(Shodo Girls) Martial Crafts - Richard

Today saw 800 plus students and teachers fill Cinema 4 at Event Cinemas all in the name of "Shodo Girls". In what has become a major annual event, our special school screening at the Japanese Film Festival was a massive hit. The session sold out in a matter of days, with tens of schools having to be turned away due to high demand. See what all the fuss is about with the repeat session of "Shodo Girls", this Saturday at 1:00pm. Tickets are still available but will surely be in demand. Richard Gray continues his look at the festival with a review into the martial arts calligraphy piece that is "Shodo Girls".

"The thing that has always excites me about cinema is that I am constantly learning new things. Prior to Shodo Girls, I had no idea that there was such a thing as competition performance calligraphy. Yes, the gentle art of fancy lettering is a no-holds-barred bloodletting that gets pretty fierce. Plus, it’s all based on a true story! Well, except for the bloodletting part. I just got kind of carried away. One has to admit, that theatrical poster (to the left) does make this look like an action epic. That aside, Shodo Girls is one of the most unlikely delights I have seen in quite some time.

Satoko (Riko Narumi) leads her high-school calligraphy club, but struggles to keep the numbers of people up. Their little world is rocked when a new substitute teacher, Ikezawa (Nobuaki Kaneko, Crows Zero II) arrives and brings a fresh new approach to calligraphy. Resigned to the fact that their calligraphy is boring, the girls decide to revitalise their economically ailing town by staging a bit of performance calligraphy. After some false starts, and a Rocky-style training montage with music (the second of the festival, following Feel the Wind), the girls enter themselves in the “Shodo Girls Koshien”, in which they must make calligraphy on giant sheets of paper to music.

The tension between traditional and radical modernisation is a theme that runs strong throughout Japanese cinema, and indeed throughout Japan, and Shodo Girls conveys this tension effectively. Yet in some ways the films can’t escape another cinematic tradition: that of a small team of misfits overcoming great odds at competition level. Indeed, some of the similar themes can be seen in this year’s festival hits Feel the Wind and Solanin to a lesser extent. However, Shodo Girls manages to transcend this cliché to some degree via a cast of terrific characters that the script spends some time getting to know.

The film’s lead, Riko Narumi, has been in a number of similar films over the last few years. Indeed, her most recent film before this one, Bushido Sixteen, is about a rivalry that grows during kendo training, leading up to one final tournament. Her character is at first somewhat overbearing, but thanks to the other members of the team – including singer/actress Mitsuki Takahata, who is absolutely wonderful in the role of the overly earnest Kiyomi, whose beaming enthusiasm inspires the rest of the group – manages to become a rousing leader capable of drawing words on big pieces of paper with the best of them.

Perhaps what is most surprising about Shodo Girls is that it is all based on a true story. Like Happy Family Plan in 2009, Shodo Girls is designed to act as something of a cultural ambassador to the Japanese Film Festival, complete with language learning activities for the school groups who have no doubt bought out the first session of this film. After all, where else but Japan would performance calligraphy be met with such unbridled enthusiasm? It is the perfect antidote to the overbearing high-school glee clubs from High School Musical, Spectacular! or TV’s Glee, and instead takes us on a gentle journey through personal development, complete with male cheerleaders. Along with giving us an insight into the importance of this gentle art of the Japanese psyche, it is designed as a wholesale “feel good” picture that is guaranteed to having people roused and ready to enrol in calligraphy lessons by the end of its swift running time.

Like the art it portrays, Shodo Girls is a film with charms that become more apparent the longer one reflects on them. Director Ryuichi Inomata has a strong history of television film production, and his previous feature film – 2007′s weepy dog-drama A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies, a film I randomly managed to catch on television in Hiroshima late last year – had a distinctly “movie of the week” feel to it. Although Shodo Girls pays a strong debt to these traditions, it is nevertheless a thoroughly enjoyable character-driven piece that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser at this year’s festival circuit." by Richard Gray, DVD Bits.

"Shodo Girls" is a part of our stellar Saturday lineup, which features 8 films across 6 sessions. Come along and experience the 14th Japanese Film Festival, before it moves on to Melbourne. See you at the festival!

(Feel The Wind) Catch A Fan Favourite - Richard

The entries just keep getting better here on the JFF blog, with a great piece from Richard Gray today on "Feel the Wind". The film has been winning awards for both the first time director and the great story, and is being touted as the Japanese "Chariots of Fire". It is a fun piece, and for that reason it will screen in 5 regions around Australia, second only to "About Her Brother" which featured across all 6 territories. Read why below!

"The Hakone Ekiden is one of the biggest university athletic events in Japan. Run every year on January 2 and 3, the two-day relay marathon follows a course of almost 220 kilometres between Tokyo and Hakone and is a matter of massive prestige for the universities involved. Seasoned writer Sumio Omori, who became the youngest winner of the Kuniko Mukoda Award for screenwriting, uses this difficult course to make his directorial debut with Feel the Wind, a fictionalised account of a struggling team to overcome great odds. Winner of Best New Director at the 19th Japan Movie Critic Awards and the 31st Yokohama Film Festival, Feel the Wind is the kind of film engineered to make audiences feel good.

University student Haiji (Keisuke Koide, from the blockbuster "Rookies" and "Cyborg She") is a former runner whose career has slid due to injury. He had all but given up on the dream of running the Hakone Ekiden until he meets elite runner Kakeru (Kento Hayashi), who has left running due to a fight with his coach. Gathering eight other housemates, who have never run before, they form the necessary team of 10 athletes to fulfil Haiji’s dream of qualifying for the ekiden (marathon relay). Most of them are not up to the challenge, but the rag-tag team of roommates are determined to help Haiji fulfil his seemingly impossible dream.

Sports movies are always popular with crowds, and there is something about marathon running that seems to particularly appeal to the masochist is all of us. From at least "Chariots of Fire" onwards, which was admittedly about sprinting taken to balletic heights, track athletics have been taken as a convenient outlet for personal pain and anguish. Everybody on the team has something to work through, from Haiji’s injury to the manga-obsessed Prince (Yuichi Nakamura) and his lack of self-worth, and by the end of Feel the Wind, we get the impression that their accomplishments in the race have also worked through some of those “issues” as well. As the distributor Shochiku succinctly puts its “Through the training and the experience, each member finds their inner strength and the joy of feeling the wind”. Wind joy, that’s what it’s all about.

Feel the Wind misses a few steps during the middle act, which drags on a little too long, and by the end of the marathon itself audiences may feel like they have run the entire distance. Perhaps this is a side-effect of the bookish origins, as the film is an adaptation of Shion Miura’s novel that centres on the race. One would imagine we get much more personal insight into the personal pain of the competitors in the novel, although this highly emotional film borders on the melodramatic at times. However, Feel the Wind has that "Rocky" spirit, without Sylvester Stallone’s endless monologues to nobody in particular.

It’s appeal is indicated by Feel the Wind‘s Top 10 rankings in Japanese Film of 2009 lists in both the Kinema Junpo  and Yokohama Film Festival. Indeed, the latter puts it in such fine company as the brilliant "Love Exposure", Japanese Film Festival stable-mates "Dear Doctor" and "Villon's Wife", and one of my personal favourite films of the year, "Summer Wars". On the Brisbane leg of the 14th Japanese Film Festival, this was voted an audience favourite. This will no doubt connect with audiences, but just be prepared to watch a lot of running." by Richard Gray, DVD Bits.

Feel the Wind screens on Thursday, and is one of the few films in the festival that the whole family can come along to. It is rated PG so feel free to bring the little ones along for a trip to Japan, well at least for a couple of hours!

See you at the festival!

(Zero Focus) Drama Of My Life - Samson

Wicked Wednesday continues with Samson's look at "Zero Focus", which stars a wealth of talented Japanese actresses. Check out his thoughts on "Dear Doctor" also on the JFF blog. Remember to stay tuned to the blog over the next week as we will have live reports from the festival and even a few giveaways.

"If I were to make a film about my life right now, Zero Focus would be a most appropriate title. But no, the Japanese film Zero Focus is not about some dude who is overworked, underpaid, struggling to juggle multiple commitments, while trying to watch as many good films as possible, all resulting in chronic sleep deprivation and therefore a pathologically shortened attention span. Instead, it is a suspense mystery drama.

The main character is Teiko (Ryoko Hirosue, recently featured in the JFF Newsletter), a newly married beautiful young woman who has found happiness in her life. This turns out to be short-lived, however, as her husband fails to return after leaving home for work in another city. So Teiko goes on a journey to find her husband, and in doing so learns a lot that she did not know about him...

"Zero Focus" wasn’t really what I expected. Having read the synopsis and seen the keywords ‘suspense’ and ‘mystery’, I was expecting a movie that has an intricate web of plot twists culminating in a climax with a final revelation that would just blow me away. "Zero Focus" is not like that. Very early on in the film, viewers get to find out what happens to Teiko’s disappeared husband and not before long, it becomes obvious who is responsible for his disappearance. So if you watch this film expecting an exciting whodunit thriller, you may be disappointed.

As a drama, however, this film is certainly a success, thanks to the great performances by all three of the lead actresses - Ryoko Hirosue, Miki Nakatani (Memories of Matsuko – 12th JFF) and Tae Kimura (All Around Us – 13th JFF). Lead actress Ryoko Hirosue is certainly on a hot streak at the moment. Following the success of the Oscar-winning Departures, she has starred in a number of major productions. Just look at how many films showing at this year’s Japanese Film Festival have her starring in them, and you will get an idea how hot she is right now. In "Zero Focus", she plays Teiko with an innocence and naivety that are truly believable. The other two main actresses also give solid performances. Miki Nakatani is most credible in her performance as the wife of a tycoon, while Tae Kimura has a smaller role as a receptionist but her acting here is no less impressive.

"Zero Focus" is a movie worth seeing even just for the acting alone. Viewers who like fine dramas will enjoy it, while fans of Ryoko Hirosue should put this on their must-see list, as the actress plays a much bigger role here than say in Goemon (13th JFF) or even Departures (12th JFF). And if unlike me, you have previously read the original novel by Seicho Matsumoto, on which this picture is based, I will be most interested in hearing what you think about the film!" - by Samson Kwok

Thanks to Samson for his great entries on the blog. If you are attending the festival next week, feel free to write up about it, from what you expect from the films to what you thought of the experience. Send it to us here at the blog and you may just get featured! All entries should be sent to assistantcoordinator@jpf.org.au.

See you at the festival.

(Dear Doctor) I Had An Appointment - Samson

Today we ramp up our look at the films in the festival, with Samson taking a fine tooth comb to our Wednesday night lineup. You can see his thoughts on the Hitchcock-esque suspense thriller Zero Focus here, or read on to take a trip to the Doctors office with Dear Doctor. Its just 4 days till the festival kicks off in Sydney, so start planning your film lineup!

Dear Doctor,

It’s been 6 months since you left without saying goodbye. There have been a lot of rumours about you, but even if they are all true, we still want to tell you how grateful we are for all the things that you have done for our village over the past few years.

Yours sincerely,

Residents of your village

"A country doctor has gone missing. The police is involved and soon discovers that while most of the village people think remarkably highly of him, there is actually little known about him. As they go on to interview many of those who were closely associated with him, it becomes apparent that he is a man with many secrets...

The title of the film is one of the best I have seen in recent years. Simple, yes, but also deeply meaningful. The film could easily have been called Disappearance of Osamu Ino, but that would not highlight what a special character this doctor is. The word ‘dear’ in the title does not refer to the cost of this doctor’s service (though the movie does hint that he earns a fortune), but how close he is to the villagers and the place he has in the hearts of many of them.

It is ironic then, that his real identity is at conflict with his perceived role of a doctor. I don’t want to discuss this here for it may spoil your viewing pleasure. All I want to say is that the character is flawed but at the same time compelling. Actor Tsurube Shôfukutei (About Her Brother - JFF14) brings the doctor character to life, and impressively achieves so not so much by spoken words, but his facial expressions and body language that perfectly portray the conflicting emotions of pride and guilt experienced by Dr Ino.

The cast is stellar and performances are solid all round. Stand outs include those by Kimiko Yo (A Lone Scalpel - 14th JFF, Departures - 12th JFF) playing the experienced nurse who frequently keeps the doctor out of trouble at times of crisis (and deservingly winning the Japanese Academy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role), Kaoru Yachigusa playing the very ill elderly widow in what I consider an equally impressive performance as Yo’s, and Teruyuki Kagawa (The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones - 14th JFF, Memories of Matsuko  -12th JFF) playing the drug company sales representative who perhaps knows the most about the doctor’s secrets.

The story is told brilliantly by director Miwa Nishikawa, who also wrote the script, for which she won Screenplay of the Year at the Japanese Academy Award. She progressively and cleverly reveals the doctor’s role in this small village, and the reason so many people, including young medical intern Dr Suma, come to respect him so much despite his often ineffective treatment.

Dear Doctor is a fine example of an interesting story told well, and ultimately it is a rich character-driven drama featuring great performances. Just as a bonus, the Japanese countryside is wonderfully captured on film by the camera of Katsumi Yanagijima (Battle Royale, Zatoichi) and this is a gorgeous picture to look at. I would sincerely recommend this film to anyone who enjoys fine dramas." - Samson Kwok, Heroic Cinema

Don't forget to look out for the stars of "Dear Doctor" in our Opening and Closing night films, Tsurube Shofukutei ("About Her Brother"), and Kimiko Yo ("A Lone Scalpel"). Wednesday promises to be a great day out at Event Cinemas, and we hope to see you there!