Arrietty

Madman Entertainment are releasing the film ARRIETTY on 12 January 2012. It is from Studio Ghibli – creators of other animated masterpieces ‘Spirited Away’, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and ‘Ponyo’.

The film opens January 12 and here in Perth it will be screening at Luna Leederville, Luna SX, Hoyts Carousel and Event Cinemas Innaloo.

This is a story of a family “little” people.

Beneath the floorboards of a sprawling mansion set in a magical, overgrown garden in the suburbs of Tokyo, tiny 14-year-old Arrietty lives with her equally tiny parents. The house is occupied by two old ladies, who are absolutely unaware of the existence of their miniature tenants. Arrietty and her family live by “borrowing”. Everything they have, they borrow or make from the things they have borrowed. Essentials like gas, water and food. Tables, chairs, cooking utensils. And treats – a sugar cube here, a scrap of material there. But only a little each time, so the ladies do not notice.

A 12-year-old boy, Sho, moves into the mansion while he waits for urgent medical treatment in the city. Arrietty’s parents have always warned her: “Never let humans see you.” Once seen, little people always have to move on. But the adventurous Arrietty doesn’t listen, and Sho discovers her.

The two begin to confide in each other and, before long, a friendship begins to blossom…

We have a few family passes to give away. If you’d like one, please email us via the contact link above and let us know why! Entries due by 20 Jan 2012. Winners will be contacted. Good luck!

Trailer link here.

GATE: Atomic Flame

On Tuesday April 20 2010 (in English) and Wednesday April 21 2010 (in Japanese), St David’s Church Hall at 54 Simpson Street Ardross is the venue for the screening of GATE: Atomic Flame, a documentary produced by the Global Nuclear Disarmament Fund.

In the shadow of the ominous Doomsday Clock, Japanese Zen monks reveal the 60-year-long journey to intervene in the self-destructive fate of humanity set in motion by the Atomic Bomb.

Having just 25 days to retrace the path of the Atomic Bomb, on foot, over mountains and across deserts from San Francisco to Trinity, the monks set out on what will become the final leg of a journey. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, and with the support of people from all walks of life, religions and nationalities, the monks must convince the United States government to open the gate to the Trinity Site for the first time in 60 years.

Doors open at 6:30 on both nights, with screening to start at 7pm. A small note donation is suggested, with all proceeds going to nuclear disarmament. Feel free to bring soft drinks and cushions.

Details are on this flyer.

Enquiries are to gateperth@gmail.com or 0411 725 135.

Japanese Movies - 16 April 2009 - One Missed Call

On Thursday 16 April 2009 (early Friday morning) from 12:00 am, SBS is screening the high school J-horror flick 着信アリ – One Missed Call).

During an evening get-together with friends, Murasaki Yoko’s cell phone suddenly rings in an unusual tone. Not recognizing the tone, Yoko doesn’t pick up soon enough and the call goes into “voice mail” (chakushin). When she sees that the call/message was from her own phone number and dated two days into the future both she and her friend Nakamura Yumi listen intently to the message. What they hear is the voice of Yoko in casual chit-chat, followed by a horrendous scream, and then dead silence.

Of course the two girls attempt to laugh this off and even share the story with their friends, but when Yumi receives a phone call on the very moment…

Dark Water & Evangelion

SBS has been kind enough to give us several hours of Japanese TV tonight (Monday 12 Jan 2009). From 11:25pm, it’s the horrific Dark Water (仄暗い水の底から)).

From the director of The Ring movies, Hideo Nakata, this film follows a single mother who moves into an apartment building that is haunted by a girl’s ghost. Yoshimi Matsubara is going through a messy divorce over the custody of her five-year-old daughter Ikuko and her husband insists that she is mentally unstable. Yoshimi is determined to start a new life with her daughter and moves to a new apartment.

But this dark and musty apartment building holds unimagined horrors. Water drips from the ceiling, and as the volume increases, Yoshimi investigates by going to the apartment above. While it is empty, when the door is ajar she glimpses a little girl in a yellow plastic raincoat. It turns out that this child died two years previously. The little girl re-appears, with devastating consequences.

Dark Water is subtitled in English. Here’s some interesting info from Wikipedia:

A U.S. remake of the film, directed by Walter Salles and starring Jennifer Connelly, was released on July 8, 2005.
A possible Indian remake of the film has been announced, starring Kareena Kapoor.

From 1am, more Evangelion.

Tony Takitani

Like Haruki Murakami? Yeah, yeah, get in line. And while you’re waiting, check out Tony Takitani – on SBS this Thursday, 6 November 2008, from 10:05 pm. Japanese with English subtitles.

Because of his Western name, Tony was shunned by other kids and spent a solitary childhood. Though gifted as an artist, his drawings lacked feeling, so as an adult, he carved a career as a technical illustrator. In middle age, the reclusive Tony falls for a pretty young woman, Eiko Konuma, who visits him one day on business. Eiko is like an angel in Tony’s daily existence, and for the first time in his life, he feels connected to the outside world. However, Eiko does have one (fatal) fault: she’s a clothing shopaholic.

This movie is actually far more melancholic than the blurb suggests. It’s not typical Murakami (although the lead might seem familiar), but it is based on one of his short stories. Enjoy it – but you will feel terrible at the end.

Japanese Film Festival 2008

From 5-14 November 2008, the annual Japanese Film Festival will be held at the State Library of Western Australia.

Admission is free, but you need to pick up a ticket (limit of 2 per person) from the State Library Shop at 25 Francis Street. Tickets are available from this Saturday, 24 October, and normally disappear fast.

All movies start from 7pm (doors open from 6:30).

The lineup and schedule (including an Otoko wa tsurai yo! fest) is:

Always – Sunset on Third Street (PG) Wednesday 5 November

Based on Japan’s best-loved comic book series Sunset on Third Street, this multi-Japanese Academy Award winning film takes viewers on a nostalgic journey back to Tokyo circa 1958. Set in the old residential area of Yuhi, Tokyo, this moving story of hope reveals the lives and struggles of ordinary residents in a time of economic depression. The heart-warming residents of Third Street will surprise you with their optimistic outlook in life that demonstrate the inner strength of a blue-collar community.

Love and Honour (M) Thursday 6 November

Young samurai Shinnojo’s world is shattered when he loses his vision after a tragic poisoning and loses his wife to his sly superior and renowned swordsman, Shimada. After discovering that he has been deceived by deceitful plans, the blind Shinnojo challenges Shimada to a duel in a passionate battle to regain his love and honor.

The Girl who Leapt Through Time (PG) Friday 7 November

When 17-year-old Makoto gains the ability to leap backwards through time, she sets about preventing personal mishaps. Yet she soon realises that changing the past isn’t so simple! Can she use her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends?

Tora-san’s Rise and Fall (G) Thursday 13 November

Tora-san is travelling around the northern part of Japan. During his travels he meets a strange middle-aged man who has left home to find the woman he first loved.

Tora-san’s Forbidden Love (G) Friday 14 November

Tora-san meets a high-flying young stock-broker and, after a long night of drinking, ends up at his house where he meets the stockbroker’s wife. He feels a secret attraction for her…

Japanese Film: Aragami - The Raging God of Battle

On Thursday night (Friday morning) 18/19 September 2008 from 1 am, SBS is screening Aragami, a 2003 Japanese action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. It was Kitamura’s contribution to the Duel Project, a challenge issued by producer Shinya Kawai to him and fellow director Yukihiko Tsutsumi to film a feature length movie with only two actors, battling in one setting, in only the time frame of one week. The other movie in the Project was 2LDK, which was on SBS earlier this year.

Two seriously wounded samurai find refuge from a storm at an isolated temple, the home of a swordsman and a mysterious young woman.

One samurai awakes to find that not only has his comrade died, but that his wounds have miraculously healed. He discovers that he has been given the power of immortality by the swordsman, a man once known as the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, who now lives an endless existence as Aragami, a “god of battle”.

Starring Takao Osawa, Masaya Kato and Kanae Uotani.

Japanese with English subtitles – perfect for language learners of either!

Japanese movies: 22-01-08

Just a quick note to let everyone know that tomorrow night, Tuesday January 22, SBS has two Japan-related films on that look well worth checking out.

From 10pm, Hot Docs features Young Yakuza:

Yakuza is a term which originally stems from the world of gambling, but the word, literally meaning ‘eight-nine-three’, has other connotations. In Japan, more than 86,000 so-called yakuza are members of consortiums that are fronts for the mafia. The yakuza are led by dictatorial bosses and operate in a world with its own set of rules. In contemporary Japan, it is hard to find enough subservient and reliable disciples, who can be accepted into the clan after a one-year internship. Young Yakuza follows one of them, a 20-year-old freeloader named Naoki, who interns with one of the leading consortiums: the Kumagai clan in Tokyo’s Shinagawa district.

From 11:40pm, it’s the movie that tries to capture a unique demographic: Japanese surfers in Australia. I love films that concentrate on one particular subculture – if you do too, check out Bondi Tsunami:

Two young Japanese surfers, philosophical Shark and happy-go-lucky Yuto, set off on a road trip in an old Holden station-wagon up the east coast of Australia, stopping at beaches to go surfing. The pair soon pick up a pretty Japanese girl, Kimiko, an obsessive souvenir soft-toy buyer and fashion victim, and later a mystery man with cool dreadlocks. As they travel, they discover Australian culture along the way, as strange as the Big Sheep, the Big Pineapple and beetroot in hamburgers. The vast landscape inspires Shark’s soul searching. The taciturn passenger, whom they now call Ganja Man, becomes even more mystical when he calls up great surf and when he disappears in the desert for a surf.

Thanks, SBS!

Revelation and Tezuka - Special Interview!

The 10th anniversary of the famous Revelation Perth International Film Festival starts this week. As usual, there are heaps of excellent films on (check out the PDF timetable), but this year in particular we are lucky enough to have a special touring program, Focus on Tezuka – curated by the multi-talented anime and manga expert Philip Brophy – which will feature several pieces by Osamu Tezuka , the man acclaimed as the father of anime.

Tezuka is probably most well known in Australia as the creator of Astro Boy, but (as you can see by the division of the exhibition into family and mature content) he made a wide variety of anime. This is the perfect chance to keep the kids busy over the school hols while keeping yourself entertained too. The Monday double at Luna Leederville is definitely worth a look (see below).

Brophy will also be giving a speech entitled Tezuka: From Manga to Anime at the Bakery this Saturday (July 14), which promises to be a rewarding and enthralling experience for anyone with an interest in Tezuka or anime and manga in general. Check out details below (you will need to book) – we really recommend this one as the type of great opportunity that doesn’t often come to Perth.

As an added bonus we have also been lucky enough to ask Philip Brophy a few questions about Tezuka and anime which will show you how interesting his speech promises to be. You can check out the interview here.

Focus on Tezuka (Films)

Where: Luna Leederville and Luna SX
Map: View map: Luna Leederville Luna SX
When: 12-22 July 2007
Screening Times: Various – see below
Cost: $15 / $12 concession / $9 Tezuka Kids Flicks ($10 with popcorn, grandparents free!)
Transport: Luna Leederville is right near Leederville Station; Luna SX is within walking distance of Freo Station, just off the cappuccino strip.
Inquries: 9335 3904 or info@revelationfilmfest.org

Tezuka: From Manga to Anime (by Philip Brophy)

Where: The Bakery, 223 James St, Northbridge
Map: View map
When: 14 July 2007 2-3pm
Cost: $10 / $8 concession (please book in advance!)
Transport: The Bakery is just off Roe St and Fitzgerald St, so it’s easy walking distance from Perth Station; otherwise there are lots of buses going down Fitzgerald St (see Transperth)
Inquries/Bookings: 9335 3904 or info@revelationfilmfest.org

Screening Times (all times in July)

Family titles (dubbed in English), including several WA premieres (all screenings start at 11am and 3pm):

• Jungle Emperor Leo (PG), a remake of the earlier Tezuka TV series and a response to Disney Studios’ scene stealing – in the literal sense – The Lion King
Luna Leederville: Thu 19th; Fri 20th Luna SX: Mon 16th; Tue 17th

• The Fantastic Adventure of Unico (G), depicted in dizzying kitsch, visual sensations
Luna Leederville: Tue 17th Luna SX: Thu 19th

• TV Series Program 1 (Astro Boy & Kimba The White Lion) (G)
Luna Leederville: Fri 13th, Mon 16th Luna SX: Wed 18th, Fri 20th

• Alakazam The Great (unclassified 15+), the 1960’s animated musical with characteristic Tezuka mix and match narrative, for those who love Monkey
Luna Leederville: Wed 18th Luna SX: Fri 13th

Revelation’s mature component includes anime based on gekiga (adult pictures) manga of deep and sometimes disturbing political and philosophical content (all shows at Luna Leederville):

• Black Jack, the scarily topical story of a debarred master surgeon fighting a viral infection and Metropolis, inspired by a still from Fritz Lang’s sci-fi film, will feature as a special Tezuka double screening
Mon 16th 7:30pm

• Cleopatra, full of hyper-graphic passion and pathos
Sun 22nd 1:40pm

• Space Firebird 2772, infusing Buddhist, Shinto and Zen concepts with sci-fi to create the recurrent Tezuka ‘loner’ figure
Sat 14th 2:45pm

• 1001 Nights, beautifully dated and hedonistically constructed
Sun 15th 12:40pm

Free Japanese Films in Freo

This month, the Australia Japan Society will present a free film event at The Film and Television Institute of WA cinema in Fremantle. On show will be Waterboys, on Friday 18th May and Hachiko, on Saturday 19th May. Both films start at 7.00pm with doors opening at 6:30. The Japanese Consulate’s Hiroba newsletter has more information:

Waterboys is about… Suzuki “the last remaining member of Tadano High School’s swim team. If no new members join the team this year, it will be cancelled altogether. Fortunately, a pretty teacher, Sakuma, is picked as the swim team’s new coach. After class, 30 young men gather at the poolside. Many of them want to join the team for reasons other than a love of the water! Sakuma, however, had dreamed of coaching a synchronised swimming team, an ambition that was shattered when she was assigned to work at a boy’s school. She announces to the students that she plans to teach them synchronised swimming in spite of their gender…” and Hachiko is “based on a true story, this is a heart-warming movie about a dog’s devotion to his master. It also embodies the virtue of loyalty that is so prized by the Japanese”.

Australia-Japan Society Film Festival 2007

Where: The Film and Television Institute, Fremantle
Map: View Map
Date: Waterboys, 7pm May 18. Hachiko, 7pm May 19.
Cost: Free
Transport information: Perth to Fremantle train services run approximately every 15 minutes up to 6.30pm, then every 30 minutes thereafter until 2.30am.　FTI is a short walk from Fremantle train station.
Enquiries: fti@fti.asn.au or (08) 9426 8000