Japan Foundation UK touring program announced for Feb-March.

[Jasper Sharp]

The Japan Foundation UK has just announced the program for its annual touring season which I helped put together. Six recent films all about modern day life in Japan will be playing London, Bristol, Belfast, Sheffield and Edinburgh. I should be around to introduce at least one of the screenings at London's ICA and Bristol's Watershed, so it would be great to meet any Kinejapanners attending the event.

I should also mention that the Tomu Uchida season I co-curated with listmember Alex Jacoby is now playing every monday this month at Bristol's Arnolfini Arts centre, with the wonderful Twilight Saloon this monday at 6.30pm. 

And in March, there's something very exciting I've got up my sleeve for the Bristol Watershed, amongst other places, involving puppets. But more about that closer the time... 

In the meantime, details of the Japan Foundation programme are given below,

Jasper




A LIFE MORE ORDINARY
A Portrait of Contemporary Japanese People on Film

With this season of six contemporary films, the Japan Foundation’s annual touring film programme offers a glimpse of the reality of existence in contemporary Japan. 

Almost half a century ago, during the second golden period of Japanese cinema, directors such as Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse, created some of the finest examples of a sub-genre of films that had been around since the 1920s: Shomin-geki. These were dramas about the everyday struggles and moral conflicts of the ordinary working people of Japan. Fifty years on and the potential for drama may not have changed but the situations have, with contemporary stories more interested in the concerns of the individual than common societal issues. These new dramas arouse a soulful acknowledgment from the audience, particularly from the younger and middle-aged generations that form the core of Japanese cinema goers. 

There are no bullets to the head or blood splatter, no clashing katana or bizarre ghosts with long hair. Does this sound boring? Don’t worry, this season remains true to the history of Japanese cinema and will provide experiences a lot closer to home.

The films in the season are:

THE MILK WOMAN (Itsuka Dokusho Suru Hi)
Minako is an unmarried middle-aged woman who leads a quiet life, working at in the supermarket and delivering milk to local residents. At night she finds solace in novels, her only escape from her dreary daily existence. Keita works for the local government in the same town while nursing his wife through the final stages of her cancer. One day, Minako delivers milk to Keita’s house and recognises him as her first love from high school…
Dir Akira Ogata, Japan 2005, 127 mins, subtitles

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES 
A human drama, told in a forthright style, that follows four very different women as they find unexpected ways to square up to the various problems facing them. Based on a comic book of the same title by Kiriko Nananan, and directed by Hitoshi Yazaki (March Comes in Like a Lion).
Dir Hitoshi Yazaki,  Japan 2006, 127 mins, subtitles

THE CAT LEAVES HOME (Innu-neko)
A subtly perceptive portrait of jealousy and friendship focussing on two young women who always seem to end up as love rivals. When they find themselves living together and both going after the same guy, the pair must find a way to finally solve their recurring romantic problem. 
Dir Nami Iguchi, Japan 2004, 94 mins, subtitles

KAMIKAZE GIRLS (Shimotsuma Monogatari)
Momoko escapes from the boredom of her humdrum hometown by swathing herself from head to toe in doll like “Lolita” garb. One day she meets her opposite on the fashion scale, surly biker chick Ichigo (played by Anna Tsuchiya, winner of a 2005 Japan Academy Prize for best newcomer). Ichigo takes a liking to Momoko’s gutsy nature and the two form an unlikely alliance. A frenetically comic journey into Japan’s youth subcultures, based on a graphic novel by cult manga creator Novala Takemoto.
Dir Tetsuya Nakashima, Japan 2004, 103mins, subtitles

NO-ONE’S ARK (Baka no Hakobune)
Daisuke Sakai (Hiroshi Yamamoto) and his girlfriend Hisako Shimada (Tomoko Kotera) have failed at selling a smelly health drink named Akajiru in Tokyo, amassing five million yen in debts. In order to recover financially, they retreat to Daisuke's island hometown. However, when things still fail to go as planned, the pair resort to extreme measures…  
Dir Nobuhiro Yamashita, Japan 2002, 111 mins, subtitles

KAZA-HANA
A haunting tale of destiny and life’s unpredictability: Sawaki (Tadanobu Asano) is an elite bureaucrat and Yuriko (Kyoko Koizumi) is an exotic hostess. Accustomed to privilege, Sawaki has been humbled by an incident which ruined his promising career, while Yuriko’s once happy life has been crushed by her husband’s death. A chance encounter brings these two lost souls together, offering them each the hope of salvation. 
Dir Shinji Somai,  Japan 2000, 116 mins, subtitles

The programme will visit the following five venues around the UK throughout February and March 2008:

ICA (London) 8 – 14 February
Watershed Media Centre (Bristol) 15 – 21 February
Queens Film Theatre (Belfast) 22 – 28 February
Filmhouse (Edinburgh) 29 February – 6 March
Showroom (Sheffield) throughout March

Main details for the programme can be found at the Japan Foundation UK’s website:
(www.jpf.org.uk/whatson.html#1)
For the screening schedules and to book tickets, please contact the individual cinemas via their websites.

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