Translation by Lukasz Mankowski
Born in 1963 in the Kagoshima prefecture, Daihachi Yoshida has been working as a commercial director for over 18 years. He has directed over several hundred commercials up to date, and has won many awards such as Cannes, Iba, Clio, NY, AdFestAsia Pacific and is considerated a top rated director in the advertising world. In addition to commercial, he has directed music videos, television dramas, and short films. Past short films include Otokonoko Wa Minna Hikoki Ga Suki and Mitsuwa (2003). Since 2006 and “Funuke Show Some Love, You Fools!” he has also been directing feature films, having won awards from Japanese Academy and Busan. “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is his latest work.
On the occasion of “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we speak with him about adapting Takeshi Shiota’s work, Yo Oizumi and Shinya Tsukamoto, printed media nowadays, the Japanese movie industry and other topics.
Born in 1963 in the Kagoshima prefecture, Daihachi Yoshida has been working as a commercial director for over 18 years. He has directed over several hundred commercials up to date, and has won many awards such as Cannes, Iba, Clio, NY, AdFestAsia Pacific and is considerated a top rated director in the advertising world. In addition to commercial, he has directed music videos, television dramas, and short films. Past short films include Otokonoko Wa Minna Hikoki Ga Suki and Mitsuwa (2003). Since 2006 and “Funuke Show Some Love, You Fools!” he has also been directing feature films, having won awards from Japanese Academy and Busan. “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is his latest work.
On the occasion of “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we speak with him about adapting Takeshi Shiota’s work, Yo Oizumi and Shinya Tsukamoto, printed media nowadays, the Japanese movie industry and other topics.
- 6/23/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
For its subject matter, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is a magnificent story, featuring several accomplished and intriguing actors, and using these to bring life to the world of magazine editing. Director Daihachi Yoshida does so with a mix of drama and comedy, making for a surprisingly fun film.
“The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure...
“The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure...
- 6/10/2022
- by Reinier Brands
- AsianMoviePulse
For its subject matter, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is a magnificent story, featuring several accomplished and intriguing actors, and using these to bring life to the world of magazine editing. Director Daihachi Yoshida does so with a mix of drama and comedy, making for a surprisingly fun film.
“Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Japan Cuts
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure the...
“Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Japan Cuts
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure the...
- 8/24/2021
- by Reinier Brands
- AsianMoviePulse
Daihachi Yoshida’s debut is based on the homonymous novel by Yukiko Motoya and presents a great mixture of family drama, black comedy and teenage action that resulted in the award for Best New Director at the 29th Yokohama Film Festival, among a plethora of other awards from the cast
The story revolves around three siblings and the spouse of one of that siblings, who are forced to face their past after their parents’ death and the return of their older sister, Sumika. The latter proves from the beginning how spoiled she is, making it clear that the sole reason for her return is to receive her cut from the will, in order to continue financing her, mostly unsuccessful, acting career. The brother, Shinji, who works as a woodcutter, explains that the family is actually broke and that they cannot continue financing her. Sumika, not having any alternative,...
The story revolves around three siblings and the spouse of one of that siblings, who are forced to face their past after their parents’ death and the return of their older sister, Sumika. The latter proves from the beginning how spoiled she is, making it clear that the sole reason for her return is to receive her cut from the will, in order to continue financing her, mostly unsuccessful, acting career. The brother, Shinji, who works as a woodcutter, explains that the family is actually broke and that they cannot continue financing her. Sumika, not having any alternative,...
- 8/9/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Tokyo 2020 is here!
Celebrating all things Japan, Terracotta has some July recommendations for you to enjoy:
Ten Years Japan – a dystopian future awaits, in these ‘Black Mirror-esque’ short films by renowned Japanese directors.
Fish Story – how can a punk rock song save the world from a meteorite? Find out more in this multi-stranded film that’s so clever, it will leave you astounded.
Kaiju Mono – it’s man vs monster in this comical take on the Kaiju genre from Minoru Kawasaki, starring wrestler Kota Ibushi.
Tag – a surreal Japanese high-school splatter movie from maverick director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Himizu)
“Fish Story”
New titles on physical media
1) Funuke: Show Some Love You Losers (blu ray release) Quirky black comedy released by Third Window films. Directed by Daihachi Yoshida (The Kirishima Thing), a wannabe idol returns to her rural village for her parents funeral and renews her feud with her younger sister.
Celebrating all things Japan, Terracotta has some July recommendations for you to enjoy:
Ten Years Japan – a dystopian future awaits, in these ‘Black Mirror-esque’ short films by renowned Japanese directors.
Fish Story – how can a punk rock song save the world from a meteorite? Find out more in this multi-stranded film that’s so clever, it will leave you astounded.
Kaiju Mono – it’s man vs monster in this comical take on the Kaiju genre from Minoru Kawasaki, starring wrestler Kota Ibushi.
Tag – a surreal Japanese high-school splatter movie from maverick director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Himizu)
“Fish Story”
New titles on physical media
1) Funuke: Show Some Love You Losers (blu ray release) Quirky black comedy released by Third Window films. Directed by Daihachi Yoshida (The Kirishima Thing), a wannabe idol returns to her rural village for her parents funeral and renews her feud with her younger sister.
- 7/23/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: New York’s Japan Society has unveiled the full line-up for the 15th edition of Japan Cuts: Festival Of New Japanese Film, the largest celebration of Japanese cinema in North America.
Running August 20 – September, the hybrid online and in-theater event will welcome 27 features and 12 short films including 32 films available online throughout the U.S. and 14 screenings of eight films on the big screen in Japan Society’s auditorium.
The fest will kick off with the U.S. Premiere of Soushi Matsumoto’s sci-fi coming-of-age story It’s A Summer Film! The title will be presented online and in person.
Also in person will be the fest’s centrepiece presentation, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Venice Film Festival Silver Lion-winning Wife of a Spy, a thriller tale of suspicion, betrayal and love set during WWII. The film’s star, Yu Aoi, will be the recipient of this year’s Cut Above Award from the Japan Society,...
Running August 20 – September, the hybrid online and in-theater event will welcome 27 features and 12 short films including 32 films available online throughout the U.S. and 14 screenings of eight films on the big screen in Japan Society’s auditorium.
The fest will kick off with the U.S. Premiere of Soushi Matsumoto’s sci-fi coming-of-age story It’s A Summer Film! The title will be presented online and in person.
Also in person will be the fest’s centrepiece presentation, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Venice Film Festival Silver Lion-winning Wife of a Spy, a thriller tale of suspicion, betrayal and love set during WWII. The film’s star, Yu Aoi, will be the recipient of this year’s Cut Above Award from the Japan Society,...
- 7/20/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1985, Macoto Tezka (son of the great manga artist Osamu Tezuka) met musician and TV personality Haruo Chicada who had made a soundtrack to a movie which didn’t actually exist: The Legend of the Stardust Brothers.
At the time Macoto was just 22 years old, a film-student with many short experimental films under his belt, but yet to make a feature-debut and of course had the pressure of the Tezuka name. With Chicada as producer, Tezka then adapted this “fake soundtrack” into the real movie story of “The Stardust Brothers”.
With inspiration from “Phantom of the Paradise” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, Tezuka assembled a cast of some of Japan’s most famous musicians of the time, including such greats as Kiyohiko Ozaki, Issay, Sunplaza Nakano and Hiroshi Takano, alongside many famous names in Manga such as Monkey Punch (Lupin the 3rd), Shinji Nagashima (Hanaichi Monme), Yosuke Takahashi (Mugen Shinsi...
At the time Macoto was just 22 years old, a film-student with many short experimental films under his belt, but yet to make a feature-debut and of course had the pressure of the Tezuka name. With Chicada as producer, Tezka then adapted this “fake soundtrack” into the real movie story of “The Stardust Brothers”.
With inspiration from “Phantom of the Paradise” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, Tezuka assembled a cast of some of Japan’s most famous musicians of the time, including such greats as Kiyohiko Ozaki, Issay, Sunplaza Nakano and Hiroshi Takano, alongside many famous names in Manga such as Monkey Punch (Lupin the 3rd), Shinji Nagashima (Hanaichi Monme), Yosuke Takahashi (Mugen Shinsi...
- 1/13/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Third Window Films is pleased to announce the World Premiere release of the new master of Macoto Tezuka’s 1985 debut film “The Legend of the Stardust Brothers”
In 1985, Macoto Tezka (son of the great manga artist Osamu Tezuka) met musician and TV personality Haruo Chicada who had made a soundtrack to a movie which didn’t actually exist: The Legend of the Stardust Brothers.
At the time Macoto was just 22 years old, a film-student with many short experimental films under his belt, but yet to make a feature-debut and of course had the pressure of the Tezuka name. With Chicada as producer, Tezka then adapted this “fake sountrack” into the real musical story of “The Stardust Brothers”.
With inspiration from “Phantom of the Paradise” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, Tezuka assembled a cast of some of Japan’s most famous musicians of the time, including such greats as Kiyohiko Ozaki,...
In 1985, Macoto Tezka (son of the great manga artist Osamu Tezuka) met musician and TV personality Haruo Chicada who had made a soundtrack to a movie which didn’t actually exist: The Legend of the Stardust Brothers.
At the time Macoto was just 22 years old, a film-student with many short experimental films under his belt, but yet to make a feature-debut and of course had the pressure of the Tezuka name. With Chicada as producer, Tezka then adapted this “fake sountrack” into the real musical story of “The Stardust Brothers”.
With inspiration from “Phantom of the Paradise” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, Tezuka assembled a cast of some of Japan’s most famous musicians of the time, including such greats as Kiyohiko Ozaki,...
- 9/17/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Torico is a director, fashion designer and blogger. Her first short film, “Mikagami” (2004) received great reviews after its screening in Fantasia International Film Festival and Yubari, and was later screened at festivals all around the world. In 2006, she made her debut feature film, “Ikerushinibana”, which was again screened in festivals around the world garnering very positive reactions. Her latest film “Midori: The Camelia Girl” is based on the infamous ero guro manga, “Shojo Tsubaki” by Suehiro Maruo. Torico has also published a photobook, has her own blog about fashion on Numero Tokyo, is the director and designer of the Mewee Dinkeee brand, and the founder of the Chiyuri Association.
Here are her top five Japanese films, in random order
1. Memories of Matsuko
2. Ikiru
3. Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!
4. Seven Samurai
5. Rashomon...
Here are her top five Japanese films, in random order
1. Memories of Matsuko
2. Ikiru
3. Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!
4. Seven Samurai
5. Rashomon...
- 8/10/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Integration and second opportunities are only two of the ideas that director Daihachi Yoshida has included in his multifaceted latest movie. Based on Tatsuhiko Yamagami and Mikio Igarashi’s manga Hitsuji no Ki (羊の木), “The Scythian Lamb“ won the Kim Ji Seok award at the 2017 Busan International Film Festival and subsequently has been well received in many important Festivals.
Scythian Lamb is screening at the 17th New York Asian Film Festival
The title itself is cryptic and opened to many interpretations; the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary (Agnus Scythicus) is a legendary zoophyte of Central Asia, believed to grow sheep as fruit. The sheep were connected to the plant by an umbilical cord and grazed the grass around the plant. When the food was gone or – in other versions of the legend – when the cord was severed, both the plant and sheep died. An intriguing and slightly disturbing myth, just like the tone of the movie.
Scythian Lamb is screening at the 17th New York Asian Film Festival
The title itself is cryptic and opened to many interpretations; the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary (Agnus Scythicus) is a legendary zoophyte of Central Asia, believed to grow sheep as fruit. The sheep were connected to the plant by an umbilical cord and grazed the grass around the plant. When the food was gone or – in other versions of the legend – when the cord was severed, both the plant and sheep died. An intriguing and slightly disturbing myth, just like the tone of the movie.
- 7/7/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Pale Moon’s Daihachi Yoshida [pictured] directed the sci-fi tragicomedy, currently in post-production.
Gaga Corporation will represent sales on Beautiful Star (working title), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Japanese literary giant Yukio Mishima, at the Asian Film Market in Busan later this month.
Directed by Pale Moon helmer Daihachi Yoshida, the sci-fi tragicomedy focuses on a family who suddenly come to believe that they are extraterrestrials.
The family members are played by Lily Franky (Like Father, Like Son), Kazuya Kamenashi (It’s Me, It’s Me), Ai Hashimoto (Little Forest) and Tomoko Nakajima (Tokyo Family).
Gaga also produced the project, which was filmed in the Tokyo area earlier this year. It will bow in Japan next May.
Probably better known to modern generations for his death by seppuku, or ritual disembowelment, while trying to overthrow the Japanese government in 1970, Mishima was a prolific novelist and playwright who typically wrote serious dramas.
First published...
Gaga Corporation will represent sales on Beautiful Star (working title), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Japanese literary giant Yukio Mishima, at the Asian Film Market in Busan later this month.
Directed by Pale Moon helmer Daihachi Yoshida, the sci-fi tragicomedy focuses on a family who suddenly come to believe that they are extraterrestrials.
The family members are played by Lily Franky (Like Father, Like Son), Kazuya Kamenashi (It’s Me, It’s Me), Ai Hashimoto (Little Forest) and Tomoko Nakajima (Tokyo Family).
Gaga also produced the project, which was filmed in the Tokyo area earlier this year. It will bow in Japan next May.
Probably better known to modern generations for his death by seppuku, or ritual disembowelment, while trying to overthrow the Japanese government in 1970, Mishima was a prolific novelist and playwright who typically wrote serious dramas.
First published...
- 10/3/2016
- ScreenDaily
The Japanese distributor will release Gods Of Egypt and Pride And Prejudice And Zombies in September.
Japanese distributor Gaga has unveiled its 2016 line-up, including Gods Of Egypt and Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, along with a move into the animation business.
One of Japan’s most active buyers, Gaga will release both titles in September, along with Giuseppe Tornatore’s Correspondence.
Before then, it will release David Wnendt’s Hitler satire Look Who’s Back in June; John Carney’s Sing Street and Margarethe von Trotta’s The Misplaced World in July; and Sérgio Machado’s The Violin Teacher in August (see full line-up below).
The company’s alternative label Gaga + has a line-up of six films – including Laura Poitras’s documentary Citizenfour and Uli Edel’s Pay The Ghost – while its GagaX label will release Michel Franco’s Chronic and Hong Kong director Dante Lam’s To The Fore.
On the animation...
Japanese distributor Gaga has unveiled its 2016 line-up, including Gods Of Egypt and Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, along with a move into the animation business.
One of Japan’s most active buyers, Gaga will release both titles in September, along with Giuseppe Tornatore’s Correspondence.
Before then, it will release David Wnendt’s Hitler satire Look Who’s Back in June; John Carney’s Sing Street and Margarethe von Trotta’s The Misplaced World in July; and Sérgio Machado’s The Violin Teacher in August (see full line-up below).
The company’s alternative label Gaga + has a line-up of six films – including Laura Poitras’s documentary Citizenfour and Uli Edel’s Pay The Ghost – while its GagaX label will release Michel Franco’s Chronic and Hong Kong director Dante Lam’s To The Fore.
On the animation...
- 3/24/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) has announced a special focus on two Japanese film legends, Ken Takakura (Black Rain) and Bunta Sugawara (Battles Without Honor), who both passed away last November.
“Both made a career of playing tough yakuza characters, and have been referred to as Japanese equivalents to Clint Eastwood. This will be the first retrospective/tribute outside Japan since they passed away,” Nyaff co-director Samuel Jamier told ScreenDaily.
“With this programme, the festival wants to salute the end of an era, when two superstar actors could be successful both within and outside the studio system.”
The fest will also have a focus on Japanese director Daihachi Yoshida (The Kirishima Thing), as “one of the most vivid, original storytellers from Asia”.
Yoshida will be in New York for the North American premiere of his crime drama Pale Moon, which was in Competition at the Tokyo film festival last October.
In Korean...
“Both made a career of playing tough yakuza characters, and have been referred to as Japanese equivalents to Clint Eastwood. This will be the first retrospective/tribute outside Japan since they passed away,” Nyaff co-director Samuel Jamier told ScreenDaily.
“With this programme, the festival wants to salute the end of an era, when two superstar actors could be successful both within and outside the studio system.”
The fest will also have a focus on Japanese director Daihachi Yoshida (The Kirishima Thing), as “one of the most vivid, original storytellers from Asia”.
Yoshida will be in New York for the North American premiere of his crime drama Pale Moon, which was in Competition at the Tokyo film festival last October.
In Korean...
- 3/25/2015
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Japanese studio Nikkatsu is attending Efm with Hideo Nakata horror Ghost Theatre and Yuki Tanada’s Romance, which teams the female director with award-winning actress-singer Yuko Oshima.
Nakata is revisiting his roots with Ghost Theatre (working title), inspired by his 1996 horror Ghost Actress, made before he filmed The Ring franchise, which kicked off a worldwide interest in J-horror.
While Ghost Actress followed a vengeful spirit that drives a movie crew to insanity, Ghost Theatre is set in a haunted playhouse.
The film has been receiving offers even before footage is available, according to Nikkatsu reps.
Actresses Haruka Shimazaki and Rika Adachi head the cast of the film, which is currently in post-production.
Meanwhile, Tanada’s Romance (working title) stars Oshima as a young woman working on a luxury train who embarks on a road trip with a shady film producer.
A former member of pop band AKB48, Oshima recently won several awards for her supporting role in...
Nakata is revisiting his roots with Ghost Theatre (working title), inspired by his 1996 horror Ghost Actress, made before he filmed The Ring franchise, which kicked off a worldwide interest in J-horror.
While Ghost Actress followed a vengeful spirit that drives a movie crew to insanity, Ghost Theatre is set in a haunted playhouse.
The film has been receiving offers even before footage is available, according to Nikkatsu reps.
Actresses Haruka Shimazaki and Rika Adachi head the cast of the film, which is currently in post-production.
Meanwhile, Tanada’s Romance (working title) stars Oshima as a young woman working on a luxury train who embarks on a road trip with a shady film producer.
A former member of pop band AKB48, Oshima recently won several awards for her supporting role in...
- 2/5/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
As the only Japanese film playing in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival, expectations were high and goodwill primed to cheer the root-of-all-evil tale “Pale Moon” as the local find of the week. And it just scooped the Audience Award, having earned at least mild praise from most critics, so really the only kink in that narrative is us, contrarians that we are. "Pale Moon," the fourth feature from director Daihachi Yoshida, is certainly more slickly made than some of the other competition titles here. It boasts a locally well-known lead in stage and screen actress Rie Miyazawa, plus a springy, culturally and temporally relevant-feeling plot about the corrupting lure of money. But it is also a remarkably plodding telling of a familiar story, one that unfolds in so linear a fashion that it feels oddly overexplained, only ever operating on a single level, entirely without subtext or subplot.
- 10/31/2014
- by Jessica Kiang
- The Playlist
Audience Award won by Pale Moon with the film’s Rie Miyazawa named best actress.
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) wrapped tonight with Josh and Benny Safdie’s Us-France co-production Heaven Knows What winning the Tokyo Grand Prix. The top award comes with a cash prize of $50,000.
The co-directors also took Award for Best Director ($5,000) with their film about young junkies struggling to survive in New York. Heaven Knows What was an Asian premiere in Tokyo after Venice, Toronto and New York.
The Special Jury Prize ($20,000) went to Bulgaria-Greece co-production The Lesson directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov.
Rie Miyazawa took the Best Actress award ($5,000) for her performance in Pale Moon, a world premiere title which also picked up the Audience Award ($10,000).
Directed by Daihachi Yoshida (The Kirishima Thing), the film was the only Japanese work in competition and drew pleased buzz from hard-pressed festival-goers looking for good Japanese films in the selection.
[link...
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) wrapped tonight with Josh and Benny Safdie’s Us-France co-production Heaven Knows What winning the Tokyo Grand Prix. The top award comes with a cash prize of $50,000.
The co-directors also took Award for Best Director ($5,000) with their film about young junkies struggling to survive in New York. Heaven Knows What was an Asian premiere in Tokyo after Venice, Toronto and New York.
The Special Jury Prize ($20,000) went to Bulgaria-Greece co-production The Lesson directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov.
Rie Miyazawa took the Best Actress award ($5,000) for her performance in Pale Moon, a world premiere title which also picked up the Audience Award ($10,000).
Directed by Daihachi Yoshida (The Kirishima Thing), the film was the only Japanese work in competition and drew pleased buzz from hard-pressed festival-goers looking for good Japanese films in the selection.
[link...
- 10/31/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Tokyo International Film Festival’s ‘Seven Samurai’ directors compared the restrictive studio-controlled filmmaking environment of modern-day Japan to the golden age of Akira Kurosawa at a talk event on Sunday.
For this year’s edition, the festival has selected seven directors, who have achieved a degree of international recognition, to promote Japanese cinema to the world. Three of the seven attended the talk event: Keishi Otomo, who has directed two hit films based on the Rurouni Kenshin manga series; Takashi Yamazaki, whose Parasyte is closing the festival; and Lee Sang-il, whose credits include the Japanese remake of Unforgiven.
The other four ‘Samurai’ are Takashi Miike (13 Assassins), Tetsuya Nakashima (Confessions), Eiichiro Hasumi (Umizaru series) and Daihachi Yoshida, whose Pale Moon is the only Japanese film in Tiff’s competition section. The event was followed by a screening of Kurosawa’s 1954 Seven Samurai.
Asked to compare filmmaking in Japan today to the era when Seven Samurai was made, the...
For this year’s edition, the festival has selected seven directors, who have achieved a degree of international recognition, to promote Japanese cinema to the world. Three of the seven attended the talk event: Keishi Otomo, who has directed two hit films based on the Rurouni Kenshin manga series; Takashi Yamazaki, whose Parasyte is closing the festival; and Lee Sang-il, whose credits include the Japanese remake of Unforgiven.
The other four ‘Samurai’ are Takashi Miike (13 Assassins), Tetsuya Nakashima (Confessions), Eiichiro Hasumi (Umizaru series) and Daihachi Yoshida, whose Pale Moon is the only Japanese film in Tiff’s competition section. The event was followed by a screening of Kurosawa’s 1954 Seven Samurai.
Asked to compare filmmaking in Japan today to the era when Seven Samurai was made, the...
- 10/26/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
World premieres from Goupil, Li, De La Cruz, Yeo, Yoshida and more.Scroll down for Competition line-up
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) (Oct 23-31) has announced the rest of its line-up with a Competition selection that includes world premieres such as Romain Goupil’s French film The Days Come and Li Ruijun’s Chinese film River Road.
The other world premieres in Competition will be: Filipino maverick Khavn De La Cruz‘s Ruined Heart - Another Love Story Between A Criminal & A Whore; Malaysian producer of Cannes title Tiger Factory, Edmund Yeo’s feature directorial debut River Of Exploding Durians, and the previously announced single Japanese film in Competition, Pale Moon, directed by Daihachi Yoshida.
Claudio Noce’s Italian film Ice Forest will make an international premiere in Competition.
Tiff Programming director Yoshi Yatabe explained the selection was made on three criteria: “an unswerving focus on depicting humanity”, “diversity” and “auteurism”.
He said, “To sum up...
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) (Oct 23-31) has announced the rest of its line-up with a Competition selection that includes world premieres such as Romain Goupil’s French film The Days Come and Li Ruijun’s Chinese film River Road.
The other world premieres in Competition will be: Filipino maverick Khavn De La Cruz‘s Ruined Heart - Another Love Story Between A Criminal & A Whore; Malaysian producer of Cannes title Tiger Factory, Edmund Yeo’s feature directorial debut River Of Exploding Durians, and the previously announced single Japanese film in Competition, Pale Moon, directed by Daihachi Yoshida.
Claudio Noce’s Italian film Ice Forest will make an international premiere in Competition.
Tiff Programming director Yoshi Yatabe explained the selection was made on three criteria: “an unswerving focus on depicting humanity”, “diversity” and “auteurism”.
He said, “To sum up...
- 9/30/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
In an early announcement, the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) has revealed Japanese film Pale Moon will be the only local film in Competition this year.
Directed by Daihachi Yoshida, award-winning filmmaker of The Kirishima Thing, Pale Moon will receive its world premiere at the festival, which runs Oct 23-31.
The rest of Tiff’s line-up will be announced Sept 30.
Based on prize-winning author Mitsuyo Kakuta’s novel The Eighth Day, suspense film Pale Moon stars Rie Miyazawa as an ordinary housewife who unexpectedly gets involved in a large embezzlement case.
Yoshi Yatabe, programming director of Tiff’s International Competition section, said: “It was fate when the director Daihachi Yoshida, who is always careful to portray a character attractively, encountered the actress Rie Miyazawa.
“In Pale Moon, Miyazawa performed perfectly in the role of a woman who experiences liberation from suppression and downfall. The chemistry between the director and the star created this year’s representative...
Directed by Daihachi Yoshida, award-winning filmmaker of The Kirishima Thing, Pale Moon will receive its world premiere at the festival, which runs Oct 23-31.
The rest of Tiff’s line-up will be announced Sept 30.
Based on prize-winning author Mitsuyo Kakuta’s novel The Eighth Day, suspense film Pale Moon stars Rie Miyazawa as an ordinary housewife who unexpectedly gets involved in a large embezzlement case.
Yoshi Yatabe, programming director of Tiff’s International Competition section, said: “It was fate when the director Daihachi Yoshida, who is always careful to portray a character attractively, encountered the actress Rie Miyazawa.
“In Pale Moon, Miyazawa performed perfectly in the role of a woman who experiences liberation from suppression and downfall. The chemistry between the director and the star created this year’s representative...
- 9/18/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Yoshida Daihachi, director of Twitch faves like Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers! and The Kirishima Thing is lending his expertise and experience to the Toronto Japanese Film Festival this June! The director is joining the festival's Grand Jury. The Toronto Japanese Film Festival is pleased to announce the addition of the Grand Jury Prize at its 2014 festival. The award is given to the feature selected as the best film among the North American and Canadian premieres screened at the festival. The winning film-maker is awarded with a certificate and prize money of 100,000 Japanese yen.Director Daihachi Yoshida, winner of last year's Japan Academy Award for Best Film and Best Director for The Kirishima Thing, joins the jury along with Japan Times Film Critic Mark...
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- 5/2/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Third Window Films are pleased to have taken on board a big chunk of programming of the Way Out East Strand of the 21st Raindance Film Festival, one of the largest independent film festivals in the world. This year's festival will have a special focus on Japanese independent cinema with a strand called Way Out East featuring 13 films, of which 7 were programmed by the guys at Third Window Films. There will be UK premiers of its latest acquisitions: Sake-bomb and Shady, plus they will also be bringing over 5 directors from Japan to represent their latest works, so Raindance is the place to be in the UK for catching the latest and best independent cinema from Japan. Other highlights include, the world premieres of Court of Zues, with Q&A from director Gen Takahashi (Confessions of a Dog), The Kirishima Thing with Q&A from director Daihachi Yoshida (Funuke), A2-B-c...
- 9/22/2013
- 24framespersecond.net
WikiLeaks founder to judge films at the 21st Raindance Film Festival; 2013 line-up unveiled.Scroll down for full line-up of films
Julian Assange has joined the jury of the 21st Raindance Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 6), a London-based event that celebrates independent film in the UK and around the world.
The appointment is a controversial one. The Australian editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about sexual assault allegations.
It is understood that he fears Sweden would extradite him to the Us, where he believes he is wanted in relation to WikiLeaks’ disclosure of a significant amount of classified Us military and diplomatic documents.
Commenting on Assange’s appointment, Raindance founder Elliot Grove said: “Every year Raindance invites interesting people to join our jury. In the past we have had musicians like Mick Jones, Marky Ramone and [link...
Julian Assange has joined the jury of the 21st Raindance Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 6), a London-based event that celebrates independent film in the UK and around the world.
The appointment is a controversial one. The Australian editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about sexual assault allegations.
It is understood that he fears Sweden would extradite him to the Us, where he believes he is wanted in relation to WikiLeaks’ disclosure of a significant amount of classified Us military and diplomatic documents.
Commenting on Assange’s appointment, Raindance founder Elliot Grove said: “Every year Raindance invites interesting people to join our jury. In the past we have had musicians like Mick Jones, Marky Ramone and [link...
- 9/3/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Shot through with deadpan humor and framed in a complex but always coherent structure, The Kirishima Thing is an engaging new work from director Daihachi Yoshida that is both modest in its aims and ambitious in its construction. Kirishima is the top athlete at his high school, and when he suddenly disappears, the social order of the entire insititution crumbles behind him. With foul play never suspected and the titular character never appearing on screen, the Kirishima 'thing' is merely a MacGuffin to set the stage for a wider exploration of hierarchical norms in Japanese society, particularly as they apply to the pressure cooker environment of high school. The jocks and their girlfriends, Kirishima's friends, hold power in the school while, tellingly, the geeks are...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 8/1/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Tokyo -- High school drama Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutteyo (The Kirishima Thing) won best picture and best director for Daihachi Yoshida at the 36th Japan Academy Prize on Friday, with other honors widely shared in a year featuring few critically acclaimed films Hiroshi Abe won best actor for his comedy work as a time-traveling ancient Roman who ends up in a Japanese hot spring in mega-hit Thermae Romae, which took $66 million (5.98 billion yen) at the local box office. The best actress award went to Kirin Kiki, who was honored for the title role in Masato Harada's Waga Haha
read more...
read more...
- 3/8/2013
- by Gavin J. Blair
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The announcement of the Asian Movie Awards has just been released with some big films and actors going against against each other to win the big awards. Some of these include Drug War (Louis Koo), Outrage Beyond, actors such as Choi Min-sik and Tony Leung Ka-fai, to Directors such as Takeshi Kitano and Lou Ye.
I do have a few favorites in this list and i feel best movie could go to Drug War and best actor should fall to Choi Min-sik (just brilliant in every movie).
Here is the list of nominations below, feel free to write your favorites in the comment box at the bottom of the page.
Best Film
“Drug War” (Mainland China)
“Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2″ (India)
“Mystery” (Mainland China)
“Outrage Beyond” (Japan)
“Pieta” (South Korea)
Best Director
Anurag Kashyap, “Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2″ (India)
Abbas Kiarostami, “Like Someone in Love” (Japan/France/Iran)
Kim Ki-duk,...
I do have a few favorites in this list and i feel best movie could go to Drug War and best actor should fall to Choi Min-sik (just brilliant in every movie).
Here is the list of nominations below, feel free to write your favorites in the comment box at the bottom of the page.
Best Film
“Drug War” (Mainland China)
“Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2″ (India)
“Mystery” (Mainland China)
“Outrage Beyond” (Japan)
“Pieta” (South Korea)
Best Director
Anurag Kashyap, “Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2″ (India)
Abbas Kiarostami, “Like Someone in Love” (Japan/France/Iran)
Kim Ki-duk,...
- 1/20/2013
- by kingofkungfu
- AsianMoviePulse
Four Indian films have been nominated for the 7th Asian Film Awards with Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur leading the pack with four nominations: Best Film, Anurag Kashyap for Best Director, Wasiq Khan for Best Production Designer and Rajeev Ravi for Best Cinematographer.
In other nominations, Nawazuddin Siddiqui will compete for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Talaash, Anand Gandhi contends for Best Screenwriter for his debut film Ship of Theseus and Pritam Chakraborty vies for Best Composer Award for his melodies in Barfi!.
Andy Lau, a noted actor of Hong Kong will head the judging panel. A total of 30 films from nine countries will compete under 14 categories at the award function to be held on 18th March, 3013. The annual event is organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.
Full List of Nominations:
Best Film
Drug War (Mainland China)
Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2 (India)
Mystery (Mainland...
In other nominations, Nawazuddin Siddiqui will compete for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Talaash, Anand Gandhi contends for Best Screenwriter for his debut film Ship of Theseus and Pritam Chakraborty vies for Best Composer Award for his melodies in Barfi!.
Andy Lau, a noted actor of Hong Kong will head the judging panel. A total of 30 films from nine countries will compete under 14 categories at the award function to be held on 18th March, 3013. The annual event is organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.
Full List of Nominations:
Best Film
Drug War (Mainland China)
Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2 (India)
Mystery (Mainland...
- 1/17/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Showgate has released the full trailer for The Kirishima Thing, the latest by director Daihachi Yoshida (Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!)
Based on a novel by Ryo Asai, the movie tackles the subject of high school hierarchies and the way kids quietly accept their role within that tightly-controlled social structure without question.
When a popular student named Kirishima suddenly decides to quit the very activities that placed him at the top tier of popularity, his classmates can’t seem to come to grips with it. Rumors begin to fly about why he made his decision, leading to misunderstandings, confusion, and misguided anger among his peers.
Meanwhile, the nerdier kids who have spent the entirety of their high school careers remaining relatively invisible also feel the effects of this shake-up as a boy named Ryoya Maeda (Ryunosuke Kamiki) begins documenting events for his film project.
Also featured prominently in the...
Based on a novel by Ryo Asai, the movie tackles the subject of high school hierarchies and the way kids quietly accept their role within that tightly-controlled social structure without question.
When a popular student named Kirishima suddenly decides to quit the very activities that placed him at the top tier of popularity, his classmates can’t seem to come to grips with it. Rumors begin to fly about why he made his decision, leading to misunderstandings, confusion, and misguided anger among his peers.
Meanwhile, the nerdier kids who have spent the entirety of their high school careers remaining relatively invisible also feel the effects of this shake-up as a boy named Ryoya Maeda (Ryunosuke Kamiki) begins documenting events for his film project.
Also featured prominently in the...
- 6/12/2012
- Nippon Cinema
Hong Kong was long the home turf of conman cinema, but now Japan finally has a certified hustler of its own. His name is Sergeant Kuhio, a jet pilot fighting for world peace, trying to do justice to his royal bloodline. Kuhio Taisa is another one of Yoshida's dark yet quirky comedies, throwing you off-guard and mixing awkward, strange and dramatic moments into an unusual mix that leaves you with a feeling of having witnessed something unique.Kuhio Taisa was the only Daihachi Yoshida (Permanent Nobara, Funuke, Show Me Some Love You Losers) film I still needed to see, now that I have I can say without any doubt that he's one of the best directors working in the current Japanese comedy scene. While his sense...
- 3/26/2012
- Screen Anarchy
The official website for Daihachi Yoshida’s Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutteyo has been updated with a 30-second teaser trailer.
Based on a 2010 youth novel by Ryo Asai, the movie stars Ryunosuke Kamiki as Ryoya Maeda, a student at a rural high school who lives a quiet existence at the very bottom tier of his class’s social structure. He’s also an aspiring director who wants to enter a film contest, but he hasn’t been able to find a partner among his classmates. The story is mostly shown from his perspective.
One day, volleyball club captain Kirishima suddenly quits the team. This unexpected decision causes shock waves with his classmates, eventually causing their well-established hierarchy to completely break down.
Ai Hashimoto (Confessions) plays a badminton club member named Kasumi. Suzuka Ohgo plays a brass band member named Aya who’s just as inconspicuous as Maeda. Other cast members include Masahiro Higashide,...
Based on a 2010 youth novel by Ryo Asai, the movie stars Ryunosuke Kamiki as Ryoya Maeda, a student at a rural high school who lives a quiet existence at the very bottom tier of his class’s social structure. He’s also an aspiring director who wants to enter a film contest, but he hasn’t been able to find a partner among his classmates. The story is mostly shown from his perspective.
One day, volleyball club captain Kirishima suddenly quits the team. This unexpected decision causes shock waves with his classmates, eventually causing their well-established hierarchy to completely break down.
Ai Hashimoto (Confessions) plays a badminton club member named Kasumi. Suzuka Ohgo plays a brass band member named Aya who’s just as inconspicuous as Maeda. Other cast members include Masahiro Higashide,...
- 3/19/2012
- Nippon Cinema
Daihachi Yoshida, director of Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!, will adapt the novel Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutteyo authored by Asai Ryo. The novel told the story, from many perspectives, of a high school where there is an upper and lower class of students. One day a member of the elite class, and a member of the high school volleyball team crosses the boundary between the two classes. This causes a stir in the school's hierarchy. The movie will tell the same story but only from the perspectives of Hiroki, a member of the school baseball team and the upper class, and Maeda Ryoya [Kamiki Ryunosuke - Dai-Nipponjin, Howl's Moving Castle and Survive Style 5+] a member of the film club from the lower class, Other cast members include Hashimoto Ai [Confessions], Ohgo Suzuka [Oppai Volleyball], Shimizu Kurumi...
- 12/16/2011
- Screen Anarchy
The team of Nippon Connection has announced the full program for the 11th edition of the Japanese film festival. Despite the current events in Japan, the festival will take place in Frankfurt from April 27th to Mai 1st.
Currently the program isn’t available on the festival’s website, so here’s a quick peek taken from the press release:
A Night in Nude: Salvation (Nudo no yoru: Ai wa oshiminaku ubau), R: Takashi Ishii, J 2010
Abraxas (Aburakusasu no matsuri), R: Naoki Kato, J 2010
Anpo, R: Linda Hoaglund, J 2010
Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty), R: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, J 2010
Beautiful Method (Utsukushii sube), R: Takamasa Ooe, J 2009
Cage, R: Shinsuke Kurimoto, J 2010
Cold Fish (Tsumetai nettaigyo), R: Sion Sono, J 2010
Colorful, R: Keiichi Hara, J 2010
Coming Future (Sinka), R: Kyuya Nakagawa, J 2010
Devil Has Come (Akuma ga kita), R: Shun Sakaida, J 2010
Doman Seman (Horikawa nakatachiuri), R: Go Shibata, J 2010
Door to...
Currently the program isn’t available on the festival’s website, so here’s a quick peek taken from the press release:
A Night in Nude: Salvation (Nudo no yoru: Ai wa oshiminaku ubau), R: Takashi Ishii, J 2010
Abraxas (Aburakusasu no matsuri), R: Naoki Kato, J 2010
Anpo, R: Linda Hoaglund, J 2010
Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty), R: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, J 2010
Beautiful Method (Utsukushii sube), R: Takamasa Ooe, J 2009
Cage, R: Shinsuke Kurimoto, J 2010
Cold Fish (Tsumetai nettaigyo), R: Sion Sono, J 2010
Colorful, R: Keiichi Hara, J 2010
Coming Future (Sinka), R: Kyuya Nakagawa, J 2010
Devil Has Come (Akuma ga kita), R: Shun Sakaida, J 2010
Doman Seman (Horikawa nakatachiuri), R: Go Shibata, J 2010
Door to...
- 3/16/2011
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
The team of Nippon Connection has announced the full program for the 11th edition of the Japanese film festival. Despite the current events in Japan, the festival will take place in Frankfurt from April 27th to Mai 1st.
Currently the program isn’t available on the festival’s website, so here’s a quick peek taken from the press release:
A Night in Nude: Salvation (Nudo no yoru: Ai wa oshiminaku ubau), R: Takashi Ishii, J 2010
Abraxas (Aburakusasu no matsuri), R: Naoki Kato, J 2010
Anpo, R: Linda Hoaglund, J 2010
Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty), R: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, J 2010
Beautiful Method (Utsukushii sube), R: Takamasa Ooe, J 2009
Cage, R: Shinsuke Kurimoto, J 2010
Cold Fish (Tsumetai nettaigyo), R: Sion Sono, J 2010
Colorful, R: Keiichi Hara, J 2010
Coming Future (Sinka), R: Kyuya Nakagawa, J 2010
Devil Has Come (Akuma ga kita), R: Shun Sakaida, J 2010
Doman Seman (Horikawa nakatachiuri), R: Go Shibata, J 2010
Door to...
Currently the program isn’t available on the festival’s website, so here’s a quick peek taken from the press release:
A Night in Nude: Salvation (Nudo no yoru: Ai wa oshiminaku ubau), R: Takashi Ishii, J 2010
Abraxas (Aburakusasu no matsuri), R: Naoki Kato, J 2010
Anpo, R: Linda Hoaglund, J 2010
Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty), R: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, J 2010
Beautiful Method (Utsukushii sube), R: Takamasa Ooe, J 2009
Cage, R: Shinsuke Kurimoto, J 2010
Cold Fish (Tsumetai nettaigyo), R: Sion Sono, J 2010
Colorful, R: Keiichi Hara, J 2010
Coming Future (Sinka), R: Kyuya Nakagawa, J 2010
Devil Has Come (Akuma ga kita), R: Shun Sakaida, J 2010
Doman Seman (Horikawa nakatachiuri), R: Go Shibata, J 2010
Door to...
- 3/16/2011
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
The official website for Permanent Nobara has been updated with a new 2-minute trailer. The film is the latest by director Daihachi Yoshida, who began his career as a highly successful television commercial and music video director before making his feature-length debut with 2007’s Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!
His new film is based on a manga series by Rieko Saibara, a cartoonist who’s popularity has been soaring recently due to the frank nature of her work, covering self-reflective subjects like single motherhood (Ikechan to Boku) and her own manga career (Onnanoko Monogatari).
Former J-pop idol Miho Kanno stars as a woman named Naoko who returns to her village home with her daughter after getting divorced. Her mother runs the only hair salon in the area for women to get perms, but the main reason they show up day after day is to discuss their most personal love...
His new film is based on a manga series by Rieko Saibara, a cartoonist who’s popularity has been soaring recently due to the frank nature of her work, covering self-reflective subjects like single motherhood (Ikechan to Boku) and her own manga career (Onnanoko Monogatari).
Former J-pop idol Miho Kanno stars as a woman named Naoko who returns to her village home with her daughter after getting divorced. Her mother runs the only hair salon in the area for women to get perms, but the main reason they show up day after day is to discuss their most personal love...
- 4/20/2010
- Nippon Cinema
Marrakech International Film Festival
MARRAKECH, Morocco -- "Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers" (Funuke Domo, Kanashimi No Ai Wo Misero), black comedies about dysfunctional families based on a novel by Yukiko Motoya, has a talented cast yet looks like a television soap. Maybe that is what director Daihachi Yoshida wanted to attract younger audiences, women in particular. The movie has a good boxoffice potential, though it appears out of place in a festival competition.
Yoshida packs dark humor in his narrative, much of it comes from Sumika (Eriko Sato), a failed actress who returns from Tokyo to her rural home when her parents die in a accident trying to save a Black Cat sitting in the middle of a road. Her hardworking woodcutter stepbrother, Shinji (Masatochi Nagase), and his new wife, Machiko (Hiromi Nagasaku), are not happy when Sumika asks for an allowance to live in Tokyo.
Four years before, Sumika quarreled and almost killed her father for refusing her money to pursue stardom. But Sumika was not one to be stopped: She prostituted, made money and left home, although not before getting into an incestuous relationship with Shinji, a relationship she resumes after her return to get favors out of him. Their little sister, Kiyomi (Aimi Satsukawa), is inspired by her family mess to draw manga comic strips, winning huge prize money and ruining Sumika's reputation. Naturally, Sumika holds Kiyomi responsible for her failure as an actress.
The film can be seen as a commentary on Japanese society, where schoolgirl prostitution, uneasy father-daughter relationships, domestic violence and suicides are not uncommon. Machiko bears the brunt of her husband's ill temper, yet she keeps smiling and laughing. Kiyomi stoically bears Sumika's bullying, but continues to draw and ridicule her family. Sumika overcomes obstacles with her cunning ways. But Shinji crumbles.
A couple of decades ago, another generation of Japanese helmers would have made a serious study of a dysfunctional family from such material. Not Yoshida, who uses comedy to make his points, even if the film comes off a bit like a trashy television serial.
FUNUKE SHOW SOME LOVE, YOU LOSERS!
Phantom Film
Credits:
Writer/director: Daihachi Yoshida
Based on a novel by: Yukiko Motoya
Producers: Shuji Kakimoto, Keisuke Konishi, Yutaka Suzuki
Directors of photography: Shoichi Ato, Atsushi Ozawa
Production designer: Yasuaki Harada
Music: Soichiro Suzuki, Yoshiaki Kusaka
Editor: Kumi Okada
Cast:
Sumika: Eriko Sato
Kiyomi: Aimi Satsukawa
Shinji: Masatochi Nagase
Machiko: Hiromi Nagasaku
Running time -- 111 minutes
No MPAA rating...
MARRAKECH, Morocco -- "Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers" (Funuke Domo, Kanashimi No Ai Wo Misero), black comedies about dysfunctional families based on a novel by Yukiko Motoya, has a talented cast yet looks like a television soap. Maybe that is what director Daihachi Yoshida wanted to attract younger audiences, women in particular. The movie has a good boxoffice potential, though it appears out of place in a festival competition.
Yoshida packs dark humor in his narrative, much of it comes from Sumika (Eriko Sato), a failed actress who returns from Tokyo to her rural home when her parents die in a accident trying to save a Black Cat sitting in the middle of a road. Her hardworking woodcutter stepbrother, Shinji (Masatochi Nagase), and his new wife, Machiko (Hiromi Nagasaku), are not happy when Sumika asks for an allowance to live in Tokyo.
Four years before, Sumika quarreled and almost killed her father for refusing her money to pursue stardom. But Sumika was not one to be stopped: She prostituted, made money and left home, although not before getting into an incestuous relationship with Shinji, a relationship she resumes after her return to get favors out of him. Their little sister, Kiyomi (Aimi Satsukawa), is inspired by her family mess to draw manga comic strips, winning huge prize money and ruining Sumika's reputation. Naturally, Sumika holds Kiyomi responsible for her failure as an actress.
The film can be seen as a commentary on Japanese society, where schoolgirl prostitution, uneasy father-daughter relationships, domestic violence and suicides are not uncommon. Machiko bears the brunt of her husband's ill temper, yet she keeps smiling and laughing. Kiyomi stoically bears Sumika's bullying, but continues to draw and ridicule her family. Sumika overcomes obstacles with her cunning ways. But Shinji crumbles.
A couple of decades ago, another generation of Japanese helmers would have made a serious study of a dysfunctional family from such material. Not Yoshida, who uses comedy to make his points, even if the film comes off a bit like a trashy television serial.
FUNUKE SHOW SOME LOVE, YOU LOSERS!
Phantom Film
Credits:
Writer/director: Daihachi Yoshida
Based on a novel by: Yukiko Motoya
Producers: Shuji Kakimoto, Keisuke Konishi, Yutaka Suzuki
Directors of photography: Shoichi Ato, Atsushi Ozawa
Production designer: Yasuaki Harada
Music: Soichiro Suzuki, Yoshiaki Kusaka
Editor: Kumi Okada
Cast:
Sumika: Eriko Sato
Kiyomi: Aimi Satsukawa
Shinji: Masatochi Nagase
Machiko: Hiromi Nagasaku
Running time -- 111 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/29/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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