This year’s Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is called ‘It Only Happens in the Movies?’ and it explores the theme of ‘encounters’. The films in the programme “include titles in which characters experience seemingly unusual meetings, plunge into unexpected circumstances and new environments, as well as collide with different generations, ideals and ideas – asking … Continue reading
Kumiko The Treasure Hunter (トレジャーハンター・クミコ) (2014), starring Rinko Kikuchi (菊地 凛子), written by David and Nathan Zellner and directed by David Zellner, is an absolute masterpiece. See for yourself: Kumiko The Treasure Hunter is a brilliantly quirky, highly original adventure film about a girl obsessed with finding the treasure she’s seen buried in the 1996 … Continue reading
This year’s Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is called ‘It Only Happens in the Movies?’ and it explores the theme of ‘encounters’. The films in the programme “include titles in which characters experience seemingly unusual meetings, plunge into unexpected circumstances and new environments, as well as collide with different generations, ideals and ideas – asking … Continue reading
This year’s Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is called ‘It Only Happens in the Movies?’ and it explores the theme of ‘encounters’. The films in the programme “include titles in which characters experience seemingly unusual meetings, plunge into unexpected circumstances and new environments, as well as collide with different generations, ideals and ideas – asking … Continue reading
This year’s Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is called ‘It Only Happens in the Movies?’ and it explores the theme of ‘encounters’. The films in the programme “include titles in which characters experience seemingly unusual meetings, plunge into unexpected circumstances and new environments, as well as collide with different generations, ideals and ideas – asking … Continue reading
“Returning home from work, Rinko is shocked to find that her flat is totally empty. Gone are her TV set, fridge and furniture, gone are all her kitchen tools, including the old Meiji mortar she has inherited from her grandmother and the Le Creuset casserole she has bought with her first salary. Gone, above all, … Continue reading
In October I discovered I was a fan of Japanese writer and director Hirokazu Koreeda (是枝 裕和) when I went to see Like Father, Like Son. That cinema outing prompted me to go home and get straight on Amazon, and the result was my purchase of I Wish (奇跡). (Image source) This afternoon I put … Continue reading
I’ve said it before (in April 2012) and I’ll say it again – the new Studio Ghibli film From Up On Poppy Hill (Kokuriko-zaka Kara / コクリコ坂から) is absolutely wonderful! I’ve walked home singing “Ue o Muite Aruko” (上を向いて歩こう) to myself feeling relaxed and warm and fuzzy inside, after watching From Up On Poppy Hill for the second time … Continue reading
The Woodsman & the Rain (Kitsutsuki to Ame / キツツキと雨), directed and written by Shuichi Okita (screenplay by Fumio Moriya) is a heart-warming and funny tale of an unlikely friendship. When we first see 60 -year old Katsu (played by Koji Yakusho) he is hard at work felling trees in the small, peaceful mountain village where he lives … Continue reading
There’s always a lot of Japanese-related stuff going on in London, so I thought it might be useful to give you a heads-up about some of what’s going on in the next couple of months. I’m sure I’ll miss something though, so do feel free to leave a comment if there’s something you’d like to … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 