6 Films you cannot miss at the 6th GINMAKU Japanese Film Festival

By Asian Film Festival on May 15, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

We selected six films you cannot miss at the 6th GINMAKU Japanese Film Festival which will take place from May 22nd – 27th (2019) in Zurich, Switzerland.

A Crimson Star by Aya Igashi – Japan | 2018 – 101 minutes

Yo, a young girl who encounters while hospitalized, Yayoi, a kind nurse with whom she becomes emotionally attached. A year later, the two meet once again by chance but under quite different circumstances. Gone is the kind nurse and in her place is a Yayoi who is prostituting herself. Despite the gap in their ages and maturity, they foster a relationship through one summer they share together.

Trailer:

A Song From Home by Yuji Nakae – Japan | 2018 – 134 minutes

Even after 4 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, the residents of Futaba town in Fukushima are unable to return home and have been living in temporary housing due to the nuclear crisis. What gives the people of Futaba hope is the fact that Hawaiians of Japanese descent have been handed down the Bon Festival song by the people of Fukushima who immigrated to Hawaii over 100 years ago. People from Futaba head to Hawaii in order to demonstrate the Futaba Bon Uta, a ritualistic song sung for Bon Festival. Director Yuji Nakae devoted 3 years making this moving documentary accompanying people who will not allow traditions deeply rooted in their region to die out.

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Boy Soldiers: The Secret War In Okinawa by Chie Mikami & Hanayo Oya
Japan | 2018 – 114 minutes

The greatest taboo of the Battle of Okinawa were Guerrilla units composed of boy soldiers. Until now, not even the Japanese people knew the full scope of these secret troops, and survivors have been afraid to share their tragic details. Okinawa became the bulwark to protect the Japanese mainland toward the end of World War II. After the Americans landed, a violent battle ensued resulting in the loss of over 200,000 lives – many of them civilian. This documentary uncovers Japan’s deepest secrets concerning the Battle of Okinawa, and also sounds alarms about modern Japan’s recent steps toward remilitarization.

Schedule:
May 26th | Sunday | Cinema Houdini | 15:30 pm

Trailer:

Complicity by Kei Chikaura – Japan | 2018 – 116 minutes

Cheng Liang, a young Chinese immigrant living in Japan, pretends to be someone else to start his new life in a traditional Japanese soba restaurant. He gradually earns his trust living and working with the elderly soba master, but his real identity could be exposed at any moment. (GINMAKU JFF Catalogue 2019)

Trailer:

Love At Least by Kosai Sekine – Japan | 2018 – 109 minutes

Yasuko, who is a shut-in having a problem of hypersomnia disorder, lives with her boyfriend Tsunaki working at the editorial department of a gossip magazine. Yasuko never sticks to any jobs very long and is currently unemployed. Tsunaki on the other hand, is not passionate about his job but recently something has happened to his state of mind.

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Protectors Of Firefly River by Yamada Eiji – Japan | 2017 – 86 minutes

This documentary is set in a small mountain village in Nagasaki Prefecture. 13 households, 54 residents remained and they all help each other to live. More than fifty years ago, plans surfaced for constructing a dam, which residents have steadfastly opposed. Villagers who want to protect a hometown blessed with abundant nature and clean water have been pitted against a mighty power. Rather than focus on the opposition movement, this film turns its sights on the lives of people now bound together like family in their coexistence with nature.

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