Ueno
A promising director, Saito (Riho Yoshioka), has been given the chance to direct her first TV anime series which will air in the highly coveted Saturday 5pm slot but she’s up against an experienced, genius director, Oji (Tomoya Nakamura), making his comeback anime series. He’s the one who inspired her to join the anime industry. Whose anime will be number one?
Inu-Oh – film review – Fantasia 2022
Inu-Oh / 犬王 (2021)
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Writer: Akiko Nogi
Cast: Avu-chan, Mirai Moriyama
Composer: Otomo Yoshihide
This will have one screening on Wednesday, July 27 and a theatrical release starting August 12.
A young boy, Tomona, is blinded at the same time as his father dies. He becomes a talented biwa player. He eventually crosses paths with a deformed initially nameless boy whose face is disfigured so much that he wears a mask. He becomes a talented dancer and names himself Inu-oh. They join forces to create a new style of music that becomes popular but there are those who wish to stop them from gaining favor from the people.
Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone – film review – Fantasia 2021
Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone (2020)
Director & Writer: Shuichi Okita
Cast: Yuko Tanaka, Yu Aoi
You can watch this film on demand via Fantasia’s online film screening website now.
This is based on a novel of the same Japanese name written by Chisako Wakatake. A widowed elderly woman Mrs. Hidaka (Yuko Tanaka) lives alone but one day she starts to hear voices speaking in her hometown (Tohoku) dialect. These voices come from three men dressed in granny clothes that she sees and talks with. She wonders if she is beginning to experience dementia. She begins to reminisce about her past, having moved away from her hometown to Tokyo when she was young.
Note that In standard Japanese, one common word for “I/me” is “Watashi” but in the Tohoku dialect “Ora” is used instead (not to be confused with “Ore” which is an alternate word for “I/me” usually used by males in standard Japanese). Expect to hear “Ora” a fair amount in this movie as it does play a significant role in the film.
Continue reading “Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone – film review – Fantasia 2021”J-Drama Review: Strawberry Night
Strawberry Night / ストロベリーナイト (2012)
[11 episodes, approx. 45 mins each]
Directors: Junichi Ishikawa, Yuichi Sato
Writers: Yukari Tatsui, Makoto Hayashi, Tsutomu Kuroiwa, Shizuka Ouki
Yuko Takeuchi, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Keisuke Koide, Takashi Ukaji, Kenichi Endo, Masahiro Takashima, Katsuhisa Namase, Tetsuya Takeda
Adapted from the novel by Tetsuya Honda, this series stars Yuko Takeuchi who gives an outstanding performance as Himekawa, a lead detective and sole female in her department. She was raped as a teenager which motivated her to become a detective. Not only does she have to contend with criminals but also with sexist colleagues, internal politics that dictate what she can do during her investigations.
This started with a TV movie/special (2010) then a TV series (2012) and ended with a theatrical movie (2013). I recommend watching the special first as it helps better establish the character relationships between members of Himekawa’s team. Also events in the special are referenced in some TV episodes. I haven’t seen the theatrical movie (trailer above).
Diner – film review – Nouveau cinema 2019
Diner / ダイナー (2019)
Director: Mika Ninagawa
Screenplay: Hirohito Goto, Yoshikazu Sugiyama, Mika Ninagawa
Producers: Takuya Ito, Morio Amagi
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Tina Tamashiro, Shun Oguri
Synopsis
An abandoned young woman, Kanako, with no aim in life has the bad luck of becoming a waitress in a restaurant for assassins (because it ran out of waitresses who were killed for various service-related mistakes). This is based on a book and possibly the manga adaptation.
Review
A kooky but mostly derivative movie. While it looks nice and has some stylized combat there are signs of a low budget here. The first sign is that the majority of the movie takes place in a single location, which is the restaurant. It is seen mostly empty with only Kanako & her harsh boss and head chef, Bombero. Despite there being multiple gang bosses, you only actually see the gang of one of the bosses. Two appear to have nobody and one only seems to have the one assassin. Because of this, the world of movie feels very small.
Continue reading “Diner – film review – Nouveau cinema 2019”
It Comes – movie review – Fantasia 2019
It Comes / 来る [Kuru] (2018)
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Writer: Tetsuya Nakashima, Hideto Iwai, Nobuhiro Kadoma
Cast: Junichi Okada, Haru Kuroki, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Takako Matsu, Nana Komatsu
Synopsis
A man with a disturbing childhood memory of an unseen monster puts it behind him and grows up to become a seemingly well-adjusted man. He gets married and eventually has a child. But this is when strange things begin to happen again and he begins to believe the monster from his childhood is now after his family. He enlists the help of a couple of people who are familiar with the occult but it seems nobody can be trusted.
Review
It’s best to not know anything before going into this horror movie. It’s quite bombastic at times and unlike some Japanese horror, it is quite the opposite of a slow burn. One thing that some may not like is that there’s a lack of build-up or suspense. It’s not really a jump scare type of horror but there are gory moments and graphic scenes that feel like more of a quick gut punch that you don’t expect. Brief bits of sensory overload before going back to the more grounded questions that center on family and kids that almost every character struggles with in their own way. The story actually spends a fair bit of time on these themes which ties into the horror aspect.
Film Beats (from the East) 