The Japanese Film Festival is the highlight of our Australian film calendar. Returning for a whopping 23rd year, the good people at the Japan Foundation have curated another 30+ brand new films that take us from emerging voices to the biggest blockbusters.
This year’s selection features a mixture of contemporary dramas and comedies, animated features, and a Classics Program featuring films from 1949 to 1982 that fall under the banner of grief, vengeance, and otherworldy tales.
Breaking it down into 11 gems from Japan that you should get excited about, the film on this list kick off their national leg in Canberra on 16 October, and journey through Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, and finally Melbourne between October and December. Follow along with my JFF 2019 coverage for Asia in Focus as I devour some of these gems.
Masquerade Hotel
JFF kicks off with a mystery this year, based on the novel series by Keigo Higashino. With the screen rights to his most recent releases undergoing serious bidding battles, the multi-million selling novel finally makes it to the screen. Superstar Takuya Kimura (Blade of the Immortal) and Masami Nagasawa (Your Name) lead a terrific cast.
Blue Hour
This one doesn’t even get released in Japan until October, so this is a chance to jump on an indie favourite early. Yuko Hakota’s debut examines the Japanese entertainment industry, with a very timely reference to a misogynist industry. Dissatisfied with her life, Sunada (Kaho) returns to a small town to visit her grandmother in hospital. Read my full review.
Dance With Me
This got a great response as the Opening Night film at Japan Cuts in New York back in July, and it is now set to bring its joy to Sydney. Director Shinobu Yaguchi takes a left turn from Survival Family to a full-blown musical when a woman wakes up from being hypnotised to find out that she can’t help but break into song whenever she hears music.
And Your Bird Can Sing
Firstly, there’s the Beatles reference in the title, and with Yesterday in cinemas around the world, more Beatles love is the answer. And you know that for sure. Director Sho Miyake’s updates of the 1982 novel of the same name by Yasushi Sato.
A Banana? At This Time of Night?
I admit it: I have been obsessed with this title ever since I saw the poster on AsianWiki in October last year. The comedy/drama is based on Kazufumi Watanabe’s novel, which surprisingly draws its inspiration from a true story about a medical student (Haruma Miura) who develops a friendship with a man who has suffered with muscular dystrophy (Yo Izumi) since he was 12 years old. You know you’ll see me there.
Born Bone Born
A gentle and sometimes absurdist comedy about funerary rites in Japan, one filled with genuine emotion – even if it is punctuated by regular laughs. We managed to catch this one at last year’s Japan Cuts’ New York leg, and it’s a hard film to walk away from without feeling a little warmer. Of course, that might just be the nice Okinawan climate. Read my full review.
Samurai Shifters
The hero of this story is a librarian, we are told, and as a librarian with a few decades in the industry, this warmed the cookies of my soul. Based on Akihiro Dobashi’s novel, it follows a group of samurai who are continually forced to strategically move asked to pack up their entire town and shift to Bungo Province in Kyushu – over 400 kilometres away and across water. A stellar cast and some meticulous production design make this semi-comedic adaptation a highly watchable affair. Read my full review.
Melancholic
The winner of best director for Seiji Tanaka at the 31st Tokyo International Film Festival: Japanese Cinema Splash, along with the White Mulberry Award (for Best First Film) at the 21st Udine Far East Film Festival. It follows Kazuhiko (Yoshitomo Isozaki), who’s life is going nowhere until he starts working at a yakuza-run bathhouse.
Ride Your Wave
JFF has anime fans covered this year with several solid selections, including the 23rd film in the Detective Conan series. From director Masaaki Yuasa (Lu Over The Wall and Night is Short, Walk on Girl) and animation studio Science Saru, comes the tale of two sea-crossed lovers (voiced by Rina Kawaei and Ryota Katayose) that won Best Animation awards at the Fantasia and Shanghai International Film Festivals in 2019.
SAINT☆YOUNG MEN 2nd Century
This is my weird little pick for the year. The Saint Oniisan slice of life manga series, following Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha living as roommates in an apartment in Tokyo, has been adapted into a web series, an anime, and now a live action film. See it and believe.
Little Love Song
If there’s one thing I love, it’s the quite dramas that get played every year at JFF. Inspired by the songs of MONGOL800, it’s about a young Okinawan band coming to terms with grief after one of their own tragically dies. I have a good vibe about this one.
BONUS PICK: The Legend of the Stardust Brothers
34 years after its release, JFF brings director Macoto Tezka’s (son of animation legend Osamu Tezuka) cult film, set against the punk and new-wave scenes in 80s Japan, back to the cinema. Don’t miss this rare chance to see a slice of Japanese music history on screen.
