Masahiro Hara

A woman as the main character, love and friendship, and one of the

Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer ("Preparation of the Festival," "Ronin-gai") who's long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.

A hard-boiled story about a young man who wakes up to the ferocity within himself, swaying between violence and love as he walks a devastating path.

Miyako is a frustrated insurance saleswoman stuck in a major dry spell. She tries every trick in the book, including aggressive flirting, which gets her plenty of gropers but no buyers. One day while venturing down a narrow stairwell, she injures her ankle and happens upon Mitsuru who works for some mysterious foreign company. Decked out in high goth style -- complete with long inky black hair and mascaraed eyes -- Mitsuru cuts quite an odd figure, yet his seductive though menacing ways make him difficult for Miyako to resist. Escorting her to his office to treat her ankle, Miyako notices that his all-female staff seem more glassy-eyed and soul-deadened than the average office workers. In fact, they seem almost like zombies. Later, weird things start happening. Mitsuko finds vomit on her doorstep, she seems to be tailed by a shadowy woman in a red dress, and most strikingly, she finds herself utterly powerless against Mitsuru's advances.

ある日、小学6年生のレンコの両親は離婚を前提に別居を始めてしまう。父が家を出て行ったため、母と二人暮しとなったレンコだったが、勝手なことばかり言う両親の間に挟まれ、どうにも納得がいかない。なんとか両親の仲を戻そうと、去年も行ったびわ湖畔への家族旅行を強引に計画する。

女子高演劇部の人間模様を描いた吉田秋生の原作マンガを基に、「ボクの女に手を出すな」の中原俊が、チェーホフの“桜の園”の開演直前の2時間に凝縮して思春期の少女たちの揺れる心の内面を瑞々しく映像化した珠玉の一篇。桜の咲く季節。私立櫻華学園高校演劇部。創立記念日恒例のチェーホフの“桜の園”上演のある朝、しっかり者の部長・由布子はいきなりパーマをかけてきた。さらに、前日、部員の紀子がタバコを吸って補導されたというニュースに動揺する部員たち……。