'It's a Summer Film' will be featured in the Japanese online film festival 2022 (Photo: Japanese Film Festival 2022)
Cover 'It's a Summer Film' will be featured in the Japanese online film festival 2022 (Photo: Japanese Film Festival 2022)

In its goal to showcase films that depict Japanese culture in different eras, the Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) opens its 2022 Japanese Film Festival with the theme 'journey,' a nod to filmmakers who believe in the movie industry's power to "entertain, empower, and educate"

Lovers of Japanese movies can enjoy the two-week-long film festival brought by the Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) in the comfort of their homes. The fest, which will last from February 14 to 27, features 20 different stories that perfectly capture the rich culture of Japan. 

In a press briefing, JFM Director Suzuki Ben shared the importance of exploring other cultures through films.  “Films have intangible impacts on our society. We watch films to be entertained, to be educated, to escape from the humdrum of daily life, and to travel beyond space and time. This is at the heart of the Japanese Film Festival—to share glimpses of Japanese culture to the world, one cinematic experience at a time," he said.

“Through the collaboration of various elements that include truth-seeking narration to exquisite cinematography, superb acting, and captivating sounds, films are indeed powerful vehicles for cultural exchange and bilateral relations,” he added.

In case you missed it: Architectural Marvels: 7 Places To Visit In Japan

 

Tatler Asia
Above (Photo: Japanese Felm Festival)

The films will be screened via the JFF official website. Viewers can access the portal and watch the films through their smart TV, computer, mobile phone or similar gadget with access to the Internet. 

Below are the titles you shouldn't miss this year: 

1. The God of Ramen (2013)

There used to be a ramen shop called "Taishoken" in Ikebukuro, near central Tokyo. Every day, there were long lines of people waiting to get in, and in four hours they would serve up ramen to 200 people. The number of regulars who became captivated by the taste of Taishoken was countless and even other ramen shop owners came to learn at the eatery. This documentary depicts the life of Kazuo Yamagishi, the founder of Taishoken who had an immense influence on the Japanese ramen industry. 

Read more here

2. Until the Break of Dawn (2012)

High schooler Ayumi was orphaned and lives with his grandmother. His grandmother has inherited an ability called "Tsunagu," which allows her to summon the dead and reunite them with the living for one time only. Ayumi helps his grandmother as an apprentice and interacts with visitors who wish to be reunited with the dead. One day, he receives a request from a girl in his class who is devastated by the loss of her best friend to a rather unique situation.

Read more here

3. Mio's Cookbook (2020)

After a catastrophic flood, a young girl Mio, leaves her hometown of Osaka to work in a restaurant in Edo. She is blessed with great talent but is troubled by the difference in taste between Osaka and Edo, and toils to find a solution. Meanwhile, she learns that her best friend, Noe, is in Edo but she is rarely allowed to see her because of her lowly status.

Read more here

4. Patema Inverted (2013)

A catastrophic event occurs and all the buildings in the world get sucked up into the sky. A few years later, Patema, a vivacious girl who lives in a base camp, falls into a hole while exploring a dangerous area in the premises. 

Read more here

5. Under the Open Sky (2021)

"Mikami, a former yakuza, is released from prison after serving a 13-year sentence. He is determined to live an earnest life but has trouble finding a job. He wants to acquire a driver’s license but lacks the money to do so and his short temper also keeps getting in the way. Will Mikami go back to his old yakuza ways or will he be able to find his footing in society?

Read more here

6. Bread of Happiness (2012)

Located in the northernmost part of Japan, is Hokkaido. A young couple has opened a new cafe in a place blessed with beautiful nature. The husband bakes bread, the wife brews coffee, and prepares seasonal meals. The people who visit are all carrying emotional burdens—such as a heartbroken young woman, a girl upset over her parents' divorce, and an elderly couple with their own problems. The couple warmly welcomes these people and quietly reaches out to them.

Read more here

See also: Property in Japan: Where to Invest and Why Now is the Right Time to Buy

7. Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016)

After the disappearance of her husband, Futaba takes a break from the family business of running a public bathhouse to work part-time and raise her daughter, Azumi. With her characteristic strength and cheerfulness, Futaba cheers on Azumi, who is having problems at school. However, Futaba is diagnosed with an illness with only a short time left to live. In the time that she has left, Futaba decides what she must do and begins to make it happen. That is, to get rid of all of the secrets in her family.

Read more here

Related: Q&A with Ryota Nakano, Director of 'Her Love Boils Bathwater'

8. AWAKE (2020)

The year 2015 marked the first time that a shogi game software played against a professional human player. Riku, a talented young professional, was not afraid of the risk of losing to the computer and offered to play against it. What he didn’t know was that the developer of the software was Eiichi, who had once been a fellow student at an institute for boys training to become professionals. Why did young Eiichi give up on his dream of becoming a professional and become passionate about developing shogi software?

Read more here

Related: Where To Order Sushi, Sashimi And Chirashi For Delivery In Metro Manila

9. SUMODO: The Successors of Samurai

A film all about sumo—Japan's national sport. A documentary with rare access into the behind-the-scenes lives of famous sumo wrestlers.

Read more here

10. Ozland (2018)

What kind of employee can wield the magic that makes customers smile? The story of a new employee assigned to an amusement park, and the fun-filled chronicles of her growing pains.

Read more here

11. ReLIFE (2017)

27-year-old Arata has no jobs or goals, and his days are spent in the doldrums. When he is recruited into the "ReLIFE” project, which promises to let him re-do a year of his high school days, he is suspicious but takes the rejuvenating potion anyway and is transformed back into a 17-year-old. Thus, begins his high school life with a limit of one year. Despite his plans to stay inconspicuous, he finds himself making friends and eventually falling in love with a very shy girl named Hishiro. However, this season full of happiness passes by in a flash, and Arata's remaining time begins to dwindle.

Read more here

More from Tatler: This New Grand Seiko SLGH005 Watch Is Inspired By Graceful White Birch Trees In Japan

12. The Floating Castle (2012)

Approximately 400 years ago in Japan, after continued battles amongst the samurai class, the overwhelmingly powerful Hideyoshi Toyotomi is on the verge of unifying the country. He orders his men to attack a small castle, the last remaining resistance. Surrender is debated in the castle but the young lord, who always seems to be in a daze, chooses to fight. Is the lord of the castle a reckless fool or a genius?

Read more here

13. It's a Summer Film! (2021)

Hadashi, a high schooler, is obsessed with old Japanese samurai films. When her film club rejects her samurai film project, she decides to gather her friends and craft the film on her own terms. She convinces a reluctant young man into playing the lead and they begin their shoot but is faced with one problem after another. Will they be able to finish the film? What's more, is that this young man might be from the future?

Read more here

14. Happy Flight (2008)

An international flight from Tokyo to Honolulu, Hawaii. A new pilot boards as an assistant to a more experienced senior pilot, and a new cabin attendant joins the team of a purser who has a reputation for being strict. The ground staff are struggling with bookings, the staff in the control tower are on alert about the weather and birds, and the mechanics are pouring their hearts and souls into accomplishing speed and precision in their work. With the combined efforts of all the workers, the flight finally takes off but they are soon faced with trouble.

Read more here

15. Ito (2021)

A shy country girl chooses a part-time job at a "maid cafe" where she serves customers while dressed up as a maid. A unique and touching coming-of-age drama.

Read more here

16. Rashomon (1950)

The story takes place in Japan about a thousand years ago. The body of a samurai is found in the mountains. His wife, local villagers, a bandit in the mountains, and others who witnessed the man's death, all testify in front of the officials. However, everyone's story is completely different.

Read more here

17. Time of Eve: The Movie (2010)

Set in a time where humanoids have practical applications, many households are using androids/robots to do the housework. Most of the androids are treated poorly. High-schooler Rikuo also treats his female android at home very coldly. One day, while he surveills her actions, he ends up at a cafe. The rule at this cafe was that no distinctions are made between humans and androids. Rikuo cannot help but wonder what the customers hope to get out of being there. Eventually, through the people and robots he meets in the cafe, he begins to understand what having a real soul might look like.

Read more here

18. The Chef of South Polar (2009)

A classic Japanese comedy film that follows the bittersweet and charmed daily lives of a group of men living in the Antarctic, where their only joy is to eat.

Read more here

19. Aristocrats (2021)

For Hanako, who was raised in a prestigious and wealthy family, it was her duty to marry a man of high social standing. Now in her late twenties, she has finally met her ideal suitor after continued arranged meetings with potential men. She was supposed to have a happy marriage to look forward to until she learns that her future partner was involved with a different woman. That woman was Miki, who hails from a regular family from rural Japan, working hard to survive in Tokyo. The lives of Hanako and Miki who inhabit very different social environments eventually begin to intersect.

Read more here

20. Masked Ward (2020)

Hayami, a doctor, takes a midnight shift at a hospital he works at for the first time. Suddenly, a supermarket robber brings in a woman he shot during his getaway. The robber holes himself up in the hospital and prowls inside the building. Hayami tries to find out what the robber wants, but there’s something suspicious about the hospital itself and the director and nurses do not feel trustworthy—it is as if everybody is operating behind a mask. Hiding from the robber, Hayami begins to investigate the hospital and discovers patients that are not on the records and an operating room that should not exist. The revelations eventually lead him to a surprising truth.

Read more here

NOW READ

Yamazato's Traditional Japanese Food Is Made With Filipinos In Mind

Philippine Folklore and Japanese Literature: What do They Have in Common?

Justin Besana on the Art of Making Film Posters and Why it Matters