Once Upon a Time in Japan
Once Upon a Time in Japan examines the country’s past through the eyes of contemporary filmmakers such as Koreeda and Takashi Miike. Characterising a trend in recent Japanese cinema, this year’s programme showcases a series of works by both emerging and established filmmakers whose aim is to reinterpret, reinvent or relive moments of times past.
Through a variety of genres, styles and tones, from horror, drama, action to animation, this programme aims to give UK audiences the broadest and most colourful insight into Japan’s history than any of our past Japan film seasons, and explore how the past has been brought to life through the eyes of contemporary filmmakers.
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is produced and organised by the Japan Foundation with kind support from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
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Rebirth (Yokame No Semi)
1 February 2013
Based on the popular novel by Mitsuyo Kakuta, Izuru Narushima’s acclaimed drama questioning nature over nurture scooped an astounding 11 awards at the 2012 Japanese Academy Awards 2012.
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Hula Girls (Hura garu)
2 February 2013
Based on a true story, Hula Girls is a heart-warming comedy about coal miners’ daughters who took a once-in-a-lifetime chance to escape their monotonous lives.
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Kaidan Horror Classics (Ayashiki bungo kaidan)
2 February 2013
Three haunting stories written by Japanese literary masters, reinterpreted and revived by some of Japan’s greatest directors.
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Ninja Kids!!! (Nintama rantaro)
2 February 2013
This wacky live-action adaptation of the long-running children’s cartoon Nintama Rantaro is full of slapstick gags and comic schemes from the warped mind of the ever prolific director Takashi Miike.
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Mai Mai Miracle (Maimai shinko to sennen no maho)
3 February 2013
Adapted from Nobuko Takagi’s famous novel, Mai Mai Miracle is a beautifully animated nostalgic tale of friendship in post-war Japan
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Zero Focus (Zero no shoten)
3 February 2013 - 5 February 2013
Isshin Inudo’s gripping Hitchcockian murder-mystery set in the beautiful location of post war Kanazawa features an all-star female cast in an adaptation of the celebrated crime novel by Seicho Matsumoto and revival of the classic 1961 Yoshitaro Nomura film.
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Castle under Fiery Skies (Katen no shiro)
3 February 2013
In the Age of the Country at War, peasant carpenter Motaemon Okabe (Toshiyuki Nishida) renowned for his ‘divine hands’ is summoned by Lord Nobunaga to oversee the mammoth task of construction of the fabled 7 story fortress Azuchi Castle.
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The Blossoming of Etsuko Kamiya (Kamiya Etsuko no seishun)
5 February 2013
A tragic yet quaint love story set in Kagoshima as the Second World War drew to a close, this film, based on a stage play by Masataka Matsuda, is Kazuo Kuroki’s final work before his death in 2006.
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Bubble Fiction: Boom or Bust (Baburu e go!: Taimu mashin wa doramu-shiki)
6 February 2013
Yasuo Baba’s 2007 time-travel comedy is a hilarious satire of bubble-era Japan, filled with nostalgic gags, retro fashion and music, guaranteed to lift your spirits and cast away the recession blues.
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United Red Army (Jitsuroku: Rengo Sekigun Asama-sanso e no michi)
7 February 2013
Koji Wakamatsu’s three-hour docu-drama epic traces the rise and self-destructive collapse of one the most radical of political groups in the 1960s; the United Red Army.