Breathless Lovers [Short Film] - 2017

Toshiyuki, the breathless lover.

Director: Shumpei Shimizu

Notable Cast: Kaito Yoshimura, Fusako Urabe, Daisuke Kuroda, Atsushi Shinohara

Toshiyuki is a young man who recently lost his boyfriend, Tatsuya, during a motorcycle the two were involved in. While Tatsuya left him behind, Toshiyuki becomes obsessed in trying to connect with his lover in the afterlife. He has developed a phobia of riding motorcycles or vehicles in general since the tragic crash, and instead treks on foot wherever he must venture. He shouldn't be traversing in this manner however, as he suffers from severe asthma. Furthermore, whilst trying to bond with Tatsuya pathologically, he sets out to do the training regimen that involves running for long periods and extensive boxing training at the gym in which he once trained. Struggling to catch his breath, Toshiyuki continues to struggle to connect with his long lost love.

Breathless Lovers is simply one of the finest short works I've ever seen. It's a quick watch, very impacting, and will leave you questioning its ambiguous ending and many themes that it manages to explore in such a short time, nineteen minutes and some change to be exact. I think choosing to do this work as a short film versus a feature length narrative really works to its advantage. It sticks in your mind and is surely one to haunt you for a while. It's dark and chilling in its effectively brooding atmosphere. The cinematography is in high-contrast and emphasizes the shadowy corners of Tokyo, from alleyways to bridges, every inch of the screen is filled with a sense of dread and is beneficial to the overall experience. The sound design, and in a sense acting as the score of the piece, consists of clinking of metal by the tools of workers in the construction surrounding our lead, and the sound of non-stop traffic passing by on the busy streets. It's extremely claustrophobic to the senses, and further adds to the thematic suffocation of Toshiyuki's mourning.

Absolutely stunning and atmospheric cinematography.

Kaito Yoshimura delivers a perfect performance, both physically and emotionally as the man in mourning. His character is only a mere 23 years of age, and while age doesn't entirely factor in to traumatic loss, for the most part, his youth is stripped away from him in an instant as his life spirals into to total bleakness and gives him a sense of misdirection. He has not a clue with what to do with himself, as one would, and I think he encapsulates the mind of a broken person who has just gone through such a horrible experience. Things go in a bold direction at a certain point, but Kaito Yoshimura handles it with ease and makes the scene believable no matter how odd or hard to watch the scene at hand is. With his wonderful and fun performance in Eiji Uchida's Love & Other Cults, coupled with this phenomenal and strong turnout, I believe he will be an actor to keep an eye on in Japan. As for the director, seeing this short film, and being completely taken aback by it has me immediately desiring to seek out his potential works in the future. I believe he made a film before this, but unfortunately I cannot find any information there, but regardless, with this much gravitas and perfection the execution of this short feature, I must keep an eye out on the filmmaker as I believe he will go on to do extraordinary things.

I didn't think a short film, with no disregard to the format in any manner, would effect me so greatly and leave a lasting impression on so many levels. As I said before, it is made with complete confidence in not only its style, but in its thematic exploration of subject matter and bravely goes into the direction which it does, which is to be commended. Breathless Lovers isn't a feelgood film by any means, but it strikes deep and gets you thinking when it's all said and done, and every praise for this little slice of cinema is more than well warranted. There's a lot to appreciate and take in here for a work of such short duration. Alas, it isn't the about the length of a film, but the value of the contents therein and with Shumpei Shimizu's haunting tale, it doesn't get much more valuable than this. Most certainly a cinematic highlight of 2017. If ever given the opportunity, seek this one out!

Written by Josh Parmer

Tokyo Idols (2017)

Director: Kyoko Miyake

A fascinatingly chilling documentary that focuses on the young and upcoming idol, Rio. She is 19 years of age and has a small but loyal fanbase that seems to love her, quite literally. Interspersed with Rio's ongoing journey of rising to fame, we see a select few other idols, quite younger than even her that bring a disturbing look at society's sickening fascination with idolized youth. The level of obsession with celebrities and these young women that these men worship is the common thread that this film examines thoroughly in one of the most effective and haunting docs I've seen since perhaps Oppenheimer's Act of Killing.



Before we get this going, I'm quite aware that cultures are vastly different from one another and the idea of physical beauty and love itself is viewed to some varying degree, but there is no denying that what is going on here is not only disturbing but plain crazy in almost every manner. These young women truly believe that what they are doing is right, to conform to and project their beauty upon these broken men. In a country where women are still oppressed to an extent (insert country with greater oppression here), many think the only way to succeed and be celebrated is to go the route of becoming an idol. For those unfamiliar, in Japan an idol is a young girl, often between the age of 10-15, that dresses glamorously and produces pop music to perform on stage, in front of groups of 'fans', typically male, ranging from young adults to the elderly. In general these men in turn idolize and obsess over these young girls, often claiming some sort of love towards them, though they know typically that there is never a chance of anything actually ever blooming into fruition.

Love and Other Cults (2017)

Director: Eiji Uchida

Notable Cast: Sairi Itoh, Kenta Suga, Kaito Yoshimura, Hanae Kan, Ami Tomite, Antony, Hana Matsumoto, Nanami Kawakami, Katsuya Maiguma, Matthew Chozick, Taro Yabe, Yoshimasa Kando, Denden


Eiji Uchida has become a household name with indie distributor Third Window Films, leading the company to jump into the production world 100% on their own with Lowlife Love. With the surprise success of said project, Adam (TWF) and Eiji have teamed up once again for another crazy and wonderful production... Love and Other Cults.

Ai is a girl who is budding into a young woman, but the world she inhabits seems to vehemently reject her existence, and she finds herself hopping about various groups of living, seemingly absorbing herself in blend as a chameleon, only to shortly thereafter continue that hop. Along the way she meets some interesting characters, all nasty in a certain sense, but as the story unfolds, so do the reasons behind these characters brokenness.

Destruction Babies (2016)

Director: Tetsuya Mariko
Notable Cast: Yuya Yagira, Masaki Suda, Nana Komatsu, Nijiro Murakami, Denden

Destruction (Distraction) Babies is officially one of the most nihilistic pieces of work I've ever witnessed! Taira (Yuya Yagira) is a young man on a swift path of desctruction. The opening features him beating and being beaten to a pulp. He gets up, brushes off, and goes at it again. Rinse and repeat over the next 108 minutes and you have this film done. I could essentially say nothing further, and just recommend the film, but that defeats the purpose of a review.

Taira has a brother named Shota (Nijiro Murikami) who spends the movie in search of his violent brother after he leaves their small hometown, to set the world ablaze. The movie never really develops a plot, nor are there any likable characters, whatsoever. That is what works about this film so well. Everything is so cold, so heinous, and absolutely disgusting, that you can't help but be pulled in. It's the whole "I shouldn't have scene that", but for an entire movie. It's exhausting, and honestly a tough watch, but it is so well made, and so intense, that the movie demands your attention.