“Bittersweet”
Cinemalaya, which launches its 2020 edition of 10 short films from Aug. 7 to 16, isn’t the only festival scheduled to hold screenings in cyberspace.
The entries featured in the annual Japanese Film Festival have always been eagerly anticipated by movie aficionados. But the coronavirus pandemic has changed even the way cinema buffs consume entertainment these days.
This year, by way of the festival’s Japan Film Week spin-off, a string of exciting productions migrates online and will be shown beginning today till Sunday, with a six-entry lineup that includes animated films, documentaries and dramatic features. Shogo Kusano’s 2016 film “Bittersweet” will find favor with rom-com aficionados because it features heartthrob Kento Hayashi (“Cherry Boys”) in a role that casts him opposite Haruna Kawaguchi.
The movie is unlike many romantic films we’ve seen before because it attempts to turn the genre on its head. In it, Kento is cast as Nagisa, an art teacher at a boys’ high school with exceptional cooking skills, who crosses paths with vegetable-hating career woman Maki.
“Hana’s Miso Soup”
The vegetarian hunk thinks he can change Maki’s life for the better by altering her diet. But the latter thinks there could be more to their “evolving” relationship than mere friendship and food. Yes, Maki may have already had her heart broken by a string of bad boys, but she’s setting her romantic sights on gorgeous Kento because he seems different from the complex men who came before him—until Kento confesses to her that, well, he’s really more attracted to men!
Yoshinari Nishikori (“Tatara Samurai,” “Railways”) muses about family, identity and tradition in his brand-new 2020 drama “The Takatsu River.”
Set along the Shimane Prefecture’s government-protected Takatsu River, the film follows a community that attempts to carry on the tradition of Kagura Shinto music and dance, said to be the roots of the Kabuki.
“The Takatsu River”
At the heart of this tale is ranch operator Saito Manabu (Komoto Masahiro), who worries about two urgent matters: He doesn’t just learn that his son Tatsuya (Ishikawa Raizo) has been skipping Kagura practice, he’s also been told that his elementary school will soon be closing down.
Makoto Nakamura’s 2015 stop-motion animation “Chieri and Cherry” is an hour-long drama about sixth grader Chieri (voiced by Takamori Natsumi) whose lonely existence is made more bearable by the presence of her stuffed toy, Cherry (Hoshino Gen), who keeps her loneliness at bay.
With her mother always busy at work, Chieri largely relies on the company of Cherry, which she found in a storeroom at the time of her father’s funeral. One day, Chiery sets out toward her grandmother’s home for her father’s commemorative ceremony—and a bigger adventure ensues.
“Chieri and Cherry”
Ryusuke Okajima’s unique 2018 documentary “From All Corners” zeroes in on the concept of “upcycling.” It is inspired by the story of “cardboard picker” Shimazu Fuyuki, who creates wallets from discarded cardboard boxes. Shimazu has traveled around the world picking cardboard from 30 countries for eight years since 2009.
Tomoaki Akune’s 2015 drama “Hana’s Miso Soup” is about Chie Yasutake (Ryoko Hirosue), a pregnant woman who must make a Solomonic choice when she’s diagnosed with terminal cancer. Is she willing to sacrifice her life to save the child she’s always wanted?
Mitsuhito Shiraha’s 2017 film “What’s for Dinner, Mom?” muses about ties that bind as it follows the story of a woman who finds a box left behind by her deceased mother. In the story, Tae (Kinami Haruka) finds a little red box when the house where her family used to live is torn down.
“From All Corners”
Her mother, who has been dead for 20 years, also left letters and a cookbook with Taiwanese recipes. But when Tae visits her mom’s grave, she uncovers a secret that could change the way she sees life forever.
Online viewing for the Japan Film Week will be on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to limited slot availability. Viewers may access the films via https://vimeo.com/showcase/7265452 after registering a free Vimeo account. Visit jfmo.org.ph, jfmanila on Facebook or email@jfmo.org.ph for more details. Here are the entries’ release dates: Today, “From All Corners” and “Hana’s Miso Soup’; July 23, “What’s for Dinner, Mom?”; July 24, “Bittersweet”; and on July 25, “Chieri and Cherry” and “The Takatsu River.”
Screening starts at 9 a.m. All films, except the first two titles, are available for limited screenings only, from date of release until scheduled film has reached the maximum number of views or until July 27 (at 12 a.m.), whichever comes first.
“Whats for Dinner, Mom?”
In another film fest-related news, some movie enthusiasts were treated to the online screening of Victor Erice’s exquisite 1983 drama “El Sur,” courtesy of Instituto Cervantes.
Erice’s award-winning production, often regarded as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made, is a delectable coming-of-age drama based on Adelaida Garcia Morales’ short novel. The movie, whose quality stands up to scrutiny 37 years after its initial release, follows Estrella (Sonsoles Aranguren and Iciar Bollain), a young girl fascinated as much by her secretive father’s (Omero Antonutti) hometown in the south of Spain as she is by his unrequited romance with a movie actress (Aurore Clément).
Instituto Cervantes deserves a hearty pat on the back for finding accessible ways for film lovers to continue watching Spanish-language movies in the comfort of their homes in these pandemic times.
“El Sur”