2020-03-17

Sino-Japanese Film Festival | Shanghai Stop Kicks Off

Organized by the Shanghai International Film & TV Festival Center, Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, and Zhejiang Film Exhibition Association, the Japanese Film Festival, as part of the Chinese-Japanese Film Festival 2020, is scheduled to kick off at Shanghai Grand Theatre from 19:00 this Friday. The Hangzhou Stop will open later from January 1-5, 2020.

Since the first Chinese-Japanese Film Festival held in December, 2017, each winter, film fans will be waiting in enthusiasm for this annual event. At 9:00 on December 12 the box office for Japanese Film Festival 2020 – Shanghai Stop opened, which received a warm welcome from the audiences. Particularly, all the tickets for COME KISS ME AT 0:00 AM, starring Ryota KATAYOSE, were sold out instantly; and some other films were sold out on the day of ticketing as well.

The films featured at the Japanese Film Festival this year are diverse in genres and themes, catering to the varied interest of the viewers. Since the release of the screening list, followers have posted plenty of comments at SIFF’s official Weibo and WeChat accounts. For example, “There are too many amazing films this year. I don’t know which one to watch first.” “Every movie seems to be my favorite!” “I really hope the event will grow bigger and better.” Some fans even nicknamed the ticket purchase activity “a decisive batter at the Grand Theatre”.

As of press time, there are a small number of tickets left for the Japanese Film Festival 2020 – Shanghai Stop. If you are interested, there is no time to hesitate!

Though they cannot make it to Shanghai, TALKING THE PICTURES’s director Mayayuki SUO and leading actor Ryo NARITA have made a warm and humorous greeting video for the Shanghai audiences.

Today, we will briefly introduce five of the new Japanese movies again. For more information, please click on the link: Chinese-Japanese Film Festival | Shanghai Presents New Japanese Films This Winter.

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THE 47 RōNIN IN DEBT

Director: Yoshihiro NAKAMURA
Cast: Shin\'ichi TSUTSUMI, Takashi OKAMURA, Gaku HAMADA,
Satoshi TSUMABUKI, Satomi ISHIHARA

Comments

The revenge of the forty-seven rōnin is a household story in Japan, and has been presented in movies for many times. Particularly, it was remade by Hollywood in 2013 into the film 47 RONIN, starring Keanu Reeves. This time Yoshihiro NAKAMURA, also the director of GOLDEN SLUMBERS and THE SNOW WHITE MURDER CASE, has turned the story into a comedy. Upon subversive adaption and deconstruction, the film presents a humorous story about how forty-seven samurai in the Edo period avenge their monarch on a tight budget. The starlit lineup joined by Shin\'ichi TSUTSUMI, Satoshi TSUMABUKI and Satomi ISHIHARA is another highlight.

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AT THE END OF THE MATINEE

Director: Nishitani HIROSHI
Cast: Masaharu FUKUYAMA, Yuriko ISHIDA

Comments

This is the second collaboration between director Nishitani HIROSHI and screenwriter Yumiko INOUE following the TV drama HIRUGAO. In AT THE END OF THE MATINEE, this movie presented a pure and romantic "concerto" between a middle-aged couple. It is a love story of a musician and a journalist, played by Masaharu FUKUYAMA and Yuriko ISHIDA respectively. In the movie FUKUYAMA even plays the guitar in person – a must-see for his fans.

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THEY SAY NOTHING STAYS THE SAME

Director: Joe ODAGIRI
Cast: Akira EMOTO, Nijiro MURAKAMI, Tadanobu ASANO, Yu AOI

Comments

It is the first film directed by Joe ODAGIRI, a Japanese actor who is regarded as Prince Charming no matter what character he plays. The film tells the story of a boatman living in a remote village where a bridge is under construction. He is living an ordinary life until he meets a girl... As ODAGIRI’s first work marking his transformation from an actor to a director, the movie has gathered a number of his friends – Christopher DOYLE as cinematographer, Emi WADA as costume designer, and jazz pianist Tigran HAMASYAN taking charge of the soundtrack.

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FAMILY OF STRANGERS

Director: Hideyuki HIRAYAMA
Cast: Tsurubei SHOFUKUTEI, Gô AYANO, Nana KOMATSU

Comments

Hideyuki HIRAYAMA is a highly celebrated director in the contemporary Japanese film sector. His film SCHOOL GHOST STORIES was quite a hit once released in Japan. In his latest work FAMILY OF STRANGERS, he has invited Gô AYANO and Nana KOMATSU, together with the famous rakugo comedian Tsurubei SHOFUKUTEI, to stage a healing and touching story, guiding the audience to capture the radiance of human nature.

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GOODBYE

Director：Izuru NARUSHIMA
Cast: Yô ÔIZUMI, Eiko KOIKE, Asami MIZUKAWA, Ai HASHIMOTO, Yutaka MATSUSHIGE

Comments

The movie is adapted from the unfinished work of the same title by deceased writer Dazai OSAMU. Tajima, a magazine editor, in order to break up with all his girlfriends, asks Nagai to act as his wife. The pretended couple then triggers a series of ridiculous incidents. As the film is scheduled for public release in Japan on Valentine\'s Day in 2020, the audience in Shanghai are privileged to see it two months earlier.