Over 50 films grace the mighty Japanese Film Festival in 2015 (its 19th year). Here we select our 10 picks to get you excited.
The JFF lands in Sydney & Parramatta on November 5 and Melbourne on November 26.
See the full line-up and schedules at japanesefilmfestival.net.
Note: Below, we did our best to find trailers with subtitles (largely failing). But every film at JFF is in Japanese with English subtitles.
Fires on the Plain
Grisly, no-holds-barred Japanese war film – portrait of humanity at the verge of insanity.
In the final stages of WWII, the occupying Japanese army in the Philippines is rapidly losing ground, facing local resistance combined with an American offensive. The final few Japanese survivors have crossed the threshold into a realm where there are no friends, no enemies and no God…
Based on the 1951 novel by Ōoka Shōhei, Fires on the Plain has been adapted previously with Kon Ichikawa’s 1959 classic.
Assassination Classroom
Described by Film School Rejects as “bonkers in the best possible way”, this manga adaptation follows a class of high school students and their new teacher – a smiley, yellow tentacled alien with designs to destroy the earth.
As teacher continues their curriculum, with added classes in assassination technique, the clock is ticking. The students have only until graduation day to kill their teacher and save the world.
Ran
A masterpiece of Japanese cinema, restored and re-released in digital 4K 30 years after it first screened. Kurosawa’s Ran reimagines Shakespeare’s King Lear in feudal Japan, meditating on the follies of war, the burden of power and the strains on familial bonds when greed and betrayal take hold.
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie
Continuing on from Ghost in the Shell: Arise, The New Movie begins with the assassination of the Prime Minister and follows the subsequent investigation to unearth the culprit in this cyberpunk, futuristic, anime adventure.
(While the trailer is English dubbed, all JFF screenings are in Japanese with English subtitles.)
Ju-on: The Final Curse
The 11th film – and supposedly last – in the Ju-on (“The Grudge“) supernatural horror franchise, a global hit.
After the disappearance of her sister, Mai must come to terms with the strange apparitions that haunt her.
Library Wars: The Last Mission
Based on the novel Toshokan Senso by Hiro Arikawa, this takes place in a dystopian not-so-distant-future, where an oppressive leader has created a society under strict censorship. Publishing, media and literature are severely restricted, so libraries – a bastion of knowledge and ideas – pose a threat. When a rare volume entitled The Handbook of Library Law, a symbol of denied freedoms, is placed on display for the public, the Library Defense Task Force must risk their lives to protect it.
Library Wars veers away from philosophical explorations (like Farenheit 451), and instead delivers a mangaesque combination of romance, comedy and action.
Love & Peace
Winner of the Gold Prize for Best Asian Feature at Fantasia Film Festival 2015, Love & Peace spans a surreal world of singing turtles, rock and roll dreamscapes and office politics. From the director of Tokyo Tribe.
The Charlie Kaufman-esque story follows a humble office worker who, in response to being bullied by his co-workers, seeks solace in a friendship with a turtle and sinks deeper and deeper into a rock star fantasy.
No Longer Heroine
What if Dawson and Joey never dated? Bella and Edward? Chuck and Blair?
Hatori (Mirei Kiritani) is in love with her childhood friend Rita (Kento Yamazaki). Only love is never that simple, especially at high school and Rita falls for another girl. Meanwhile, Kousuke (Kentaro Sakaguchi), the most popular boy in school falls for Hatori. The question is will she notice her new admirer as she plots to woo Rita and destroy his new romance. Based on the manga by Mokoka Koda.
The Ninja War of Torakage
Bloody, balls-to-the-wall, ninja-actioner set in a medieval Japan.
Retired ninjas Torakage and Tsukikage live peacefully in the country with their son, when everything goes terribly wrong. Torakage’s former master summons him back to duty to retrieve the Gold Scroll from a rival clan, while Tsukikage is taken captive by another…
A Samurai Chronicle
Costume drama following a senior Samurai (Kôji Yakusho) sentenced to death by seppuku (by his own sword) for a crime he was accused of years ago. At his sentencing, Toda was granted 10 years delay to record his clan’s history.
Now, an eager Samurai, Danno Shozaburo (Junichi Okada), has been sent to ensure that the fatal act is committed. But when suspicions develop around the historic crime, the condemned samurai refuses to be saved. Is samurai honour worth more than an innocent life?
