Thursday, June 03, 2004

>> ‘Fuon’ selected by the WFF in Montreal

Fuuon∼The Crying Wind∼ (2004 Siglo production), a film set in Okinawa, has been selected for this year’s World Film Festival in Montreal (August 26 to September 6). The story and original script is by Akutagawa Award winning novelist Shun Medoruma (Suiteki [Droplets]) and directed by Youichi Higashi. Music is by Takashi Hirayasu and Gypsy Band. (I’ll be crossing my fingers with the hope that this film makes the selection for this year’s HIFF.)

Friday, May 28, 2004

>> Shinkyokyuu no Hitsuyou

The Japan Times Online has a review up of the film “Shinkokyuu no Hitsuyou” (directed by Tetsuo Shinohara) which opened nationwide in Japan on May 29th. Here’s an excerpt from Mark Schilling’s review:

But how many people, masochists included, would voluntarily fly to a tiny island off Okinawa and chop sugar cane for one month? In Tetsuo Shinohara’s “Shinkokyu no Hitsuyo (The Necessity of Deep Breathing)”, the answer is Japanese twentysomethings who want to refreshen their hearts and minds under the blue Okinawa sky … or something like that.

Besides the young Tokyoites, the film also stars actor Saburo Kitajima (“Untamagiruu”) and actress Taeko Yoshida (“Untamagiruu”, “Pineapple Tours”), both from Okinawa.

Sunday, November 30, 2003

>> Hotel Hibiscus to be released in January 2004

Missed “Hotel Hibiscus” at this year’s HIFF? Well, don’t fret any longer because the film will be released in Japan on January 23, 2004! The DVD will be coded for Region 2 but it will have English/Japanese subtitles and the price is relatively inexpensive at ¥3,800. The DVD can be pre-ordered through one of my favorite online merchants, CDJapan. In a future post to the pop pages, I’ll have a list of available Okinawa-related DVDs (it’ll just be films and music videos for now) including information like region-coding, subtitle availability, and the most important part, where to buy ‘em. Stay tuned!

Sunday, October 19, 2003

>> Hotel Hibiscus

Fan of Okinawan films? Loved 1999’s “Nabbie’s Love” so much that you even bought the soundtrack? Well, if you live in Hawaii, you’re in luck. Yuji Nakae, the director/writer who brought the world one of the most popular films to come out of Okinawa called “Nabbie’s Love” (Nabii no Koi), has released the film “Hotel Hibiscus”. The 2002 film brings back some of “Nabbie’s Love” favorites like Seijin Noborikawa, Tomi Taira, and Misako Oshiro (who had a lesser role as a musician on that film). In addition to those fan favorites, you’ll also delight in watching Kimiko Yo, who is becoming a mainstay in many films and TV shows shot in Okinawa.

“Hotel Hibiscus” will be shown during this year’s Fall Hawaii International Film Festival on Sunday, November 2nd, and Saturday, November 8th. Ticket information can be found over here. The film will be shown in its original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles. Fans of the director will also delight in knowing that his first film, 1992’s “Pineapple Tours”, is now available in a DVD format.

The “Pineapple Tours” DVD can be purchased online at Panorama LD-DVD.com. (His film is the one that’s called “Haruko to Hideyoshi”.)