You know how it is: you wait 4 years for a new Kiyoshi Kurosawa film to follow “Wife of a Spy” and then three come along in quick succession int he same year. After his remake to his own “Serpent's Path” and a short film, we now gear up for the release of his new work, “Cloud”, starring Masaki Suda.
Synopsis
Ryosuke Yoshii is an ordinary person, who supports himself by reselling things on the internet. He carelessly earns grudges by people around him and, in the end, he is dragged into a desperate struggle that risks his life.
in addition to Suda, “Cloud” stars Kotone Furukawa, Daiken Okudaira, Amane Okayama, YosiYosi Arakawa and Masataka Kubota. It is scheduled to release in Japan on September 27th, 2024.
Synopsis
Ryosuke Yoshii is an ordinary person, who supports himself by reselling things on the internet. He carelessly earns grudges by people around him and, in the end, he is dragged into a desperate struggle that risks his life.
in addition to Suda, “Cloud” stars Kotone Furukawa, Daiken Okudaira, Amane Okayama, YosiYosi Arakawa and Masataka Kubota. It is scheduled to release in Japan on September 27th, 2024.
- 4/27/2024
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Look out, Hong Sangsoo. Your distinction as the most prolific director working today is being challenged. It’s been nearly four years since Kiyoshi Kurosawa last released a film with 2020’s Wife of a Spy, but in 2024, the Japanese director will make up for lost time, premiering a trio of new films.
As featured in our 2024 preview, he remade his own film with Serpent’s Path, starring Damien Bonnard, Mathieu Amalric, Grégoire Colin, and Ko Shibasaki. Before that feature sets its premiere, his 45-minute thriller Chime will debut at Berlinale this month. Now, a third 2024 film has been unveiled with Cloud.
Screen Daily reports he’s already finished shooting the project, with the first still featured above, and is in the editing process with a Japanese release planned for this September. Backed by Nikkatsu Corporation and Tokyo Theatres Company Inc., the Kurosawa-scripted project stars The Boy and the Heron‘s Masaki Suda as Ryosuke Yoshii,...
As featured in our 2024 preview, he remade his own film with Serpent’s Path, starring Damien Bonnard, Mathieu Amalric, Grégoire Colin, and Ko Shibasaki. Before that feature sets its premiere, his 45-minute thriller Chime will debut at Berlinale this month. Now, a third 2024 film has been unveiled with Cloud.
Screen Daily reports he’s already finished shooting the project, with the first still featured above, and is in the editing process with a Japanese release planned for this September. Backed by Nikkatsu Corporation and Tokyo Theatres Company Inc., the Kurosawa-scripted project stars The Boy and the Heron‘s Masaki Suda as Ryosuke Yoshii,...
- 2/13/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who won best director at Venice in 2020 with Wife Of A Spy, is working on a new suspense thriller titled Cloud, which will be introduced to buyers at the EFM by Japanese studio Nikkatsu Corporation.
The feature is in post-production with a Japanese release set for September 2024. A first look at the film can be seen above.
Written by Kurosawa, the story centres on Ryosuke Yoshii, an enigmatic young man who tries to make money by reselling shrewdly obtained goods on the internet under the pseudonym ‘Ratel’.
The film stars Masaki Suda, who won best actor...
The feature is in post-production with a Japanese release set for September 2024. A first look at the film can be seen above.
Written by Kurosawa, the story centres on Ryosuke Yoshii, an enigmatic young man who tries to make money by reselling shrewdly obtained goods on the internet under the pseudonym ‘Ratel’.
The film stars Masaki Suda, who won best actor...
- 2/12/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Berlinale has rounded out its special screenings programme with three more films.
Omar Sy-starring The Strangers’ Case by Brandt Andersen is a Berlinale Special Gala.
Two Japanese mid-length films - Chime by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and August My Heaven by Riho Kudo - will play as Berlinale Specials.
Andersen’s The Strangers’ Case is about a tragedy that strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo which triggers a chain reaction of events involving five different families in four different countries. The cast includes Omar Sy, Jason Beghe and Yasmine Al Massri.
It is based on a 2020 short, Refugee, that Andersen...
Omar Sy-starring The Strangers’ Case by Brandt Andersen is a Berlinale Special Gala.
Two Japanese mid-length films - Chime by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and August My Heaven by Riho Kudo - will play as Berlinale Specials.
Andersen’s The Strangers’ Case is about a tragedy that strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo which triggers a chain reaction of events involving five different families in four different countries. The cast includes Omar Sy, Jason Beghe and Yasmine Al Massri.
It is based on a 2020 short, Refugee, that Andersen...
- 1/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
The film marks the first original feature produced by the Japanese media platform.
Chime, the upcoming film from Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa, has been set as the first original production of media platform Roadstead and will be released exclusively on the platform in 2024.
Kurosawa, who won best director at Venice in 2020 with Wife Of A Spy, shot the film in September in Tokyo. It stars Mutsuo Yoshioka as a schoolteacher whose life is disrupted by a chime that brings with it an increasing sense of dread.
It marks the first film produced by Roadstead, a media platform that was launched in December 2022 by Nekojarashi,...
Chime, the upcoming film from Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa, has been set as the first original production of media platform Roadstead and will be released exclusively on the platform in 2024.
Kurosawa, who won best director at Venice in 2020 with Wife Of A Spy, shot the film in September in Tokyo. It stars Mutsuo Yoshioka as a schoolteacher whose life is disrupted by a chime that brings with it an increasing sense of dread.
It marks the first film produced by Roadstead, a media platform that was launched in December 2022 by Nekojarashi,...
- 12/18/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Daisuke Miyazaki in New York City, July 2023. Photo courtesy of the author.Near the end of Daisuke Miyazaki’s Yamato (California) (2016), an aspiring rapper with stage fright finally raps unfettered. As she wanders through a meadow, an unmotivated movie light cuts through the natural daylight, illuminating her face in her overdue moment of release.Near the end of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s To the Ends of the Earth (2019), a travel reporter with fantasies of singing finally does so unfettered. As she wanders through a meadow, an unmotivated movie light cuts through the natural daylight, illuminating her face in her overdue moment of release. Miyazaki’s mid-2010s work undoubtedly influenced Kurosawa’s film. Both Yamato (California) and To the Ends of the Earth were shot by the same cinematographer, veteran Akiko Ashizawa. Miyazaki had also worked with Kurosawa once before, as an assistant director on Tokyo Sonata (2008), and the two remained in touch.
- 8/30/2023
- MUBI
Two-and-a-half years is hardly much wait for any director’s latest (to say nothing of Covid times) but by Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s clip it’s a hot second. After producing one of 2022’s great moving-image works––movies, TV, streaming, whatever––he’s preparing his first feature since Wife of a Spy, and our friends at Ion Cinema got quite the get: they’ve learned Kurosawa’s rolling cameras this month on a remake of his 1998 feature Serpent’s Path.
While further details (e.g. casting) are nil, the earlier film might give us sense of what to anticipate. Even by Kurosawa’s standards is Serpent’s Path a cold-blooded and blood-chilling work, its story of revenge for a murdered child shaped by typically perfect production design, sustained atmosphere, ornate plotting. Where its sister film Eyes of the Spider––a production overlapping in cast, crew, and narrative jibe––offers a lighter vision of vengeance,...
While further details (e.g. casting) are nil, the earlier film might give us sense of what to anticipate. Even by Kurosawa’s standards is Serpent’s Path a cold-blooded and blood-chilling work, its story of revenge for a murdered child shaped by typically perfect production design, sustained atmosphere, ornate plotting. Where its sister film Eyes of the Spider––a production overlapping in cast, crew, and narrative jibe––offers a lighter vision of vengeance,...
- 4/4/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Click here to read the full article.
Safe to say there isn’t another country bar Japan where a handful of top directors, including celebrated auteurs and an Oscar winner, learned their craft in adult films. Or perhaps even anywhere else in the world where that is imaginable.
But when cinemagoing plunged in parallel with the penetration of television sets into homes in the 1960s, it was so-called Pink Eiga that kept large parts of the movie industry afloat for decades, nurturing a generation of directors, scriptwriters and other filmmaking crew.
Usually between 60 and 70 minutes long, shot on 35mm and released in theaters, often on triple bills, the low-budget productions gave directors a lot of freedom provided they delivered the prescribed number of sex scenes.
In 1964, with the eyes of the world on Japan as it reemerged onto the world stage after World War Two as host of Tokyo Olympics,...
Safe to say there isn’t another country bar Japan where a handful of top directors, including celebrated auteurs and an Oscar winner, learned their craft in adult films. Or perhaps even anywhere else in the world where that is imaginable.
But when cinemagoing plunged in parallel with the penetration of television sets into homes in the 1960s, it was so-called Pink Eiga that kept large parts of the movie industry afloat for decades, nurturing a generation of directors, scriptwriters and other filmmaking crew.
Usually between 60 and 70 minutes long, shot on 35mm and released in theaters, often on triple bills, the low-budget productions gave directors a lot of freedom provided they delivered the prescribed number of sex scenes.
In 1964, with the eyes of the world on Japan as it reemerged onto the world stage after World War Two as host of Tokyo Olympics,...
- 10/28/2022
- by Gavin J Blair
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A New Zealand-based platform where fans track, review and share lists of movies old and new is an increasingly influential marketing tool for specialty film with budgets tight and audiences harder to reach.
Letterboxd, founded as a passion project by Auckland tech entrepreneurs Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow just over a decade ago, recently passed 6.5 million members, with 40-50 in North America followed by the U.K., Europe and breakout markets including Brazil, India, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It has 4.4 million monthly visitors and 800 million monthly page views.
Since launch, users have logged a whopping 1 billion films they’ve seen, put 300 million films on watchlists and posted 76.8 million reviews. Average time spent per visitor per month across web and app is about 40 minutes.
Letterboxd has been profitable since 2019, which is “source of immense pride,” Buchanan tells Deadline. The founders early on declined venture capital backing, he said, to...
Letterboxd, founded as a passion project by Auckland tech entrepreneurs Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow just over a decade ago, recently passed 6.5 million members, with 40-50 in North America followed by the U.K., Europe and breakout markets including Brazil, India, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It has 4.4 million monthly visitors and 800 million monthly page views.
Since launch, users have logged a whopping 1 billion films they’ve seen, put 300 million films on watchlists and posted 76.8 million reviews. Average time spent per visitor per month across web and app is about 40 minutes.
Letterboxd has been profitable since 2019, which is “source of immense pride,” Buchanan tells Deadline. The founders early on declined venture capital backing, he said, to...
- 8/5/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Amazon Prime Video has doubled down on its investment in Japan with six local originals greenlit and an additional foray into live boxing.
At an event in Tokyo on Wednesday, Amazon revealed a reboot of “Takeshi’s Castle,” the iconic game show starring Kitano Takeshi that aired on terrestrial network TBS from 1986-1989. The reboot, with the working title “Takeshi’s Castle ProjectModern Love Tokyo," the Japanese adaptation of Prime Video’s original romantic anthology series "Modern Love." The series stars Asami Mizukawa, Hiromi Nagasaku, Yûsuke Santamaria, Sôsuke Ikematsu, and Naomi Scott, with episodes directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa ("Wife of a Spy"), Naoko Ogigami ("Close-Knit"), Ryuichi Hiroki ("Ride or Die"), Nobuhiro Yamashita ("Matsugane ransha jiken"), and Atsuko Hirayanagi ("Oh Lucy!"), who also serves as showrunner. Set for 2023 is "My Lovely Yokai Girlfriend" a half-hour, young adult romantic horror adventure-comedy series about two outcasts directed by Takahiro Miki and created by Yalun Tu...
At an event in Tokyo on Wednesday, Amazon revealed a reboot of “Takeshi’s Castle,” the iconic game show starring Kitano Takeshi that aired on terrestrial network TBS from 1986-1989. The reboot, with the working title “Takeshi’s Castle ProjectModern Love Tokyo," the Japanese adaptation of Prime Video’s original romantic anthology series "Modern Love." The series stars Asami Mizukawa, Hiromi Nagasaku, Yûsuke Santamaria, Sôsuke Ikematsu, and Naomi Scott, with episodes directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa ("Wife of a Spy"), Naoko Ogigami ("Close-Knit"), Ryuichi Hiroki ("Ride or Die"), Nobuhiro Yamashita ("Matsugane ransha jiken"), and Atsuko Hirayanagi ("Oh Lucy!"), who also serves as showrunner. Set for 2023 is "My Lovely Yokai Girlfriend" a half-hour, young adult romantic horror adventure-comedy series about two outcasts directed by Takahiro Miki and created by Yalun Tu...
- 3/30/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
“Yanagawa,” which this week won the top prize at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas in France, has been set as the opening title of the 17th Osaka Asian Film Festival in Japan. The festival, which runs as an in-person event, March 10-20, 2022 will close with multinational co-production “Miss Osaka.”
Yanagawa, was directed by Korean-Chinese auteur Zhang Lu, and was filmed in China and Japan. Telling a tale of search for East-Asian identity, the film is Zhang’s first mainly Chinese-language picture in the eleven years since “Dooman River.”
It had its world premiere screening at Busan and was subsequently the opening film for the Pingyao International Film Festival. It is expected to receive a Japanese theatrical release later this year, though a date has not yet been finalized.
A unique Danish-Norwegian-Japanese co-production, directed by Daniel Dencik, “Miss Osaka” is a drama with mystery and thriller elements that...
Yanagawa, was directed by Korean-Chinese auteur Zhang Lu, and was filmed in China and Japan. Telling a tale of search for East-Asian identity, the film is Zhang’s first mainly Chinese-language picture in the eleven years since “Dooman River.”
It had its world premiere screening at Busan and was subsequently the opening film for the Pingyao International Film Festival. It is expected to receive a Japanese theatrical release later this year, though a date has not yet been finalized.
A unique Danish-Norwegian-Japanese co-production, directed by Daniel Dencik, “Miss Osaka” is a drama with mystery and thriller elements that...
- 2/9/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Martha Benyam has joined Kino Lorber as the new chief operating officer of the film distribution company.
A veteran of the film, television and digital industries, Benyam most recently served as a consultant to various media startups, where she launched Amazon video channels and led programming strategy, content acquisitions, and business development initiatives. She previously served as VP of strategy and business development at Starz, where she helped scale its original programming and launched StarzPlay Arabia. Before that, Benyam worked at AOL, where she held various roles leading content acquisition and distribution deal teams, supporting original productions, and working with the senior executive team on programming strategy and new ventures.
In her new role, Benyam will spearhead Kino Lorber’s continued push into digital distribution, building on the company’s recent launch of its AVOD channel Kino Cult, Tvod platform Kino Now, and its virtual cinema initiative Kino Marquee. Benyam...
A veteran of the film, television and digital industries, Benyam most recently served as a consultant to various media startups, where she launched Amazon video channels and led programming strategy, content acquisitions, and business development initiatives. She previously served as VP of strategy and business development at Starz, where she helped scale its original programming and launched StarzPlay Arabia. Before that, Benyam worked at AOL, where she held various roles leading content acquisition and distribution deal teams, supporting original productions, and working with the senior executive team on programming strategy and new ventures.
In her new role, Benyam will spearhead Kino Lorber’s continued push into digital distribution, building on the company’s recent launch of its AVOD channel Kino Cult, Tvod platform Kino Now, and its virtual cinema initiative Kino Marquee. Benyam...
- 1/10/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
As we continue to explore the best in 2021, today we’re taking a look at the articles that you, our dear readers, enjoyed the most throughout the past twelve months. Spanning reviews, interviews, features, podcasts, news, and trailers, check out the highlights below and return for more year-end coverage as well as a glimpse into 2022 in the coming weeks.
Most-Read Reviews
10. The Dig
9. WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
8. kid 90
7. The Green Knight
6. Dune
5. The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
4. Mortal Kombat
3. The Girl Who Got Away
2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
1. Saint-Narcisse
Most-Read Interviews
10. Adam Nayman on David Fincher’s Complicated Auteurism
9. Sparks on Annette, Polarizing Reactions, Leos Carax’s Vision, and Their Next Film
8. Sion Sono on Briefly Dying, His Favorite Nicolas Cage Performance, and Prisoners of the Ghostland
7. John Carpenter on Scoring Halloween Kills, Videogames, and Basketball
6. Gaspar Noé on Facing Death, Casting Dario Argento,...
Most-Read Reviews
10. The Dig
9. WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
8. kid 90
7. The Green Knight
6. Dune
5. The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
4. Mortal Kombat
3. The Girl Who Got Away
2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
1. Saint-Narcisse
Most-Read Interviews
10. Adam Nayman on David Fincher’s Complicated Auteurism
9. Sparks on Annette, Polarizing Reactions, Leos Carax’s Vision, and Their Next Film
8. Sion Sono on Briefly Dying, His Favorite Nicolas Cage Performance, and Prisoners of the Ghostland
7. John Carpenter on Scoring Halloween Kills, Videogames, and Basketball
6. Gaspar Noé on Facing Death, Casting Dario Argento,...
- 12/29/2021
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Drive My Car (2021)List-making season has fully started. Film Comment released both the top twenty films as well as the top twenty undistributed films of the year, and IndieWire published the results of a massive poll of 187 critics. Vulture's critics have each written about their top tens, and Drive My Car tops both Barack Obama and Screen Slate's annual list. Screen Slate has also included individual ballots from "contributors, friends, critics, and filmmakers," which gave Paul Schrader the opportunity to rank The Card Counter as his pick for the best film of the year. Due to a nationwide lockdown in the Netherlands, the International Film Festival Rotterdam will be taking place online, cancelling its previous plans for an in-person event. There are two weeks left to submit to the Sundance Film Festival's 2022 Native Lab,...
- 12/22/2021
- MUBI
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Wife of a Spy is exclusively showing on Mubi in many countries.Late in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, a gripping espionage thriller set in Kobe on the eve of World War II, the film’s titular heroine Satoko Fukuhara (Yu Aoi) and her well-to-do merchant husband Yusaku (Issey Takahashi)—whose clandestine activities have aroused the suspicion of the Kempeitai, Japan’s feared military police—go on an outing to a local cinema, as if to evade their surveillance and to keep up a veneer of normalcy. There, at the downtown movie house, the couple catches a screening of Sadao Yamanaka’s historical drama, Kochiyama Soshun (1936).This minor, seemingly inconsequential detail in Kurosawa’s latest conceals a hidden subtext that hints at the ominous shadow of a grinding military campaign Japan was engaged in at the time in China.
- 12/15/2021
- MUBI
In “Wife of a Spy”, Kiyoshi Kurosawa once again proves that his bag of tricks can be matched by only a few other directors in the business. The choreographed camera movements, jarring editing, playful use of artificial and natural lighting all exhibit Kurosawa’s unique boldness and creativity. Luckily in this case, the director’s panache was followed by a well thought-out and haunting story, which has not necessarily been the case with his most recent works. The science fiction duology “Before we Vanish” and “Foreboding” were embarrassing ventures into the metaphysical themes that verged on the ridiculous. A return to a more down-to-earth story in “Wife of a Spy” thus proved to be a welcome change.
This article is part of the Asian Cinema Education Film Criticism Course 2021
Although with “Tokyo Sonata” he has successfully fought off the reductionist stereotype, for many years Kurosawa was strongly associated with the j-horror movement.
This article is part of the Asian Cinema Education Film Criticism Course 2021
Although with “Tokyo Sonata” he has successfully fought off the reductionist stereotype, for many years Kurosawa was strongly associated with the j-horror movement.
- 12/7/2021
- by Olek Młyński
- AsianMoviePulse
Mubi is closing the year out on a high note with their December lineup, featuring some of 2021’s most acclaimed U.S. releases.
Highlights include Tsai Ming-liang’s Days (along with his previous feature Afternoon), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, Andreas Fontana’s Azor, Anders Edströ & C.W. Winter’s eight-hour epic The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin), Frank Beauvais’ Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream, and Michael M. Bilandic’s soon-to-premiere Project Space 13.
Also among the lineup is Arnaud Desplechin’s Esther Kahn, a quartet of Godard classics, Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s short The Bones, produced by Ari Aster, and much more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
December 1 | Pierrot le fou | Jean-Luc Godard | The Cinema of Marx and Coca-Cola: Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960s
December 2 | Le bel indifferent | Jacques Demy | Scenes from a Small Town:...
Highlights include Tsai Ming-liang’s Days (along with his previous feature Afternoon), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, Andreas Fontana’s Azor, Anders Edströ & C.W. Winter’s eight-hour epic The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin), Frank Beauvais’ Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream, and Michael M. Bilandic’s soon-to-premiere Project Space 13.
Also among the lineup is Arnaud Desplechin’s Esther Kahn, a quartet of Godard classics, Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s short The Bones, produced by Ari Aster, and much more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
December 1 | Pierrot le fou | Jean-Luc Godard | The Cinema of Marx and Coca-Cola: Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960s
December 2 | Le bel indifferent | Jacques Demy | Scenes from a Small Town:...
- 11/23/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
This review was largely shaped by a discussion with Goh Ming Siu and Earl Jackson regarding the film.
Winner of the Silver Lion for Best Director at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, “Wife of a Spy” is actually a TV-movie produced by and for Nhk, which was screened in theaters, however, with a different aspect ratio and color grading. This review is based on the TV version.
“Wife of a Spy” is screening at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival
The script is set in 1940, after Japan had invaded China and joined Germany and Italy as a member of the Axis. Up to this point, successful silk merchant Yusaku Fukuhara has been a man who seemed to have it all: a successful business, the respect of both employees, collaborators and friends, and a trophy wife in the face of beautiful and equally popular Satoko, who has just finished acting...
Winner of the Silver Lion for Best Director at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, “Wife of a Spy” is actually a TV-movie produced by and for Nhk, which was screened in theaters, however, with a different aspect ratio and color grading. This review is based on the TV version.
“Wife of a Spy” is screening at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival
The script is set in 1940, after Japan had invaded China and joined Germany and Italy as a member of the Axis. Up to this point, successful silk merchant Yusaku Fukuhara has been a man who seemed to have it all: a successful business, the respect of both employees, collaborators and friends, and a trophy wife in the face of beautiful and equally popular Satoko, who has just finished acting...
- 11/19/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Nohara Tadashi is one of only two Japanese directors with films in the Tokyo International Film Festival’s main competition section. “Third Time Lucky” is his first theatrical feature.
Born in 1983 and a 2009 alumnus of the Graduate School of Film & New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts, Nohara is no industry newcomer. He served as assistant director on “Passion,” the 2008 graduation project of fellow film student and now widely celebrated Hamaguchi Ryusuke.
After co-directing another student film, “Elephant Love,” Nohara worked as Ad for a satellite broadcaster and as a production manager for a CG production company. After moving to Kobe in Western Japan, he directed a short, “talk to remember,” that screened at the Hiroshima International Film Festival in 2015.
His big professional break, however, was Hamaguchi’s “Happy Hour,” a 2015 ensemble drama that Nohara co-scripted with the director and one other writer. Premiering at Locarno, where its four leads...
Born in 1983 and a 2009 alumnus of the Graduate School of Film & New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts, Nohara is no industry newcomer. He served as assistant director on “Passion,” the 2008 graduation project of fellow film student and now widely celebrated Hamaguchi Ryusuke.
After co-directing another student film, “Elephant Love,” Nohara worked as Ad for a satellite broadcaster and as a production manager for a CG production company. After moving to Kobe in Western Japan, he directed a short, “talk to remember,” that screened at the Hiroshima International Film Festival in 2015.
His big professional break, however, was Hamaguchi’s “Happy Hour,” a 2015 ensemble drama that Nohara co-scripted with the director and one other writer. Premiering at Locarno, where its four leads...
- 11/5/2021
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Japanese film sellers are once again out in force at Tiffcom, which is completely online for the second year in a row. Buyers will find much familiar from the Busan market, but new titles are on offer as well.
Nikkatsu
Japan’s oldest continuously operated studio, Nikkatsu is bringing Matsui Daigo’s “Just Remembering,” a romantic drama selected for the TIFF competition. Ito Sairi and Ikematsu Soksuke star as a couple on the verge of a break-up who reminisce about better days. Matsui’s original script was inspired by the Jim Jarmusch classic “Night on the Planet.”
Also, on offer is the other Japanese competition title, “Third Time Lucky.” The film is the directorial debut of Nohara Tadashi, a scriptwriter whose credits include Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s 2015 ensemble drama “Happy Hour” and Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s WWII thriller “Wife of a Spy.” Kawamura Rira, who also appeared in “Happy Hour,” stars as...
Nikkatsu
Japan’s oldest continuously operated studio, Nikkatsu is bringing Matsui Daigo’s “Just Remembering,” a romantic drama selected for the TIFF competition. Ito Sairi and Ikematsu Soksuke star as a couple on the verge of a break-up who reminisce about better days. Matsui’s original script was inspired by the Jim Jarmusch classic “Night on the Planet.”
Also, on offer is the other Japanese competition title, “Third Time Lucky.” The film is the directorial debut of Nohara Tadashi, a scriptwriter whose credits include Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s 2015 ensemble drama “Happy Hour” and Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s WWII thriller “Wife of a Spy.” Kawamura Rira, who also appeared in “Happy Hour,” stars as...
- 10/31/2021
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
The Museum of Modern Art announced the lineup for the 14th annual edition of The Contenders on Friday. The film series will run from Nov. 4 through Jan. 22, 2022, primarily in person with a select number of virtual screenings.
The Contenders will open with Pablo Larraîn’s “Spencer,” the Princess Diana biopic starring Kristen Stewart. Larraîn and Stewart will appear for a conversation after the screening. The closing night film will be Sebastian Meise’s “Grosse Freiheit” which, translating to “Great Freedom,” is set in postwar Germany and follows the relationship between Hans, a man imprisoned for being homosexual, and his cellmate Viktor, a convicted murderer.
“This year’s Contenders lineup includes highly anticipated genre pics, new works by the most followed auteurs such as Jane Campion (‘The Power of the Dog’) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (‘Memoria’) and independent films that introduce emerging cinematic voices like Amalia Ulman (‘El Planeta’) and Ahmir ‘Questlove...
The Contenders will open with Pablo Larraîn’s “Spencer,” the Princess Diana biopic starring Kristen Stewart. Larraîn and Stewart will appear for a conversation after the screening. The closing night film will be Sebastian Meise’s “Grosse Freiheit” which, translating to “Great Freedom,” is set in postwar Germany and follows the relationship between Hans, a man imprisoned for being homosexual, and his cellmate Viktor, a convicted murderer.
“This year’s Contenders lineup includes highly anticipated genre pics, new works by the most followed auteurs such as Jane Campion (‘The Power of the Dog’) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (‘Memoria’) and independent films that introduce emerging cinematic voices like Amalia Ulman (‘El Planeta’) and Ahmir ‘Questlove...
- 10/22/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Not only has Ryusuke Hamaguchi directed two of the year’s best films (the masterful triptych Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and his soothing Murakami epic Drive My Car), he’s also co-written another of 2021’s finest, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, and now has also directed a music video for his Cannes winner.
For Japan’s Oscar entry Drive My Car, which will get a U.S. release theatrically starting November 24, musician Eiko Ishibashi has crafted a beautiful score, which is now available to stream in full. The highlight of the compositions is the single Drive My Car (Kafuku), for which Hamaguchi has shot the music video. Featuring actress Toko Miura on a drive, it’s a simple yet perfect preamble to the rhythms of the film––acting as a fine trailer in itself if you want to be left unspoiled by the film’s riches.
Watch...
For Japan’s Oscar entry Drive My Car, which will get a U.S. release theatrically starting November 24, musician Eiko Ishibashi has crafted a beautiful score, which is now available to stream in full. The highlight of the compositions is the single Drive My Car (Kafuku), for which Hamaguchi has shot the music video. Featuring actress Toko Miura on a drive, it’s a simple yet perfect preamble to the rhythms of the film––acting as a fine trailer in itself if you want to be left unspoiled by the film’s riches.
Watch...
- 10/20/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s wartime romance was named best film at the 15th edition.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife Of A Spy picked up best film at the 15th Asian Film Awards (Afa), held at the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) tonight (October 8).
The Japanese wartime romance, which won a Silver Lion in Venice last year, also picked up awards for best actress (Aoi Yu) and costume design (Koketsu Haruki).
Zhang Yimou was named best director for his Cultural Revolution drama One Second, which recently opened the San Sebastian film festival. Zhang’s other nominated feature, spy thriller Cliff Walkers, won in...
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife Of A Spy picked up best film at the 15th Asian Film Awards (Afa), held at the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) tonight (October 8).
The Japanese wartime romance, which won a Silver Lion in Venice last year, also picked up awards for best actress (Aoi Yu) and costume design (Koketsu Haruki).
Zhang Yimou was named best director for his Cultural Revolution drama One Second, which recently opened the San Sebastian film festival. Zhang’s other nominated feature, spy thriller Cliff Walkers, won in...
- 10/8/2021
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
The Japanese film industry has produced dozens of directors that, over the decades, have been hailed by Japanese critics as masters but never became well-known abroad. Kurosawa Akira and Ozu Yasujiro once got regularly named checked by foreign filmmakers visiting Japan; the locally renowned Naruse Mikio and Kinoshita Keisuke, far less often.
A similar situation has long prevailed with the so-called “4K” directors – Kore-eda Hirokazu, Kawase Naomi, Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Kitano Takeshi – who have collectively garnered the lion’s share of major festival invitations and prizes for nearly two decades, leaving a younger generation of Japanese filmmakers in relative obscurity internationally. Now one has decisively broken through the “4K” barrier: Hamaguchi Ryusuke.
Hamaguchi was this week interviewed on stage at the Busan International Film Festival by Korean star director Bong Joon-ho, on hand at the festival’s opening ceremony and again trod the red carpet, Friday evening, at the Asian Film Awards.
A similar situation has long prevailed with the so-called “4K” directors – Kore-eda Hirokazu, Kawase Naomi, Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Kitano Takeshi – who have collectively garnered the lion’s share of major festival invitations and prizes for nearly two decades, leaving a younger generation of Japanese filmmakers in relative obscurity internationally. Now one has decisively broken through the “4K” barrier: Hamaguchi Ryusuke.
Hamaguchi was this week interviewed on stage at the Busan International Film Festival by Korean star director Bong Joon-ho, on hand at the festival’s opening ceremony and again trod the red carpet, Friday evening, at the Asian Film Awards.
- 10/8/2021
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s period action drama “Wife of a Spy” was the biggest winner at the 15th edition of the Asian Film Awards. It collected three major prizes including the best film award.
The 18 prizes were handed out Friday evening at a hybrid ceremony with the in-person component held at Busan’s Paradise Hotel. Organizers said that 80 nominees attended either in person or online. Among those in Busan to tread the Afa red carpet were Korean stars and prize-winners Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Ah-in.
Directors Lee Chang-dong and Hamaguchi Ryusuke were also in attendance, along with Korean stars Jun Jong-seo, Park Jeong-min, Jang Yoon-ju, Kim Hyun-bin and Gong Seung-yeon.
“Wife of a Spy” was conceived as a TV film. A theatrical version debuted last year at the Venice Film festival and there won the Silver Lion. It enjoyed a high-profile festival career with subsequent stops at San Sebastian, El Gouna and Hainan,...
The 18 prizes were handed out Friday evening at a hybrid ceremony with the in-person component held at Busan’s Paradise Hotel. Organizers said that 80 nominees attended either in person or online. Among those in Busan to tread the Afa red carpet were Korean stars and prize-winners Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Ah-in.
Directors Lee Chang-dong and Hamaguchi Ryusuke were also in attendance, along with Korean stars Jun Jong-seo, Park Jeong-min, Jang Yoon-ju, Kim Hyun-bin and Gong Seung-yeon.
“Wife of a Spy” was conceived as a TV film. A theatrical version debuted last year at the Venice Film festival and there won the Silver Lion. It enjoyed a high-profile festival career with subsequent stops at San Sebastian, El Gouna and Hainan,...
- 10/8/2021
- by Patrick Frater and Rebecca Souw
- Variety Film + TV
The two leading Asian auteurs held a special talk session at the Busan International Film Festival.
At the Busan International Film Festival (Biff), Oscar-winning Parasite director Bong Joon Ho held a special talk with Ryusuke Hamaguchi after the screenings of the Japanese director’s two latest films – Berlinale Silver Bear winner Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy and Cannes best screenplay winner Drive My Car – in Gala Presentations today (October 7).
As described by programme director Nam Dong-chul at the event, the “lucky 200 audience members” who succeeded in the heightened competition to book tickets to the socially-distanced talk were treated to two...
At the Busan International Film Festival (Biff), Oscar-winning Parasite director Bong Joon Ho held a special talk with Ryusuke Hamaguchi after the screenings of the Japanese director’s two latest films – Berlinale Silver Bear winner Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy and Cannes best screenplay winner Drive My Car – in Gala Presentations today (October 7).
As described by programme director Nam Dong-chul at the event, the “lucky 200 audience members” who succeeded in the heightened competition to book tickets to the socially-distanced talk were treated to two...
- 10/8/2021
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
World premieres include debut from Happy Hour co-writer Tadashi Nohara and new works from Brillante Mendoza and Mikhail Red.
Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the full line-up for its 34th edition, including the main competition section of 15 films, among which 10 titles are world premieres. Other sections include Asian Future, Gala Selection, World Focus, Nippon Cinema Now and Japanese Animation.
The competition section includes the world premieres of two Japanese films – Third Time Lucky, the debut feature of Tadashi Nohara, who co-wrote Happy Hour and Wife Of A Spy; and Just Remembering from Daigo Matsui (Ice Cream And The...
Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the full line-up for its 34th edition, including the main competition section of 15 films, among which 10 titles are world premieres. Other sections include Asian Future, Gala Selection, World Focus, Nippon Cinema Now and Japanese Animation.
The competition section includes the world premieres of two Japanese films – Third Time Lucky, the debut feature of Tadashi Nohara, who co-wrote Happy Hour and Wife Of A Spy; and Just Remembering from Daigo Matsui (Ice Cream And The...
- 9/28/2021
- by Matt Schley
- ScreenDaily
The Eyes Of Tammy Faye from Searchlight Pictures finished in the top ten domestically (at no. 9) with the highest per screen average of the group after Shang-Chi and Free Guy. Its estimated PTA, $1,500 in 425 theaters, bested newcomers Blue Bayou and wide releases Cry Macho and Copshop on a per screen basis. That’s the good news. The bad — Eyes’ number are not fantastic and weekend stats show moviegoers still picking favorites with surgical precision and a rising tide not lifting all boats, yet.
“We had hoped for a resurgence of moviegoers in the art/specialty world this weekend, as we were booked in many of the best art houses in North America, and [while] there are gladly some exceptions… the more mature cinephile moviegoers have yet to rush out to their local specialty theatre in any great numbers,” said Searchlight’s head of distribution Frank Rodriquez. “Hopefully they will start to...
“We had hoped for a resurgence of moviegoers in the art/specialty world this weekend, as we were booked in many of the best art houses in North America, and [while] there are gladly some exceptions… the more mature cinephile moviegoers have yet to rush out to their local specialty theatre in any great numbers,” said Searchlight’s head of distribution Frank Rodriquez. “Hopefully they will start to...
- 9/19/2021
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of the key figures of the Japanese new auteurs’ wave that emerged around the 1990s. Among many names that found their success at the festival circuit, V-Cinema market or in the less official ways of distributions, Kurosawa was immediately heralded as one of the pioneers of J-horror, with titles such as “Cure” (1997) and “Pulse” (2001) granting him a cult reception across the globe. No matter what genre, dysfunction or timeframe he picks up, there is a consequence in Kurosawa’s body of work – a thrill that comes with a render of the environment, one that struggles with uncertainty and fear, and one that captivates the viewer’s attention throughout the ambiguity of expressions. It’s always a treat to watch a master resorting to his old tricks and leitmotivs, twisting his go-to formula to his needs, re-imagining one’s language for the present needs.
This time around,...
This time around,...
- 9/18/2021
- by Lukasz Mankowski
- AsianMoviePulse
Central to any spy story worth its salt is the tension built around whom the audience should believe. But the memorable ones make just as powerful the theme of what the characters really do believe — as in, why they do what they do, whether they’re handler, agent, target or pawn. And to make matters even more fascinating, when some of those questions are left unanswered, that’s when some spy yarns achieve something profound about the battlefield on which they’re played.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of Japan’s established masters when it comes to a knotty premise wracked with tension and secrets, whether working in horror or contemporary drama (“Tokyo Sonata”). It seems fitting, then, that for his first period film, he’d choose a World War II–era espionage tale, where identity and motive are always in play, and horror is real. The result is “Wife of a Spy,...
Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of Japan’s established masters when it comes to a knotty premise wracked with tension and secrets, whether working in horror or contemporary drama (“Tokyo Sonata”). It seems fitting, then, that for his first period film, he’d choose a World War II–era espionage tale, where identity and motive are always in play, and horror is real. The result is “Wife of a Spy,...
- 9/16/2021
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
If you’re a world cinema lover who does not yet know the name Ryûsuke Hamaguchi—winner of the Best Screenplay prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his adaption of Haruki Murakami’s short story, “Drive My Car” (read our rave review)—that is very likely about to change.
Read More: Best Of Cannes 2021: 15 Must-See Movies From The Festival
Hamaguchi has been a busy fellow recently, also co-writing Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s “Wife of a Spy,” (another great Japanese film you should check out) as well as taking home Berlin’s Grand Jury prize for his anthology project, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” the trailer for which has just been released.
Continue reading ‘Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy’ Trailer: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Award-Winning Anthology Film Arrives In October at The Playlist.
Read More: Best Of Cannes 2021: 15 Must-See Movies From The Festival
Hamaguchi has been a busy fellow recently, also co-writing Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s “Wife of a Spy,” (another great Japanese film you should check out) as well as taking home Berlin’s Grand Jury prize for his anthology project, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” the trailer for which has just been released.
Continue reading ‘Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy’ Trailer: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Award-Winning Anthology Film Arrives In October at The Playlist.
- 9/16/2021
- by Andrew Bundy
- The Playlist
I’ll thrown down a gauntlet: Ryūsuke Hamaguchi is having one of the single best years for any filmmaker, ever. You’ll be forgiven for not noticing, since his two features—Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and Drive My Car—have yet to release, but those lucky enough to see them are consistently amazed by both, all the more so when they’re not per se linked by easily identifiable auteurist traits. Fortunately both will open in the near future; Wheel is up first with an October 15 release, and thus we have a trailer.
As we said in our review from Berlin, “It is a stunning production, from the precision of Hamaguchi’s script and direction, the fine performances, and Yukiko Iioka’s gorgeous camerawork, to Fuminori Usui’s everyday costuming, the bright colors and natural light, and the gently lilting score. It’s an overwhelming film, amongst the best of the year,...
As we said in our review from Berlin, “It is a stunning production, from the precision of Hamaguchi’s script and direction, the fine performances, and Yukiko Iioka’s gorgeous camerawork, to Fuminori Usui’s everyday costuming, the bright colors and natural light, and the gently lilting score. It’s an overwhelming film, amongst the best of the year,...
- 9/15/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The Asian Film Awards Academy (Afaa) announced today the nominees of the 15th Asian Film Awards (AFA15).
China’s “One Second”, South Korea’s “The Book of Fish”, India’s “The Disciple”, and two Japanese films, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and “Wife of a Spy” are competing for this year’s “Best Film Award.”
World renowned directors, Zhang Yimou, Lee Joon-ik, Kurosawa Kiyoshi and internationally acclaimed Hamaguchi Ryusuke, and Adilkhan Yerzhanov are in a tight race for “Best Director.”
In 2020, the 14th Asian Film Awards moved to Busan, South Korea for the first time and was held online due to Covid-19 restrictions. This year the awards will be held again in conjunction with the Busan International Film Festival on 8 October 2021 (Friday). The ceremony will commence in a hybrid form, which combines on-site attendance in Busan and online participation.
The Afaa is honoured that legendary South Korean filmmaker, Lee Chang-dong...
China’s “One Second”, South Korea’s “The Book of Fish”, India’s “The Disciple”, and two Japanese films, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and “Wife of a Spy” are competing for this year’s “Best Film Award.”
World renowned directors, Zhang Yimou, Lee Joon-ik, Kurosawa Kiyoshi and internationally acclaimed Hamaguchi Ryusuke, and Adilkhan Yerzhanov are in a tight race for “Best Director.”
In 2020, the 14th Asian Film Awards moved to Busan, South Korea for the first time and was held online due to Covid-19 restrictions. This year the awards will be held again in conjunction with the Busan International Film Festival on 8 October 2021 (Friday). The ceremony will commence in a hybrid form, which combines on-site attendance in Busan and online participation.
The Afaa is honoured that legendary South Korean filmmaker, Lee Chang-dong...
- 9/11/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The Academy (Afaa) revealed the nominees for the 15th Asian Film Awards today. Thirty-six films from eight Asian regions will compete for 16 awards. China’s One Second, South Korea’s The Book of Fish, India’s The Disciple, and two Japanese films, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and Wife of a Spy, compete for this year’s “Best Film Award.”
Three Hong Kong films were nominated for this year’s Afa, including Drifting, directed by Jun Li, nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Limbo, directed by Cheang Pou-soi, was nominated for Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best sound; Adam Wong’s The Way We Keep Dancing was nominated for Best Original Music.
The Afaa is honoured that legendary South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong will be this year’s Jury President. Lee was the lifetime award recipient at the 13th Asian Film Awards.He won the “Best...
Three Hong Kong films were nominated for this year’s Afa, including Drifting, directed by Jun Li, nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Limbo, directed by Cheang Pou-soi, was nominated for Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best sound; Adam Wong’s The Way We Keep Dancing was nominated for Best Original Music.
The Afaa is honoured that legendary South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong will be this year’s Jury President. Lee was the lifetime award recipient at the 13th Asian Film Awards.He won the “Best...
- 9/9/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
China’s “One Second,” South Korea’s “The Book of Fish,” India’s “The Disciple,” and two Japanese films, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” and “Wife of a Spy” will compete for this year’s best film prize at the Asian Film Awards
The awards again will be held again in conjunction with the Busan International Film Festival. The ceremony, on Oct. 8, 2021, will operate in a hybrid form combining on-site attendance in Busan and online participation.
In 2020, the 14th Asian Film Awards moved to Busan for the first time and was held online due to Covid-19 restrictions. In previous years, the ceremony was held in Hong Kong and Macau.
Those nominated for best director included Zhang Yimou (for “One Second”), Lee Joon-ik (for “The Book of Fish”), Hamaguchi Ryusuke (for “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy”), Kurosawa Kiyoshi (for “Wife of a Spy”) and Kazakhstan’s Adilkhan Yerzhanov (for “Yellow Cat”).
Mainland Chinese thriller “Cliff Walkers,...
The awards again will be held again in conjunction with the Busan International Film Festival. The ceremony, on Oct. 8, 2021, will operate in a hybrid form combining on-site attendance in Busan and online participation.
In 2020, the 14th Asian Film Awards moved to Busan for the first time and was held online due to Covid-19 restrictions. In previous years, the ceremony was held in Hong Kong and Macau.
Those nominated for best director included Zhang Yimou (for “One Second”), Lee Joon-ik (for “The Book of Fish”), Hamaguchi Ryusuke (for “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy”), Kurosawa Kiyoshi (for “Wife of a Spy”) and Kazakhstan’s Adilkhan Yerzhanov (for “Yellow Cat”).
Mainland Chinese thriller “Cliff Walkers,...
- 9/9/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
"I called you here to tell you to be prepared." Kino Lorber has revealed an official US trailer for a Japanese thriller called Wife of a Spy, which initially premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival last year. The film won a Silver Lion award there for Best Director, given to prolific Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who works non-stop making films – his latest was To the Ends of the Earth before this. Kurosawa's Wife of a Spy is described as a "riveting, gorgeously crafted, old-school Hitchockian thriller shot in stunning 8K." A Japanese merchant leaves his wife behind in order to travel to Manchuria just before the start of WWII, where he witnesses an act of barbarism. His subsequent actions cause misunderstanding, jealousy and legal problems for his wife. When she finally discovers his true intentions, she is torn between loyalty to her husband, the life they have built, and the country they call home.
- 8/31/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A highlight of last year’s fall-fest circuit, Wife of a Spy is yet another confirmation of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s mastery—of form where every shot is necessary, and of narrative where every revelation (co-scripted by Ryusuke Hamaguchi) comes precisely as the film demands. This said having only seen it on a screener. In fact we’re quite envious of those who’ll get to experience the film theatrically, when Kino Lorber release it at New York’s IFC Center on September 17 and LA’s Laemmle on September 24, other cities and dates to follow.
We’re accordingly thrilled to debut the film’s trailer, a nice hint of its thriller beats that skirts much plot and character detail. For a bit more on that front, find Rory O’Connor’s review from last year, where he says “This is a keenly realized piece of filmmaking and it’s not hard to...
We’re accordingly thrilled to debut the film’s trailer, a nice hint of its thriller beats that skirts much plot and character detail. For a bit more on that front, find Rory O’Connor’s review from last year, where he says “This is a keenly realized piece of filmmaking and it’s not hard to...
- 8/26/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
After last year's all online edition, Japan Cuts, North America's largest showcase for new Japanese films, has chosen to go for a combination of online and in-person screenings (at Japan Society) for their 15th edition, taking place 8/20 - 9/2. The festival is divided in Feature Slate, Next Generation, Classics, Documentary Focus, Experimental Spotlight, Shorts Showcase, Narrative Shorts and Experimental Shorts, totaling 38 films. The 15th Edition of Japan Cuts kicks off with the U.S. Premiere of Matsumoto Soushi's charming Sci-fi and samurai tinged celebration of cinema, It's a Summer Film! For centerpiece presentation, Kurosawa Kiyoshi's Venice Film Festival winner, Wife of a Spy. Other highlights are an in-person screening of the late Obayashi Nobuhiko's 3 hour swan song Labyrinth of Cinema, 2K restored version...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 8/18/2021
- Screen Anarchy
Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi is back in Cannes with some critical momentum at his back.
The 42-year-old filmmaker’s breakthrough feature Happy Hour wowed international art house fans in 2015, but his 2018 Cannes competition entry Asako I & II received a markedly mixed reception, with some praising the director’s clarity of vision and others calling it a misfire.
As of late, Hamaguchi is riding high on the international festival circuit. He co-wrote Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s period thriller Wife of a Spy, which won the best director award at the 2020 Venice Film Festival; and his 2021 omnibus feature Wheel of Fortune ...
The 42-year-old filmmaker’s breakthrough feature Happy Hour wowed international art house fans in 2015, but his 2018 Cannes competition entry Asako I & II received a markedly mixed reception, with some praising the director’s clarity of vision and others calling it a misfire.
As of late, Hamaguchi is riding high on the international festival circuit. He co-wrote Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s period thriller Wife of a Spy, which won the best director award at the 2020 Venice Film Festival; and his 2021 omnibus feature Wheel of Fortune ...
Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi is back in Cannes with some critical momentum at his back.
The 42-year-old filmmaker’s breakthrough feature Happy Hour wowed international art house fans in 2015, but his 2018 Cannes competition entry Asako I & II received a markedly mixed reception, with some praising the director’s clarity of vision and others calling it a misfire.
As of late, Hamaguchi is riding high on the international festival circuit. He co-wrote Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s period thriller Wife of a Spy, which won the best director award at the 2020 Venice Film Festival; and his 2021 omnibus feature Wheel of Fortune ...
The 42-year-old filmmaker’s breakthrough feature Happy Hour wowed international art house fans in 2015, but his 2018 Cannes competition entry Asako I & II received a markedly mixed reception, with some praising the director’s clarity of vision and others calling it a misfire.
As of late, Hamaguchi is riding high on the international festival circuit. He co-wrote Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s period thriller Wife of a Spy, which won the best director award at the 2020 Venice Film Festival; and his 2021 omnibus feature Wheel of Fortune ...
Golden Scene Selection – Japanese Film Week
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Price: Standard ticket: $80. Tickets will be available at Putyourself.in.
Golden Scene and Hong Kong Arts Centre proudly present “Golden Scene Selection”, showcasing the cherry-picked selections from around the world and bringing outstanding films to the audience at Hong Kong Arts Centre Cinema.
Golden Scene Selection – Japanese Film Week Screening Schedule
7/6 (Mon) 8pm A Beloved Wife
8/6 (Tue) 8pm We Made A Beautiful Bouquet (Preview)
9/6 (Wed) 8pm Threads – Our Tapestry Of Love (Preview)
10/6 (Thu) 8pm Wife of a Spy
11/6 (Fri) 8pm Threads – Our Tapestry Of Love (Preview)
More details Here
Art of Commercials 2021
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Date: 2021.06.17 – 2021.07.03
Price: Hk$80 / Hk$64* / Hk$280 (Package – One ticket for each of the Programmes 1-5) / Further discounts for group bookings of over 20 tickets
This year, Art of Commercials continues to present outstanding work from the best advertising festivals from around the world!
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Price: Standard ticket: $80. Tickets will be available at Putyourself.in.
Golden Scene and Hong Kong Arts Centre proudly present “Golden Scene Selection”, showcasing the cherry-picked selections from around the world and bringing outstanding films to the audience at Hong Kong Arts Centre Cinema.
Golden Scene Selection – Japanese Film Week Screening Schedule
7/6 (Mon) 8pm A Beloved Wife
8/6 (Tue) 8pm We Made A Beautiful Bouquet (Preview)
9/6 (Wed) 8pm Threads – Our Tapestry Of Love (Preview)
10/6 (Thu) 8pm Wife of a Spy
11/6 (Fri) 8pm Threads – Our Tapestry Of Love (Preview)
More details Here
Art of Commercials 2021
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Date: 2021.06.17 – 2021.07.03
Price: Hk$80 / Hk$64* / Hk$280 (Package – One ticket for each of the Programmes 1-5) / Further discounts for group bookings of over 20 tickets
This year, Art of Commercials continues to present outstanding work from the best advertising festivals from around the world!
- 6/7/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: The Match Factory has boarded international rights to Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s (Asako I & II) anticipated Haruki Murakami short story adaptation Drive My Car.
The film, currently in final post-production, centres on stage actor and director Yusuke Kafuku, played by Hidetoshi Nishijima (Dolls). Two years after the sudden death of his playwright wife, he is asked to direct Uncle Vanja at a theater festival in Hiroshima, where a mostly silent young woman (Toko Miura) is appointed to chauffeur him in his red Saab 900. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions are unveiled.
Writer-director Hamaguchi’s Asako I & II played in Cannes Competition in 2018 and he recently won the Best Director Silver Bear award for Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy at this year’s Berlinale. He also co-wrote Venice 2020 winner Wife Of A Spy.
Drive My Car has been tipped for inclusion at this year’s Cannes Film Festival,...
The film, currently in final post-production, centres on stage actor and director Yusuke Kafuku, played by Hidetoshi Nishijima (Dolls). Two years after the sudden death of his playwright wife, he is asked to direct Uncle Vanja at a theater festival in Hiroshima, where a mostly silent young woman (Toko Miura) is appointed to chauffeur him in his red Saab 900. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions are unveiled.
Writer-director Hamaguchi’s Asako I & II played in Cannes Competition in 2018 and he recently won the Best Director Silver Bear award for Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy at this year’s Berlinale. He also co-wrote Venice 2020 winner Wife Of A Spy.
Drive My Car has been tipped for inclusion at this year’s Cannes Film Festival,...
- 6/1/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s 10th annual Toronto Japanese Film Festival (Tjff) will be presented across Canada from Saturday, June 5 to Sunday, 27, 2021. During this period, Tjff screenings will be held online, using the Cinesend festival platform, with select onsite screenings at the Jccc’s Kobayashi Hall planned for October, public health protocols permitting. The festival is one of the largest film events of its kind in the world and is recognized by the Japanese film industry as a vital conduit for bringing Japanese film to international audiences.
“When we held the first Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we never dreamed we’d be celebrating our 10th anniversary during a pandemic, said Tjff Director James Heron. “We also never dreamed the festival would be so well attended, loved by Toronto audiences and embraced by Japanese directors and actors as the place to introduce their films to North American audiences. On this...
“When we held the first Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we never dreamed we’d be celebrating our 10th anniversary during a pandemic, said Tjff Director James Heron. “We also never dreamed the festival would be so well attended, loved by Toronto audiences and embraced by Japanese directors and actors as the place to introduce their films to North American audiences. On this...
- 5/13/2021
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
When the urgent desire to make something beautiful overrides the desire to tell a particular story — and when you are Zhang Yimou, rebounding from a run-in with the Chinese authorities over your last picture, “One Second” — you might end up with a film like “Cliff Walkers.” A gorgeously snowbound period spy movie insulated beneath layers of contorted plotting just as its cast is swaddled in snow-speckled winter furs and fedoras, the film is a muddle of a plot wrapped around a bland, committee-approved message, but mounted with such magnificence it’s possible not to really mind.
The first switcheroo in its three-card-monte construction happens before we’ve even properly seen our heroes’ faces. Like in a Bond movie prologue, four agents parachute into a snowy forest at night. Unlike in a Bond prologue, the blue moonlight filtering coldly through the trees is of as much interest to Zhao Xiaoding’s...
The first switcheroo in its three-card-monte construction happens before we’ve even properly seen our heroes’ faces. Like in a Bond movie prologue, four agents parachute into a snowy forest at night. Unlike in a Bond prologue, the blue moonlight filtering coldly through the trees is of as much interest to Zhao Xiaoding’s...
- 5/3/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
With the 2021 Oscars in the rearview, Variety looks ahead to what could be a very packed and condensed year with the Awards Circuit Draft for Oscars 2022.
A tradition for the past 16 years, I’ve always thrown shots in the dark in the week immediately following the Academy Awards. For the first time, my year-in-advance top pick, Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” won picture and director. Can lightning strike twice?
The last two years have included thoughts that 2019’s “Harriet” from Kasi Lemmons would have a big Academy debut, with top spots for eventual nominee Cynthia Erivo, but the love ending there. In 2018, I suspected “The Irishman” from Martin Scorsese would arrive in time, but alas, it was pushed to 2019.
Other past choices have included 2017’s “Phantom Thread” (then untitled), 2016’s “Silence” (although I did have “Moonlight” in the predicted 10), 2015’s “The Good Dinosaur”, 2014’s “Inherent Vice” (why not another try for Paul Thomas Anderson?...
A tradition for the past 16 years, I’ve always thrown shots in the dark in the week immediately following the Academy Awards. For the first time, my year-in-advance top pick, Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” won picture and director. Can lightning strike twice?
The last two years have included thoughts that 2019’s “Harriet” from Kasi Lemmons would have a big Academy debut, with top spots for eventual nominee Cynthia Erivo, but the love ending there. In 2018, I suspected “The Irishman” from Martin Scorsese would arrive in time, but alas, it was pushed to 2019.
Other past choices have included 2017’s “Phantom Thread” (then untitled), 2016’s “Silence” (although I did have “Moonlight” in the predicted 10), 2015’s “The Good Dinosaur”, 2014’s “Inherent Vice” (why not another try for Paul Thomas Anderson?...
- 4/29/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Another classy Chinese action thriller whose dazzling style seems to take place in a deliberate narrative void, Cliff Walkers (previously titled Impasse) marks leading Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s first foray into the espionage genre. Following on the heels of his censorship-plagued One Second, which was abruptly withdrawn from the 2019 Berlin Film Festival and only came out in China last November, the new film would seem to the naked eye to have nothing for the censors to object to; in fact, it is dedicated to “the heroes of the Revolution.” What foreign audiences will take away is not the negligible storyline but a visually entrancing parade of attractive actors in a pleasingly fluid spy-counterspy dance.
Though bound to make most of its millions domestically, aided by its well-known cast, Cliff Walkers is being released day-and-date in China and the U.S. on April 30. Having one big English-language co-production under his belt — the Matt Damon-starring,...
Though bound to make most of its millions domestically, aided by its well-known cast, Cliff Walkers is being released day-and-date in China and the U.S. on April 30. Having one big English-language co-production under his belt — the Matt Damon-starring,...
- 4/27/2021
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Godzilla vs. Kong” jumped straight to the top of the South Korean box office in its opening weekend. It was the first major Hollywood film to release in the key market since “Soul” in January.
“Godzilla vs. Kong” earned $2.45 million over the weekend for a 51% market share, according to data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service. Over its opening four day stretch the film earned $2.79 million.
In doing so, it eased aside Korea-language U.S. indie film “Minari” which had topped the Korean charts for the past three weekends. “Minari” slipped to third place with a $535,000 weekend haul, for a four-week total of $6.56 million total.
For the third weekend in succession, second place was held by Japanese anime “Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train.” It earned $737,000, to extend its cumulative since Jan. 27, 2021 to 12.6 million.
Korean horror movie, “The Box” opened on Wednesday and enjoyed a single day...
“Godzilla vs. Kong” earned $2.45 million over the weekend for a 51% market share, according to data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service. Over its opening four day stretch the film earned $2.79 million.
In doing so, it eased aside Korea-language U.S. indie film “Minari” which had topped the Korean charts for the past three weekends. “Minari” slipped to third place with a $535,000 weekend haul, for a four-week total of $6.56 million total.
For the third weekend in succession, second place was held by Japanese anime “Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train.” It earned $737,000, to extend its cumulative since Jan. 27, 2021 to 12.6 million.
Korean horror movie, “The Box” opened on Wednesday and enjoyed a single day...
- 3/29/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
This review was largely shaped by a discussion with Goh Ming Siu and Earl Jackson regarding the film.
Winner of the Silver Lion for Best Director at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, “Wife of a Spy” is actually a TV-movie produced by and for Nhk, which was screened in theaters, however, with a different aspect ratio and color grading. This review is based on the TV version.
The script is set in 1940, after Japan had invaded China and joined Germany and Italy as a member of the Axis. Up to this point, successful silk merchant Yusaku Fukuhara has been a man who seemed to have it all: a successful business, the respect of both employees, collaborators and friends, and a trophy wife in the face of beautiful and equally popular Satoko, who has just finished acting in a film Yusaku produced and directed, mainly for her and his friends’ amusement.
Winner of the Silver Lion for Best Director at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, “Wife of a Spy” is actually a TV-movie produced by and for Nhk, which was screened in theaters, however, with a different aspect ratio and color grading. This review is based on the TV version.
The script is set in 1940, after Japan had invaded China and joined Germany and Italy as a member of the Axis. Up to this point, successful silk merchant Yusaku Fukuhara has been a man who seemed to have it all: a successful business, the respect of both employees, collaborators and friends, and a trophy wife in the face of beautiful and equally popular Satoko, who has just finished acting in a film Yusaku produced and directed, mainly for her and his friends’ amusement.
- 3/18/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A late addition to the Nikkatsu lineup for FilMart is “First Gentleman,” a local co-production between Nikkatsu and Toei. Directed by Kawai Hayato (“Prince of Legend”) from a novel by Harada Maha, this comedy stars Nakatani Miki (“Sweet Little Lies”) as the leader of an opposition party in Japan’s parliament.
The plot moves into gear when her nerdy ornithologist husband (Tanaka Kei) goes on a birdwatching expedition to a remote island – and returns ten days later to find his wife the new prime minister. How he handles his unexpected status as “first gentlemen” becomes a source of laughs.
Women have run for Japan’s top political post before, but none have succeeded, so the film’s story is still a “what if.” But with the election of Kamala Harris as Vice President of the U.S., her lawyer husband Doug Emhoff has been in the media spotlight as the country’s first “second gentleman,...
The plot moves into gear when her nerdy ornithologist husband (Tanaka Kei) goes on a birdwatching expedition to a remote island – and returns ten days later to find his wife the new prime minister. How he handles his unexpected status as “first gentlemen” becomes a source of laughs.
Women have run for Japan’s top political post before, but none have succeeded, so the film’s story is still a “what if.” But with the election of Kamala Harris as Vice President of the U.S., her lawyer husband Doug Emhoff has been in the media spotlight as the country’s first “second gentleman,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
The Hong Kong International Film Festival has unveiled a familiar lineup of titles, talks and retrospectives for its 45th edition, which will return to its normal springtime slot after disruptions last year caused by the coronavirus.
“For the first time in our history, we will be presenting a hybrid festival consisting of both in-theatre and virtual screenings and events. While our belief in watching films communally on a big screen is unwavering, recent lockdowns and social distancing measures have accelerated our need to explore uncharted waters by embracing an additional online component,” said Hkiff Society executive director Albert Lee.
“The program is well balanced and covers a broad spectrum, from rarely-seen silent classics to contemporary filmmakers’ latest work. I am particularly thrilled to note that the festival will open with two significant Hong Kong films for the first time in recent years. So much for the talks of the demise of Hong Kong cinema!
“For the first time in our history, we will be presenting a hybrid festival consisting of both in-theatre and virtual screenings and events. While our belief in watching films communally on a big screen is unwavering, recent lockdowns and social distancing measures have accelerated our need to explore uncharted waters by embracing an additional online component,” said Hkiff Society executive director Albert Lee.
“The program is well balanced and covers a broad spectrum, from rarely-seen silent classics to contemporary filmmakers’ latest work. I am particularly thrilled to note that the festival will open with two significant Hong Kong films for the first time in recent years. So much for the talks of the demise of Hong Kong cinema!
- 3/10/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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