Never mind the Blues-, here are the Techno Brothers, and they are ready to conquer Japan. The music band in the film pronounced as a trio of geniuses on a par with Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, The Beatles, Miles Davis and Bob Dylan by their agent Himuro (Asuna Yanagi), consists of real life Watanabe brothers (Hirobumi and Yuji) and Kurosaki Takanori, dressed up as if they came out of the Kraftwerk impersonators' competition. In case anyone wonders, yes – they are dressed in the signature red shirts and black ties, and they perform long electronic numbers in the most unlikely of places such as a recreation park and a green house to a very small, mostly unwilling audience.
“Techno Brothers” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
There are evident film influences from the 1990s in the “Techno Brothers”, from Jim Jarmusch's “Stranger Than Paradise”, the above indicated Jon Landis musical hit,...
“Techno Brothers” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
There are evident film influences from the 1990s in the “Techno Brothers”, from Jim Jarmusch's “Stranger Than Paradise”, the above indicated Jon Landis musical hit,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Japanese indie sales firm Free Stone Productions has added a quartet of new titles to its line-up in time for the rights markets in Busan and Tokyo.
The company is unable to travel to the Busan International Film Festival and will meet with clients virtually at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market. The Tiffcom market, which runs alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival later in the month, is anyway a virtual event.
Top of the list is “In Her Room,” a romance about a young dentist who embarks on a liaison with a mysterious woman and cannot figure her out. The film will play in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the Tokyo festival and have a Japanese commercial release from January. It is the feature debut if Ito Chihiro and stars Iguchi Satoru, Baba Fumika and Kawai Yuumi.
Hiranami Wataru’s suspense title “Amnesiac Love,” recently played at the Moscow International Film Festival.
The company is unable to travel to the Busan International Film Festival and will meet with clients virtually at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market. The Tiffcom market, which runs alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival later in the month, is anyway a virtual event.
Top of the list is “In Her Room,” a romance about a young dentist who embarks on a liaison with a mysterious woman and cannot figure her out. The film will play in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the Tokyo festival and have a Japanese commercial release from January. It is the feature debut if Ito Chihiro and stars Iguchi Satoru, Baba Fumika and Kawai Yuumi.
Hiranami Wataru’s suspense title “Amnesiac Love,” recently played at the Moscow International Film Festival.
- 10/3/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Asian Pop-Up Cinema: Season 15 is taking its show on the road to various ethnic communities throughout Chicago and the north suburbs. The in-person festival will present 31 films and opens on September 10 and runs through November 6. Tickets are on sale now at https://buytickets.at/apuc
The festival will highlight the best of Asian animation with a unique lineup of films from Taiwan, China, and South Korea. Programming highlights include films from Japan and special guest appearances from Japan Cinema Showcase host Mark Schilling; this year’s Bright Star Award recipient, Hong Kong actress Jennifer Yu (Pretty Heart); director Yeung Chiu-hoi (The First Girl I Loved); and lead actor Kaki Shum, director Amos Why, and producer Teresa Kwong of Far Far Away.
To enhance the audience’s understanding of the cultural and artistic background of the films, Columbia College Chicago’s Professor Ron Falzone will be leading the post-film discussion...
The festival will highlight the best of Asian animation with a unique lineup of films from Taiwan, China, and South Korea. Programming highlights include films from Japan and special guest appearances from Japan Cinema Showcase host Mark Schilling; this year’s Bright Star Award recipient, Hong Kong actress Jennifer Yu (Pretty Heart); director Yeung Chiu-hoi (The First Girl I Loved); and lead actor Kaki Shum, director Amos Why, and producer Teresa Kwong of Far Far Away.
To enhance the audience’s understanding of the cultural and artistic background of the films, Columbia College Chicago’s Professor Ron Falzone will be leading the post-film discussion...
- 8/26/2022
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Satoshi Miki started out as a writer for hit TV variety shows, some of which are legendary in Japan. He then began directing stage plays and further expanded into TV dramas and films. His directing style has its good and urbane sense of humor, in which seemingly unnecessary episodes and dialogues are developed and interwoven into a story, incidentally making them indispensable parts of the story. His first film “In the Pool” (’05) and his second feature “Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers” were consecutively released theatrically in the year 2005. Two of his movies were also released in 2022, “What to Do With The Dead Kaiju” and his collaboration with Mark Schilling, “Convenience Story”.
On the occasion of both screening at Fantasia, we talk to him about the appeal of kaiju movies, Japanese politicians, the casting of the two movies, cooperating with Mark Schilling, the Japanese movie industry, and other topics.
“What to Do With The Dead Kaiju...
On the occasion of both screening at Fantasia, we talk to him about the appeal of kaiju movies, Japanese politicians, the casting of the two movies, cooperating with Mark Schilling, the Japanese movie industry, and other topics.
“What to Do With The Dead Kaiju...
- 8/5/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
When it comes to Japanese comedies, few directors have made quite the impact. While some of his peers might have some of the more universally known titles under their belt, Miki has also left his mark with works such as “Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers”, “Adrift in Tokyo” and “Instant Swamp”. Being the member of a comedy group whose band of humor he once compared to Monty Python, he has emphasized the targets for laughter in his works are those tendencies, trends or moods within the culture of his home country which may be seen as odd or troublesome. His newest feature, “Convenience Story”, is no exception to the rule, with the story revolving around one of the cornerstones of Japanese culture, at least to the eye of the outsider, the 24/7-open convenience store seemingly promising an easy solution to one’s problems. The feature is also a collaboration of film critic Mark Schilling,...
- 8/3/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
As our tribute to the industry comes to an end, we have collected all the interviews that took place during its run, in a series of discussions we feel shed a rather interesting light to what happens behind and around the cameras of Asian cinema. In that fashion, we interviewed Ed Lejano, Earl Jackson, Matthieu Laclau and Yov Moor, Adam Torel, Kazutaka Watanabe, Amir Muhammad, Samuel Jamier, Joey Leung, Mark Schilling, Chiaki Yanagimoto, Tsogtbayar Namsrai, Wafa Ghermani and Huang Juxiang.
1. Ed Lejano – Director, producer, actor and QCinema artistic director 2. Earl Jackson – Asian cinema academic, writer and teacher 3. Matthieu Laclau – Editor 4. Adam Torel – Owner of Third Window Films 5. Kazutaka Watanabe – Producer 6. Amir Muhammad – Filmmaker, publisher, producer and owner of Kuman Pictures 7. Samuel Jamier – Executive producer of New York Asian Film Festival 8. Joey Leung – Owner of Terracotta Distribution 9. Mark Schilling – Film critic for the Tokyo Times, Variety, journalist, translator, and author 10. Chiaki...
1. Ed Lejano – Director, producer, actor and QCinema artistic director 2. Earl Jackson – Asian cinema academic, writer and teacher 3. Matthieu Laclau – Editor 4. Adam Torel – Owner of Third Window Films 5. Kazutaka Watanabe – Producer 6. Amir Muhammad – Filmmaker, publisher, producer and owner of Kuman Pictures 7. Samuel Jamier – Executive producer of New York Asian Film Festival 8. Joey Leung – Owner of Terracotta Distribution 9. Mark Schilling – Film critic for the Tokyo Times, Variety, journalist, translator, and author 10. Chiaki...
- 7/1/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Genre festival to run in Montreal from July 14-August 3.
Fantasia International Film Festival will host first wave world premieres for the likes of Rebekah McKendry’s Glorious and Satoshi Miki’s Convenience Story and a career achievement award for John Woo at the upcoming in-person summer edition.
Set to run in Montreal from July 14-August 3, the event will include workshops, and launch events. Screenings and select events will take place in Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinéma du Musée and McCord Museum. The full line-up will be unveiled in June.
Woo, whose credits include Hard Boiled,...
Fantasia International Film Festival will host first wave world premieres for the likes of Rebekah McKendry’s Glorious and Satoshi Miki’s Convenience Story and a career achievement award for John Woo at the upcoming in-person summer edition.
Set to run in Montreal from July 14-August 3, the event will include workshops, and launch events. Screenings and select events will take place in Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinéma du Musée and McCord Museum. The full line-up will be unveiled in June.
Woo, whose credits include Hard Boiled,...
- 5/6/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Chicago – The Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Apuc) series of Chicago opens their Season 12 on March 15th, 2021, through their virtual/online platform, with the Japanese film “The Town of Headcounts.” You can access the film here through March 19th.
Pursued by loan sharks, our nameless protagonist in the film is rescued by a mysterious man in orange overalls, and spirited away to "The Town," where other dropouts hide out from debtors, abusive partners, or the police. It’s a perpetual holiday resort where every comfort – even sex – is catered to, but the arrival of a woman looking for her missing sister uncovers a sinister conspiracy.
The Town of Headcounts (Japan)
Photo credit: AsianPopUpCinema.org
In addition to eight North American and 12 U.S. premieres, the festival will offer selected films from Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mongolia. In addition to the virtual/online line-up, Apuc also...
Pursued by loan sharks, our nameless protagonist in the film is rescued by a mysterious man in orange overalls, and spirited away to "The Town," where other dropouts hide out from debtors, abusive partners, or the police. It’s a perpetual holiday resort where every comfort – even sex – is catered to, but the arrival of a woman looking for her missing sister uncovers a sinister conspiracy.
The Town of Headcounts (Japan)
Photo credit: AsianPopUpCinema.org
In addition to eight North American and 12 U.S. premieres, the festival will offer selected films from Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mongolia. In addition to the virtual/online line-up, Apuc also...
- 3/16/2021
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – The resilient Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Apuc) series of Chicago will begin Season 12 on March 15th, 2021, and will offer a unique three-part hybrid presentation culminating on May 1st. It opens with virtual/online films, then presents an “Oscar Contenders” event and concludes with films at the Lincoln Yards Drive-In.
In addition to eight North American and 12 U.S. premieres, Apuc will offer selected films from Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mongolia. For the first time in Apuc’s history, the lineup will also feature four co-productions directed by non-Asian filmmakers from France/China, France/Cambodia, Canada/Vietnam, and the USA/Philippines. The festival is curated by Founder & Executive Director Sophia Wong Boccio.
Apuc, Season 12
Photo credit: AsianPopUpCinema.org
The Virtual and Online streaming begins March 15th with “The Town of Headcounts” . The Oscar Contenders begin April 1st, and includes the shortlisted “Better Days”. The...
In addition to eight North American and 12 U.S. premieres, Apuc will offer selected films from Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mongolia. For the first time in Apuc’s history, the lineup will also feature four co-productions directed by non-Asian filmmakers from France/China, France/Cambodia, Canada/Vietnam, and the USA/Philippines. The festival is curated by Founder & Executive Director Sophia Wong Boccio.
Apuc, Season 12
Photo credit: AsianPopUpCinema.org
The Virtual and Online streaming begins March 15th with “The Town of Headcounts” . The Oscar Contenders begin April 1st, and includes the shortlisted “Better Days”. The...
- 3/7/2021
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Teruo Ishii’s Shogun’S Joy Of Torture (1968) will be available on Blu-ray February 23rd from Arrow Video
From the outrageous imagination of cult director Teruo Ishii comes this infamous omnibus of three shocking tales of crime and punishment based on true-life documented cases set during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate.
The first tale sees the beautiful Mitsu (Masumi Tachibana) going to horrifying lengths to tend to her older brother Shinz (Teruo Yoshida), a carpenter injured in a work accident, but the law catches up on them and metes out a terrifying retribution after they violate the ultimate taboo. In the second, unfettered passions in a Buddhist nunnery are not allowed to go unpunished after abbess Reih (Yukie Kagawa) and her attendant Rintoku (Naomi Shiraishi) encounter a virile young monk from a neighboring temple. In the closing segment, a sadistic torturer (Fumio Watanabe) attempts to show a tattoo artist (Asao Koike...
From the outrageous imagination of cult director Teruo Ishii comes this infamous omnibus of three shocking tales of crime and punishment based on true-life documented cases set during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate.
The first tale sees the beautiful Mitsu (Masumi Tachibana) going to horrifying lengths to tend to her older brother Shinz (Teruo Yoshida), a carpenter injured in a work accident, but the law catches up on them and metes out a terrifying retribution after they violate the ultimate taboo. In the second, unfettered passions in a Buddhist nunnery are not allowed to go unpunished after abbess Reih (Yukie Kagawa) and her attendant Rintoku (Naomi Shiraishi) encounter a virile young monk from a neighboring temple. In the closing segment, a sadistic torturer (Fumio Watanabe) attempts to show a tattoo artist (Asao Koike...
- 2/22/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It's a comedy about bringing back dad from the dead! "The feature debut of TV ad director Shinji Hamasaki." according to Mark Schilling in The Japan Times, Not Quite Dead Yet (original title: Ichido Shinde Mita ) released in Japanese cinemas earlier this year and is heading for release in Hong Kong cinemas on October 22. It's also out this week in Japan on Blu-ray and DVD. The premise and the trailer, which you can watch below, are inviting, especially during a month in which the release calendar is dominated by moody dramas and sharp-edged thrillers: a busy executive and his daughter have a rocky relationship, then he dies, then she tries to bring him back to life. Sounds fun! The film itself is not...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/8/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Awai Books has released a new book titled “Art, Cult and Commerce: Japanese Cinema Since 2000” by legendary film critic Mark Schilling, with illustration by Tomoki Watanabe.
About the Book
From popular genre films to cult avant-garde works, this book is an essential guide to Japan’s vibrant cinema culture. It collects two decades of the best of Mark Schilling’s film writing for Variety, Japan Times, and other publications. The book offers an in-depth look at hundreds of landmark Japanese movies as well as undeservedly neglected ones. The essays and detailed analyses are interwoven with more than sixty interviews showcasing Japan’s most talented directors and stars. This book enables students, teachers, and lovers of Japanese cinema to make new discoveries while learning more about their favorite films.
About the Author
Mark Schilling set off for Japan in 1975 to immerse himself in the culture, learn the language, and haunt the theaters.
About the Book
From popular genre films to cult avant-garde works, this book is an essential guide to Japan’s vibrant cinema culture. It collects two decades of the best of Mark Schilling’s film writing for Variety, Japan Times, and other publications. The book offers an in-depth look at hundreds of landmark Japanese movies as well as undeservedly neglected ones. The essays and detailed analyses are interwoven with more than sixty interviews showcasing Japan’s most talented directors and stars. This book enables students, teachers, and lovers of Japanese cinema to make new discoveries while learning more about their favorite films.
About the Author
Mark Schilling set off for Japan in 1975 to immerse himself in the culture, learn the language, and haunt the theaters.
- 3/25/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema has announced the full line-up for its 10th Season including 16 new films from across Asia. Season Ten runs for five-weeks from March 10 through April 9, 2020. Each week will be dedicated to highlighting films from the same geographic location with one film shown on different days each week. A majority of the screenings will be presented at the festival’s primary venue, AMC River East 21. Select titles are screened at collaborative partners’ premises: Chicago Filmmakers, Alliance Française de Chicago, and the Chinese American Museum.
Asian Pop-Up Cinema’s Season Ten opens by honoring Hong Kong filmmaking with two North American Premieres starting with “I’m Livin it” on March 10. Nominated for 10 awards from the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, “I’m Livin It”, tells the story of a man who was once a star in his finance firm (Aaron Kwok), but now spends his life in a...
Asian Pop-Up Cinema’s Season Ten opens by honoring Hong Kong filmmaking with two North American Premieres starting with “I’m Livin it” on March 10. Nominated for 10 awards from the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, “I’m Livin It”, tells the story of a man who was once a star in his finance firm (Aaron Kwok), but now spends his life in a...
- 2/27/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Films about awkward, immature adults that seem to have no romantic future whatsoever can be found in abundance in Japanese cinema. Masahide Ichii, however, manages to distinguish his film by introducing a blind young woman as the second member of the narrative. Let us take things from the beginning though.
Blindly in Love is part of the 2019 Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
35-year old Kentaro is an introverted young man, who, despite having a job in city hall for 13 years, still lives with his parents in his childhood room, spending all his free time playing video games. He has no friends, except from a pet frog, has never dated a woman, and in essence, does nothing that “regular” adults do. His parents, worried about his future (and the loss of the family name), attend a matchmaking event in the hopes of arranging an omiai (formal marriage interview). Eventually they find a beautiful girl,...
Blindly in Love is part of the 2019 Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
35-year old Kentaro is an introverted young man, who, despite having a job in city hall for 13 years, still lives with his parents in his childhood room, spending all his free time playing video games. He has no friends, except from a pet frog, has never dated a woman, and in essence, does nothing that “regular” adults do. His parents, worried about his future (and the loss of the family name), attend a matchmaking event in the hopes of arranging an omiai (formal marriage interview). Eventually they find a beautiful girl,...
- 1/11/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Analyzing Takashi Miike under the aspect of foreigness, “The Guys from Paradise” marks another entry adding up to his earlier movies like “Black Triad Trilogy” or “The Bird People in China”. This time he sends Japanese Salaryman Kohei off to the Philippines for a comical jail drama.
Innocent but convicted for drug trafficking on a business trip, Kohei finds himself in a prison cell in Manila. But being among with six other Japanese inmates, he quickly manages to move in and out the prison freely while the corrupt guards take bribes and keep a blind eye to the drug dealing that the group is organizing within the prison walls. The business of the Japanese group is disturbed by rival Philippine gangs and a discovery of stolen diamonds spices up the whole plot.
The contradiction between the local Philippines and the Japanese, who find themselves in a fish-out-of-the-water scenario at first,...
Innocent but convicted for drug trafficking on a business trip, Kohei finds himself in a prison cell in Manila. But being among with six other Japanese inmates, he quickly manages to move in and out the prison freely while the corrupt guards take bribes and keep a blind eye to the drug dealing that the group is organizing within the prison walls. The business of the Japanese group is disturbed by rival Philippine gangs and a discovery of stolen diamonds spices up the whole plot.
The contradiction between the local Philippines and the Japanese, who find themselves in a fish-out-of-the-water scenario at first,...
- 12/19/2018
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
“Dear God, please don’t erase that memory.”
History is full of examples of art and an artist’s motivation as the driving forces behind great works in any medium. However, it is rare to see the artist actually in motion, creating his work and to witness inspiration and creativity bringing something new to life. There are many famous examples, from the video footage of Jackson Pollock painting or Henri-Gorges Clouzot’s “The Mystery of Picasso” depicting the famous Spanish artist creating unique works of art. Whatever it is that drives these figures forward, whether we call it beauty, an inner voice or an artist’s spirit, it is a force which will not extinguish easily, and will also still be there in the works left behind.
In the case of Japanese musician and painter Hiroki Morimoto, better known under his stage name Goma, this drive is not only the foundation for his work,...
History is full of examples of art and an artist’s motivation as the driving forces behind great works in any medium. However, it is rare to see the artist actually in motion, creating his work and to witness inspiration and creativity bringing something new to life. There are many famous examples, from the video footage of Jackson Pollock painting or Henri-Gorges Clouzot’s “The Mystery of Picasso” depicting the famous Spanish artist creating unique works of art. Whatever it is that drives these figures forward, whether we call it beauty, an inner voice or an artist’s spirit, it is a force which will not extinguish easily, and will also still be there in the works left behind.
In the case of Japanese musician and painter Hiroki Morimoto, better known under his stage name Goma, this drive is not only the foundation for his work,...
- 8/5/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
“I really thought I could change.”
In general sibling rivalry is one of the oldest themes of mankind, a foundation for countless tales in art, film and literature. Ever since the story of Cain and Abel the focus has mostly been on brothers or sisters being enemies defined by envy and constant arguments. On the other hand the opposite, for example the happy family of sitcoms or sibling harmony as in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Our Little Sister” (2015) does exist, but is rarely used. In the end, being enemies makes for a more dramatic and dynamic story perhaps. Or maybe it is just something which derives from a general experience of growing up with brothers and/or sisters.
More precisely, stories of rivalry rather than happiness are more common. In an article for the magazine “Psychology Today” author Jane Mersky Leder shares some insights into what seems to be popular narratives...
In general sibling rivalry is one of the oldest themes of mankind, a foundation for countless tales in art, film and literature. Ever since the story of Cain and Abel the focus has mostly been on brothers or sisters being enemies defined by envy and constant arguments. On the other hand the opposite, for example the happy family of sitcoms or sibling harmony as in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Our Little Sister” (2015) does exist, but is rarely used. In the end, being enemies makes for a more dramatic and dynamic story perhaps. Or maybe it is just something which derives from a general experience of growing up with brothers and/or sisters.
More precisely, stories of rivalry rather than happiness are more common. In an article for the magazine “Psychology Today” author Jane Mersky Leder shares some insights into what seems to be popular narratives...
- 7/29/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Cult director Teruo Ishii presents a nightmarish, hallucinogenic tale drawn from the fevered imagination of Japan’s celebrated pioneer ofero-guro (“erotic grotesque”) literature, Edogawa Rampo.
Medical student Hirosuke Hitomi slips out of the asylum in which he has been wrongfully confined and stealthily assumes the identity of a recently deceased nobleman with whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Hirosuke eases his way into the nobleman’s household and his dead double’s marital bed. But as long-repressed memories begin to bubble to the surface, he soon finds himself drawn to a remote isle where he is confronted by a mad scientist and his malformed men, and discovers the key that will unlock some long-suppressed mysteries of his own.
A dark labyrinth of the monstrous and perverse that fuses mystery and horror while incorporating motifs from a myriad of Rampo’s tales, Horrors of Malformed Men boasts astonishing...
Medical student Hirosuke Hitomi slips out of the asylum in which he has been wrongfully confined and stealthily assumes the identity of a recently deceased nobleman with whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Hirosuke eases his way into the nobleman’s household and his dead double’s marital bed. But as long-repressed memories begin to bubble to the surface, he soon finds himself drawn to a remote isle where he is confronted by a mad scientist and his malformed men, and discovers the key that will unlock some long-suppressed mysteries of his own.
A dark labyrinth of the monstrous and perverse that fuses mystery and horror while incorporating motifs from a myriad of Rampo’s tales, Horrors of Malformed Men boasts astonishing...
- 6/23/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
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