Kumiko Hoshizaki’s “Akane Sasu Heya” is the story of Maki, a 20-something temp who is sick of her boring job and life in general. The rather bizarre solution she comes up with is to conceive a child behind her boyfriend’s back. Makoto Nagahisa offers the much more impressionistic “Frog.” The story meanders around a bunch of unrelated characters, using experimental techniques like repeated scenes, hallucinatory visuals, blurred shots and disconnected sounds. Lastly, we have “Bouquet Garni,” a much more conventional work from director Junpei Hatano. The plot is centered on a reporter, the relative of a kidnapping victim, and a woman who is obsessed with the case.
Higanjima is an eerie island occupied by vampires, from where none has ever come back alive. When teenager Akira hears that his missing brother has been seen in the island, he decides to investigate with several friends.
Half a Confession introduces itself as a thriller and abruptly changes gears, transforming into a tale of morality with deeper insights into its characters than we had anticipated. It begins when Soichiro Kaji (Terao), a retired detective, walks into police headquarters and confesses to the murder of his wife. We learn that the victim had prematurely developed Alzheimer's after the tragic death of their son, and in her suffering, had asked to die. The police chiefs would be far more content to take him at his word if it were not for a conspicuous hole in his story: 48-hour gap between the alleged murder and his confession. Fearing a public relations nightmare, they are eager to bury the incident and keep the press in the dark.
A girl called Zero stands in a crowded street, her occupation an assassin. As she completes her tasks one after another, Zero has been feeling uneasy lately. As her code name suggests, she has nothing to prove her existence. She overlaps herself with the vanishing landscape and begins to wander in search of the meaning of her own existence. At the same time, a young man named One is also wandering the streets, and like Zero, he is an assassin. Surrounded by a sense of emptiness, he is unable to find the value of his own existence. One day, the two of them meet as if they were led together. They sense each other, and by touching each other, they regain their existence and humanity. However, the organization feels that contact between assassins is dangerous, and decides to dispose of them. They call in a highly skilled assassin. Their battle for their own existence begins now!
Producer
This humanistic drama depicts the bond between a brother and sister living in the zainichi Korean town of Ikuno, Osaka. Based on his own life, actor Choi Cheol-ho, the leader of the theatrical troupe Stray Dog Bullet, directs, writes, and stars in the film, which depicts a family that faces difficulties without forgetting to laugh and encourage each other in the midst of severe circumstances such as racial prejudice and poverty. In a zainichi Korean town in Ikuno, a funeral is being held for Omoni, who was like a mother to everyone. However, her eldest son Yong-gi, who disappeared 15 years ago, is not there. The three siblings, except Yeong-gi, are at their wit's end, burdened with debts from the store that Omoni used to run. Yeong-gi eventually returns, but the siblings are bewildered by his changed appearance. (machine translated from eiga.com)
Writer
This humanistic drama depicts the bond between a brother and sister living in the zainichi Korean town of Ikuno, Osaka. Based on his own life, actor Choi Cheol-ho, the leader of the theatrical troupe Stray Dog Bullet, directs, writes, and stars in the film, which depicts a family that faces difficulties without forgetting to laugh and encourage each other in the midst of severe circumstances such as racial prejudice and poverty. In a zainichi Korean town in Ikuno, a funeral is being held for Omoni, who was like a mother to everyone. However, her eldest son Yong-gi, who disappeared 15 years ago, is not there. The three siblings, except Yeong-gi, are at their wit's end, burdened with debts from the store that Omoni used to run. Yeong-gi eventually returns, but the siblings are bewildered by his changed appearance. (machine translated from eiga.com)
Director
This humanistic drama depicts the bond between a brother and sister living in the zainichi Korean town of Ikuno, Osaka. Based on his own life, actor Choi Cheol-ho, the leader of the theatrical troupe Stray Dog Bullet, directs, writes, and stars in the film, which depicts a family that faces difficulties without forgetting to laugh and encourage each other in the midst of severe circumstances such as racial prejudice and poverty. In a zainichi Korean town in Ikuno, a funeral is being held for Omoni, who was like a mother to everyone. However, her eldest son Yong-gi, who disappeared 15 years ago, is not there. The three siblings, except Yeong-gi, are at their wit's end, burdened with debts from the store that Omoni used to run. Yeong-gi eventually returns, but the siblings are bewildered by his changed appearance. (machine translated from eiga.com)
This humanistic drama depicts the bond between a brother and sister living in the zainichi Korean town of Ikuno, Osaka. Based on his own life, actor Choi Cheol-ho, the leader of the theatrical troupe Stray Dog Bullet, directs, writes, and stars in the film, which depicts a family that faces difficulties without forgetting to laugh and encourage each other in the midst of severe circumstances such as racial prejudice and poverty. In a zainichi Korean town in Ikuno, a funeral is being held for Omoni, who was like a mother to everyone. However, her eldest son Yong-gi, who disappeared 15 years ago, is not there. The three siblings, except Yeong-gi, are at their wit's end, burdened with debts from the store that Omoni used to run. Yeong-gi eventually returns, but the siblings are bewildered by his changed appearance. (machine translated from eiga.com)
