Sophilicity: Film

The Japan Foundation's Touring Film Programme has once again returned for 2018! The programme began this year from the 2nd of February 2018 at 18 different locations, and will be ending on the 28th of March 2018. The first venue where the film programme has taken place is none other than the ICA otherwise known as the Institute of Contemporary Arts, located in central London.

Out of a choice of films, I decided for my first complimentary screening to watch 'The Dark Maidens'. The film was released last year in April 2017. The synopsis as described by the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme states:

'Set in an academy for daughters of the rich and powerful, this murder mystery involves six girls with a dark secret. Literature club chairman Itsumi Shiraishi (Marie Iitoyo), has fallen to her death from the school roof. Rumours soon circulate that one of the members of the literature club is the culprit. New chairman and friend of the victim, Sayuri Sumikawa (Fumika Shimizu), holds a meeting and asks each member to recount their whereabouts at the time of Itsumi's death. Who is telling a lie and what really happened to Itsumi?'

To describe the film in my own words, I would have to say that the film is rather intriguing. Whilst it conveys uncommon themes, straying away from mainstream cinema, it continues to develop and keep you interested. To highlight some themes conveyed in the film, there is mystery, some eroticism, school life and also highlights concepts of homosexual themes.

Though I cannot reveal too much as that spoils the fun of solving the mystery. I believe then once you start watching, you think you've solved the mystery, but next thing you know another arc is unveiled which heightens the tension and mystery in the film. What I particularly find interesting about this film is that each girl of the literature club has their very own perspective described through a literary novel. The perspectives differ between each character, providing a rather compelling development. We find out more about how a character is built through their individual stories, all in-turn revealing a suspect of the murder once each story ends.

If you're looking for an unpredictable tale, which keeps you on your feet, then this film may be the one for you! There's more to what meets the eye, as each character arc seemingly becomes more gripping as the film progresses. At times I was thinking that the way the film changed was rather explicit, but even before the movie began, Junko Takegawa, the senior director of the programme revealed its unrealistic approach.

If you're located in Kendal, Stirling or Sheffield, there are still screenings for 'The Dark Maidens' through the Japan Foundation's Touring Film Programme, so check it out here!

Furthermore, if you would like more details about the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme, check out their site!

Tune in next time, to find out about my upcoming film review for 'Sword of the Stranger', an animation film which I will be attending a screening for at Broadway, Nottingham. Thanks for reading! ^^

09:14 1 comments

If you have read my previous post on the Case of Hana and Alice, then you'll know that I also watched another film just an hour after. My second film I've chosen to review is Seoul Searching, directed by Benson Lee.

Benson Lee based this film off a time back when he was 16 years old, where his parents decided to send him to Korea to attend a summer camp in 1986 to learn about his Korean Heritage. He lived in the US (California I believe) but was of Korean descent. Many international students gathered around the world to attend this summer camp to develop their knowledge of their Korean heritage. Every individual was unique with their own individual personalities. Rather contrasting yet overall everyone managed to get along. The director believed this was one of the projects he had managed to create, but working on it for 16 years to be able to finally release it he was ecstatic. He believed it turned out better than he had expected. It should be showing in the US and Canada this coming to the cinema in summer, and for Europe and supposedly Asia it is still to be discussed. But hopefully the year after.

The film is actually more westernised than you may think as he was influenced by 80's films such as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, and the film itself was based of his own experiences with some exceptions to the storyline. Indeed it was a film which you could identify yourself with in many ways but it was an interesting development of the plot line.

One of the characters, Klaus, happens to be a friend in real life who he is still in contact with over many years (supposedly 30 years to be exact), and he has yet to see the movie. Benson said himself that he didn't want Klaus to watch the movie online through a link. Instead he would prefer that Klaus could be there in person as a member of the audience in front of a live film screening. He would be able to watch a production based of their lives right in before his eyes and know that it was created by a friend.

The film actually went through a whirlwind of a journey with various story arcs for each character with interesting relationship developments throughout. At times I found it incredibly hilarious and I even cried a little and got rather emotional at some scenes. I definitely have to say Klaus was one of my favourite characters, and the actor himself I found pretty cute. In a sense, he kind of reminded me of myself, being a very reserved character and not exactly one to break boundaries... The German-Korean actor, Teo Yoo who played Klaus was also born and raised in Germany (specifically Cologne).

The director said, he found he was most like the main character, Sid, saying he was quite the rebellious type at that age. Sid was played by Justin Chon, was also born and raised in California, similarly to the director. Some of you may recognise him as Jeff Chang from "21 or Over" or Eric from "The Twilight Saga".

I believe the choice of actors for the film were well-picked. From what I have researched most of the actors were from the countries which they originated from in the film. This made it more realistic as the actors had personal experience of how they were brought up based on their surroundings. After seeing the film, I don't think I would change any of the actors, maybe because I just enjoyed the way they were portrayed. For someone who was in the UK, I definitely had to laugh at the British stereotype, with one the girls in the film coming from Britain, specifically Wimbledon. She was dressed in tennis gear, and already I knew how this was going to turn out aha!

After the movie, the viewers were all lucky enough to also be able to participate in a Q&A with Benson Lee. I was overhearing a conversation, and the person next to me was asking me about the film and also talking about the director who happened to be sitting in the same row as us. Knowing I was teary-eyed next to strangers was indeed an experience, but I don't regret attending alone. From the Q&A I was able to find out a lot more about Benson Lee's life, and how his life was referenced throughout the film,

Honestly, it is definitely one to watch for me, I would actually watch it again! For now, I am anticipating the day when it is available in cinemas in the UK and I'm totally going to drag my friends to watch with me! For now, I suggest checking out the trailer below:

Anyways! Totally keep an eye out for the film release in the UK cinemas! The film itself only came out last year in 2015, but I hope you enjoy it if you have a chance to watch it. If you do get the chance and you happen to read this post, comment below on your opinions. I'll reply to every comment for sure! Thank you for reading, and make sure to check out the next post!

20:17 No comments

So I actually love films so if I get the opportunity I try to watch a film at least once a month. I was fortunate to receive complimentary tickets to the Asia House Film Festival this year! If you've been tuning into my blog you'll know about my recent attendance at The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme, which gave the opportunity to watch some Japanese film showcased at the ICA.

I decided on choosing films which I found most appealed to me, and it was incredibly convenient to find that the two films I wanted to watch were at the same location, on the same day, about an hour's apart from one another. Honestly with the travel costs in London, it was great knowing I didn't have to travel to London twice for two films... Although it may seem a bit much to watch two films one after another - Like how do you even remember everything that happened? Fortunately, I actually have a pretty good memory for these things! Wish it applied for other things... Like studying...

So for this particular post, I will be reviewing my first film, which happens to be The Case of Hana and Alice otherwise known as Hana to Alice satsujin jiken. If hadn't worked it out already, yes it's a Japanese film. It also happens to be an animated film, although it uses a rather different animation style than what we usually see of typical Japanese anime. This animation technique is called rotoscoping.

Check out the trailer below:

I realised that you may prefer the English subtitles for those who don't understand Japanese like myself, here is the trailer with English subtitles from the San Diego Asian Film Festival:

So if you don't have time to watch the trailers, you be wondering what is the film about?
Well, the film begins with a girl and her mother who recently moved into their new home. Her mother is divorced, and the main lead, Tetsuko Arisugawa (Arisu or "Alice" for short) is a middle school transfer student. Since transferring to the school, she becomes a victim to bullying to which she seeks comfort in dance, something which she used to enjoy in the past.

What are my opinions about the film?

Well honestly, I found their friendship rather interesting, like Hana and Alice they all demonstrate their strengths and weaknesses. I felt their friendship was very unique in a way but I can say that both individuals were very supportive of one another. An example is shown below with Alice hugging Hana to comfort her.

I found it hilarious watching Alice's antics, for example: she tends to jump to conclusion and does stupid things e.g. she tails the wrong person. But through tailing the wrong person, which let's be honest... The situation seemed a bit dodgy... But the result was actually rather sweet and endearing. I find that it conveys Alice as a kind-hearted being and quite talented - examples of her talents include her skill for dancing.

As for Hana, I find that she is rather intellectual... Well.. Until romantic interests are involved... Her relationship between a guy shows that she tends to assume certain comments which even Alice finds rather weird. Examples include assumptions that the guy loves her despite the trouble she makes.
I found the storyline to be quite predictable but the rumours circulating around the plot were interesting.

I hope you enjoyed my latest blog post, I'm still catching up with a lot of event blogging since I have a lot going on right now, but hopefully I'll be up to date by the end of the month! Stay tuned!

For more information about Asia House, please check out their website below:
http://asiahouse.org/

And for more information from Asia House about the previous screening of "The Case of Hana and Alice" you can check out the information below:
http://asiahouse.org/events/time-case-hana-alice-hana-alice-satsujin-jiken/

12:07 No comments

So I've never actually tried writing a movie review before, but it's always good to try and expand your skills aha! First of all, I received a complimentary ticket to go and see one of the films at the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme at the ICA yesterday. I was fortunate enough to pick a film suited to my schedule and something in which I was really interested in! I found the perfect film!

However if I'm honest, I didn't get off to a very good start... I arrived 20 minutes late for the showing, but was fortunate enough to still come in. I thought I'd missed about 20 minutes worth of the film so I went home later and rewatched the beginning - turns out I only missed about 6-7 minutes of the film! Anyways, it was a bit of struggle since entering the film late meant it was really dark and really difficult to find seats since most of the seats were all filled up and my inability to see didn't help. Fortunately, some people in front of me found some seats so I just sat beside them. If you're wondering, yes I actually went to go and see a movie by myself. Why do you ask? Well, when I first got the tickets I was just focused on getting them to be able to write something new for my blog readers! But by the time I realised I was going by myself, most people I knew were busy or well... Broke. I'm not gonna lie, it was an interesting experience going to see a film all by myself. And it wasn't even as bad as I thought it would be aha.

Anyways, onto the film. To summarise the film (I apologise for my terrible summarising skills) it's basically about a group of high school kids, who developed an interest in music in which they decide to start a band. Meanwhile, there is a guy (Hikaru Oshiro) who runs a bento shop with his mum and his wife, they also have a daughter (she's super cute). So you might be wondering? How do they link? Well, the group of high school kids who have a band, find they have nowhere to practice, so Hikaru decides to build his own studio as there aren't many available that are suitable for aspiring musicians who are high school students (which is highly relatable as many high school students wouldn't exactly have money to pay for studio time with studies etc.). Although, the usage of the studio is free, there are certain conditions which the students have to follow to be able to use the studio.

Honestly, I found this film incredibly inspiring. For teenagers, it's the time where we start trying to discover our dreams, with many of us having to decide our subjects, our career choices and more, I feel this film is highly relatable. It's also difficult to follow certain dreams due to obstacles similarly to the film where they encountered struggles such as trying to find a practice space for them to work hard and become pro. For me, as this is a musical film, I can highly sympathise with the fact that the music industry is really difficult and I honestly love music but decided to stop because I didn't believe I was capable to go any further so I stopped after secondary school. Although, I do consider music as a hobby nowadays. This film taught me to persevere with my dreams, and that you won't make it anywhere if you don't even try to do it and just assume you can't do it. This film is incredibly motivating in a way and shows how despite some of us believing adults may not understand us, this film taught me an adult's perspective, believing that there will always be someone who will support you and your dreams if others do not.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. The music was interesting to listen to and the plot line was really intriguing, with a few laughs here and there aha. Although I can say some of the plot line was sort of expected for me, but that might be me watching too many Asian dramas and movies aha. I'm not going to lie about one thing, I totally did cry over the movie. At one moment, I felt that one tear drop slowly falling down my cheek before slowly they started to fall continuously. I'm not sure if I was the only one, but I felt I connected with the movie in many ways which may explain why I might have been so emotional. I believe if a movie is something which brings emotion and is something that allows you to identify yourself, it means it's a worthwhile movie.

What was interesting to find in the credits was that the film was inspired by a true story of the late, Hikaru Nakasone. Also, I totally enjoyed listening to Stereopony during the ending credits, I didn't realise they sung the song "Arigatou" at the end till it was mentioned in a caption. Thank goodness for English subtitles and captions aha. Stereopony were a great band, and it's unfortunate they disbanded... However, I still highly recommend taking your time to listen to them! Plus, the ending song is definitely a song I'll add to my playlist from now on! But for now, take a chance to check out the song below:

Thank you guys for reading! I hope I convinced you to try checking out this movie, because I highly recommend the movie!

11:33 2 comments

Here's for another update on another event which will be touring the UK! So I'd heard about this film programme through my email subscription with The Japan Foundation after I signed up them a while back when I first went to Hyper Japan a couple years ago or so. Other than the random subscriptions from stores I have a tendency to read my emails quite thoroughly and it's always interesting to see what's currently going on! I know a lot of people have asked me how I manage to find out about all these events, trust me emails and social media is the biggest place to find events!

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2016 is not something to be missed! With 14 various films to be screened of all different genres, there's an opportunity to pick a film which entices you. Or maybe even pick a film completely different from your typical preference and learn to like something new! The films are also screened on different dates, some of which are screened more than once at a specific location so if you missed out on one, there may possibly be another screening to suit your schedule.

So what exactly are the locations involved in the programme?

We've got 13 different locations from the UK!

London - 5th February - 11th February @ Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA)
Leicester - 6th February - 26th March @ Phoenix
Bristol - 8th February - 27th February @ Watershed
Birmingham - 8th February - 21st March @ Mac Birmingham
Derby - 12th February - 14th February @ QUAD
Sheffield - 14th February - 29th February @ Showroom Cinema
Aberystwyth - 19th February - 24th February @ Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Dundee - 20th February - 28th February @ Dundee Contemporary Arts
Edinburgh - 22nd February - 28th February @ Filmhouse
Kendal - 25th February - 24th March @ The Brewery Arts Centre
Exeter - 2nd March - 23rd March @ Exeter Phoenix
Nottingham - 18th March - 24th March @ Broadway
Manchester - 20th March - 24th March @ HOME

As you can see, the tour will commence in London at the ICA, But what's use knowing dates and locations without knowing what films are screening, right?
(Credits to AsianWiki and MyAnimeList for the photos and the ICA for the movie descriptions)

The Cowards Who Looked To The Sky - An emotionally-engaging film that rotates around an illicit affair between cosplaying housewife Satomi and high school student Takumi. Acclaimed director Yuki Tanada’s masterpiece is a bold expression of the inner lives, hardships and cooped-up feelings of individuals in modern day Japan.

A Farewell To Jinu - After developing an unusual ‘money allergy’, Takeharu (Ryuhei Matsuda) leaves the city for a remote village aspiring to live without using any money – will a completely zero-yen life be possible? The long-awaited new film by playwright, author, actor and filmmaker Suzuki Matsuo (Otakus in Love).

The Letter - A portrait of two brothers, Tsuyoshi and Naoki, torn apart when Tsuyoshi accidently commits murder. Despite the good intentions behind the crime, Naoki begins to despise his brother for the trouble he caused. A film exploring the toll a crime can have on the offender’s family.

Pecoross' Mother And Her Days - A heart-warming comedy exploring Japan’s ageing population through the story of a dementia-suffering mother and her manga artist son, who faces the reality that his mother must be moved to a nursing home and begins to discover more about her past.

Cheers From Heaven - An emotional drama based on the true story of Hikaru (played by Hiroshi Abe), an Okinawan “bento” (lunch box) shop owner who, whilst battling a terminal illness, devoted himself to helping a group of young aspiring musicians follow their dreams.

Noriben - The Recipe For Fortune - After leaving her jobless husband, Komaki tries to make ends meet by opening her own "bento" (lunch box) shop and offering inexpensive but undoubtedly delicious food. A heartfelt story of a woman’s journey to independence that is guaranteed to whet your appetite!

Uzumasa Limelight - An award-winning film telling the admirable story of Seiichi, a ‘kirareyaku’ actor whose main role in samurai movies was simply to be killed-off. When the studio where he works decides to discontinue its samurai epics, Seiichi finds himself at a loss.

I'll Give You My All... Tomorrow - Fed-up forty-something Shizuo (Shinichi Tsutsumi) quits his job to embark on a reluctant pursuit to follow his dreams and eventually realises his true passion in life: Manga! Without much preparation or any skill, Shizuo begins work on his masterpiece…

Being Good - Tasuku (Kengo Kora) is a new primary school teacher who discovers one of his pupils is being neglected, whilst in the same city, a woman who appears to be a good mother can’t help hitting her own child. A heart-wrenching story of people caught in downward spirals by director Mipo O.

Tale Of A Butcher Shop - An award-winning documentary about the Kitades and their family-run butcher shop in Kaizuka City (outside Osaka), where they have been raising and slaughtering cattle, and selling their meat in their small shop for over 100 years.

A Japanese Tragedy - Director Keisuke Kinoshita creates a bleak portrait of the social realities of the postwar existence through mother Haruko’s story of self-sacrifice as she struggles to raise her materialistic-minded children after losing her husband in the war.

The Elegant Life Of Mr Everyman - A ‘salaryman comedy’ about Eburi, who drunkenly promises to pen his clients a masterpiece and who must stay true to his word. Featuring animation and audacious editing, this idiosyncratic and inventive classic film is a timeless treatment of life in postwar Japan.

Anthem Of The Heart - Young girl Jun loses the ability to speak after feeling her words cause her trouble. One day Jun is grouped with students at her high school and needs to put on a musical – will Jun be able to find her voice? A charming animated story from the creators of the smash hit movie Anohana.

Miss Hokusai - Set in early 19th century Japan during the Edo period, this animation by Keiichi Hara (Colorful) brings to life the story of O-Ei, the daughter of ukiyo-e master, Hokusai. Often contributing to his art whilst remaining uncredited, this anime is a tribute to the woman overshadowed by her large-than-life father.

However... four lucky locations will have the opportunity to meet special guest, Yuki Tanada!

Yuki Tanada is actually a director for one of the many films which will be showing throughout the programme! She is the director for none other than, The Cowards Who Looked To The Sky. Don't miss out on the opportunity to meet the special guest for this year's programme at:

Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London - 6th and 9th February 2016
Watershed, Bristol - 8th February 2016
Phoenix, Leicester - 11th February 2016
QUAD, Derby - 12th February 2016

But as a Londoner myself, I feel like you shouldn't miss out on an ticket deal with the ICA!

The ICA are providing you the opportunity to buy four tickets for the price of three!
(£33 for four full price tickets, £24 for four concession tickets, £21 for 4 members tickets)
ICA's 4 for 3 Ticket Deal

Don't miss out! Since there are so many films available for screening, purchasing tickets ASAP for the films you're most interested in would be the most beneficial! If you can't choose between films why not watch as many as you can? With the offer provided by the ICA you are given an extra advantage in enjoying the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme!

For more information check out The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme website below:

http://www.jpf-film.org.uk/

Don't forget to also join the Facebook event page below!
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2016

20:20 No comments

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