Ando Masanobu at FCCJ sneak preview

[Eija Niskanen]

Dear KineJapanners,

We have another screening opportunity at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of
Japan on Monday, Oct. 3, followed by a Q&A with star Masanobu Ando.

The FCCJ is a private club, so you must reserve through Karen Severns if
you’d like to attend the screening: kjs30 at gol.com

http://www.fccj.or.jp/node/6882

SNEAK PREVIEW SCREENING
Followed by a Q&A session with star Masanobu Ando and producer/cowriter
Masatoshi Yamaguchi

MONDAY, OCTOBER 3,  7 pm  20th floor

SMUGGLER (Sumagura―Omaeno Miraiwo Hakobe)
Japan, 2011  115 minutes  In Japanese/Chinese with English subtitles

Directed by:     Katsuhito Ishii
Written by:    Katsuhito Ishii, Masatoshi Yamaguchi and Kensuke Yamamoto,
based on
        the graphic novel by Shohei Manabe
Producers:    Hideaki Endo, Masatoshi Yamaguchi, Kazuto Takida, Akira
Yamamoto
Cast:         Satoshi Tsumabuki, Masatoshi Nagase, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Hikari
        Mitsushima, Masanobu Ando, Masahiro Takashima, Fumiyo Kohinata,
    Ren Osugi, Shota Matsuda

Film courtesy of Warner Bros.                Warning: Extreme violence

The Movie Committee completes its trilogy of genre film screening events
with this wacky, shocking comedy by acclaimed cult director Katsuhito Ishii
(“Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl,” “A Taste of Tea”), starring a Who’s
Who of hot young actors, headlined by Satoshi Tsumabuki (“Villain”), Hikari
Mitsushima (“Sawako Decides”) and Masanobu Ando (“Sukiyaki Western Django,”
“The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman”). Produced by Warner Bros. —
signaling its designs on global distribution — “Smuggler” is a nonstop
thrill ride that manages to pay homage to Yusaku Matsuda, Quentin Tarantino,
“Beat” Takeshi Kitano, Bruce Lee and Sundance hit “Sunshine Cleaning” — and
to include unexpectedly tender moments involving gay gangsters and tasty
takoyaki — en route to its happy ending.

After his dreams of becoming an actor go nowhere, self-proclaimed slacker
Kinuta (Tsumabuki) buries himself in pachinko until he is neck-deep in debt
and forced to get a loan from a goth Lolita banker (Matsuyuki of “Hula Girl”
fame). To pay her off, he is recruited as a smuggler – an underground mover
of everything from illegal goods to dead bodies. Hauling sensitive items in
the dead of night with silent tough guy Joe (Nagase of “Mystery Train”) and
his chatty sidekick, Kinuta enters Japan’s underworld the easy way. Until
one night, their cargo — a murdered yakuza boss — triggers the rage of
psychotic, unibrowed Kawashima (a terrifying Takashima). Their lives are
further imperiled when the boss’ wisecracking widow (Mitsushima) forces them
to transport, Hannibal Lecter–style, her husband’s killer, a peroxided
Chinese assassin (Ando) known as Vertebrae for his spinal tattoo and
bone-crunching martial arts prowess. When Kinuta allows Vertebrae to escape,
Kawashima sharpens his torture implements and Kinuta will have to give the
performance of a lifetime to survive.

Please join us for this special sneak peek at “Smuggler,” opening at
theaters across Japan on October 22, following its September 16 world
premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.



-- 
Eija Niskanen
080-3479-8475
Kichijoji Honcho 4-12-6
Musashino-shi
Tokyo 180-0004
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