Life Finds a Way (2019)

Director: Hirobumi Watanabe

Notable Cast: Hirobumi Watanabe, Takahori Kurosaki, Misao Hirayama, Riko Hisatsugu, Akitada Iso, Tomio Tsukui

Previously, indie filmmaking meistro Hirobumi Watanabe delivered the strong but all too familiar Party 'Round the Globe back in 2017, which being his forth feature film, whilst it did impress me overall, was starting to feel as if Watanabe was too comfortably sank down into his own cinematic world of sorts. With this fifth and newest offering, Life Finds a Way, Hirobumi Watanabe delivers his funniest effort yet via the sharply written metafiction that deconstructs the entirety of his being as an artist and personality in general.

As in his previous works, we see Hirobumi, playing himself here this time around, partaking in the mundane day to day activities that anyone can quickly relate to, although it is a decidedly hilarious focus on his laziness that bounds said regularity together. He takes plenty of jabs at himself in this film and having followed his career since the Mudship days and having a personal relationship of sorts with him through online conversations over the years, it's great just how much of it draws from reality and specific moments during his career thus far, albeit and for comedic effect, many things are exaggerated.

Cambodian Textiles (2017)

Director: Tatsuhito Utagawa

Featuring: Kikuo Morimoto

Kikuo Morimoto, a Japanese native from Kyoto, travelled to Cambodia after its civil war, where the art of traditional textile weaving was practically extinct. He renovated a large piece of land and created a village that strived in this near forgotten art, crafting a successful economy and a village that has a lot if heart. During the time this documentary was made, Morimoto had revealed he was diagnosed with skin cancer and opted to not receive treatment, but to rather let life go its own pace on him. We see roughly two years of he and the locals lives as he inches closer to his departure and reflects on the state of Cambodian textiles and the community he helped build all these years ago.

Party 'Round the Globe (2017)

Director: Hirobumi Watanabe

Notable Cast: Gaku Imamura, Hirobumi Watanabe, Ringo

Premiering at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, Hirobumi Watanabe's forth feature film, Party 'Round the Globe, trots familiar territory whilst also feeling somewhat fresh as it morphs into a celebration of cinema, music, baseball and really just life itself. Does it chart new ground? Not really, but fans of Watanabe's style will most certainly find themselves in for a treat as his gorgeous black and white, witty examination of life continues, this time in a electronics shop.

I absolutely adore Watanabe and his cinematic worlds, and for those who know me, have heard time and time again that Poolsideman, the filmmaker's previous, is easily my favorite film of 2017, and that still stands as we are quickly beginning to draw near the end of this year's cycle. That film took everything I loved about this previous two works and mixed them into something totally original and very impacting. Everything about that film clicked and just worked for me. The social commentary and character study Poolsideman examines crafts and timely and masterful piece of work by a director very early into his career, with his debut And the Mud Ship Sails Away, only having come out in 2013. Perhaps nothing will reach the heights of that film again for me, but going into Party I was excited, and ultimately it doesn't disappoint, though it may perhaps be my least favorite Watanabe outing to date.

Birds (Working Title) [Short Film] (2016)

Director: Koji Fukada

Cast: Minako Inoue, Takenori Kaneko, Yuko Kibiki, Hiroaki Morooka, Nao Yoshigai, Tomoyuki Ito

JAPAN CUTS 2017:

A brief, but very memorable comedy about a man, his lover, and a young woman with whom he is betraying his lover with. A dialogue begins between the three in this time of discomfort, and things take an unexpected turn.

Typically I don't have much to say about short films and I guess that trend continues here, but I can say I was genuinely surprised by this small piece. I'm certain there is something under the surface and more to be said than what is spoken. Firstly, it's meant to be laughed over and it provides just that in rapid succession of witty banter between our trio of leads.

I can't say much more than this for fear of spoiling. It's only 7 minutes in length, but this small handful of minutes is all it took to create something genuinely unique that has stuck in my head and provided me with a good chuckle throughout my day. As I said, it may be something that comes and goes a bit quicker than one might hope for, but it is one that will absolutely stick with you. I am a big fan of Koji Fukada, and this deserves to be seen by as many of his fans as possible.

Really hoping to see this be included as a special feature in a home media release of one of Fukada's future projects. If regularly made available, I would certainly recommend seeing this one. Truly funny stuff!

Written by Josh Parmer

Going the Distance (2016)

Director: Yujiro Harumoto

Cast: Shinichiro Matsuura, Masahiro Umeda, Yumi Endo, Nobu Morimoto, Koji Mitsumizo, Sanae Ono, Mami Shimogaki, Maki Taki, Kyoko Fukuba

Asahi is a man from the Gotō Islands, who now resides in Tokyo, making his living as a boxing trainer. He is living with his fiancee, Kaori, whom he plans to be married to very soon. The two seem happy together as they are working on the wedding and making arrangements towards that very special day. Asahi invites his childhood friend Hiroto to Tokyo, to help him find a job, and surprise him with a wedding invitation. The two land a deal with a local businessman but we quickly find out they were scammed and Hiroto is in financial ruin. Things begin to quickly fracture in Asahi's daily life, presenting him with an nearly impossible choice to make, family of the past, or that of the future?

At the Terrace (2016)

Director: Kenji Yamauchi

Cast: Kei Ishibashi, Kami Hiraiwa, Ryuta Furuya, Kenji Iwatani, Hiroaki Morooka, Takashi Okabe, Atsushi Hashimoto

JAPAN CUTS 2017:

Folding out like a stage play, Kenji Yamauchi's At the Terrace takes place all on one location, the terrace, attached to a large mansion, where the owners are hosting a party. A woman walks out from behind the curtains on to this terrace, slowly followed by a young man from another side of the house. He seems infatuated by her, trying to garner her attention, without being too obvious. After letting out a pathetic sigh, another woman, the owner's wife, walks upon the terrace and starts to call out the man for his desires. This is just the scratched surface of the confrontational banter to come between our seven characters who come and go from this particular place.

Poolsideman (2016)

Director: Hirobumi Watanabe

Notable Cast: Gaku Imamura, Hirobumi Watanabe

Continuing in the beautiful black and white cinematography that I believe Watanabe will do the entirety of his career with, which I am okay with 100 percent, Poolsideman blends the slow moving, observational elements of 7 Days and injects it with the black humor of And the Mudship Sails Away..., creating a film that seems to work to the strengths of the filmmaker, and is his best work thus far in my mind, though I put 7 Days right alongside it. Let me explain...

Gaku Imamura makes his acting debut as a man working at an inside pool building, in a city north of Tokyo, that seems to avoid all the chaos plaguing the rest of the world. This poolside man, spends every day working here, going through his very set routine, bored out of his mind, slowly crawling through the days. The film really makes a point of showing just how tedious and dull his daily life is. 7 Days uses this same method of the mundane to showcase the realness of life and captures time in the same way that someone like Tsai Ming-liang (Stray Dogs) does so well. It is absolutely slow, yet visually captivating and ultimately rewarding. Here, we really feel for the man's turtle-paced life, desperately wanting to see him break out and move on to better things, but he, like many others, is completely trapped in his own world, though he seems to be completely unaware of how easy it would be to just... leave.

Gaku Imamura gives a haunting performance debut!

The film gets a lot deeper than that, when we see that he never talks to his very, very chatty coworkers who speak a million words a minute on their breaks. He just sits there, like a bump on a log, antisocial, and even though they are at the same small table, somehow, he feels miles away from the company surrounding him. I don't want to delve to deeply on this, as really there isn't much to the film, in terms of things that happen. Again, the days are repeated, with subtle variations on the same repetitions. Another plot point, which I can focus on, is that one fine day another poolside man comes to our bored lead's place of employment, and he is played very hilariously by the director himself, Hirobumi Watanabe (7 Days).

I believe the most memorable parts of Poolsideman are when the two are chatting in their commutes to and from work. Our lead drives, saying nothing as usual, and occasionally lighting up a cigarette, while Hirobumi's character rattles random thoughts off the top of his head, and he is a big manga and anime nerd, providing some of the funniest monologues I've ever heard, including one where he says it is impossible to communicate with younger people, especially One Piece fans. I can't remember the dialogue to a tee, but it was absolutely hilarious. Still, the main character never once speaks.

"I am from the Dragonball generation!"

The choice of no dialogue here has its purpose, though the reasoning here versus Watanabe's previous work, are for two totally different reasons. There is something bubbling under the surface, though what, I don't want to spoil. The character soaks himself in the most awful and disturbing news of the war and terror that is surrounding the world as we speak. It echoes and takes these real moments happening around us in real life, and throws them at you repeatedly throughout here, and is a sad reminder of just how dark our existence as a species is becoming. Again, I don't want to ruin anything, but the final act, and the last scene are really something powerful and will stick with you long after the credits roll.

Yes, Watanabe's adorable grandmother has
 a brief appearance in this film as well.

Poolsideman started up, and I really thought it was just going to be a rehashed 7 Days, just at a pool building setting versus a farm life setting, but as it goes on it morphs into something totally different, and in ways a lot deeper. It is sort of blatant in its political showcasing, but it doesn't really take sides. I mean that the hero has his beliefs, though they are sort of open-ended to an extent, but it just chillingly provides a large barrage of vileness that people seem to have become desensitized to. It's sad, but a reality. This film ended up being far more interesting that I thought it would be, and is a total unseen gem. Such a shame that his works, aside from his debut, are practically nonexistent outside of Japan. Hoping some brave indie label comes along and snatches up Watanabe's works. He really needs to be known, and here's to hoping that just that very thing happens one day.

Written by Josh Parmer