Another Japanese Film Festival has come and gone. The Sydney showings were hosted by Palace Cinemas again this year. While I like Palace Cinemas, having the programme spread over multiple locations made it a little inconvenient to get all the films I wanted to see. In the end I went to six films:
- Yudo: The way of the bath
- The lines that define me
- We’re broke, my lord
- Brave: Gunjo Senki
- Mondays: See you “this” week
- Citizen Kitano
Yudo (湯道) A comedy focussed on two brothers and the bath-house they inherit after their father’s death. It felt like the subplot around the older brother’s plans might have suffered in editing but the rest of the film hung together well. I enjoyed it.
The lines that define me (線は、僕を書く) A drama following a university student who is invited to become an apprentice of a famouse sumi-e painter and his relationships with the others in the group, his friends, and his tragic history. I really enjoyed it.
We’re broke, my lord (大名倒産) A period comedy set in the late Edo period. A young man who was raised by a salted salmon merchant discovers he’s the illegitimate son of the lord of the estate. I thought it was very, very trope-y, but good fun.
Brave: Gunjo Senki A high-school is transported back to the warring states period. Samurai attack the school, slaughter what seemed like most of the students, and kidnap several hostages. Some of the [very few] survivors set out to rescue their classmates before the school is carried back to the present day. An uneven mix of high-school sports drama, samurai slasher film, and isekai manga. Did not enjoy at all.
Mondays: See you “this” week A clever comedy with touches of The Office and Groundhog Day. A well put together film, I really enjoyed it.
Citizen Kitano A film about Takeshi Kitano and his work as a filmmaker and artist. I’m not much of a film buff so this wasn’t really my cup of tea but it seemed well made and was interesting enough.
I didn’t get to see as many films as in previous years and my miss-rate was higher than previous years, but it was still a fun week of cinema. Thanks Japan Foundation and sponsors.