Another excellent sample of Japanese filmmaking, “A Chorus of Angels” implements all the distinct characteristics of the country’s cinema, while excelling at the technical department, with magnificent sound and cinematography, and the awards from the Japanese Academy for Best Music Score, Cinematography and Lighting being utterly justified.
Based on the short story “Ni-jyu Nian Go no Shyukudai” from the “Oufuku Shokan” collection by Kanae Minato, τhe film revolves around Haru Kawashima, a retired school teacher, who currently works as a librarian, the six students (3 boys and 3 girls) she had when she was teaching in a remote village in Hokkaido 20 years before, the chorus they have assembled, an accident that brought their relationship to demise, and a number of secrets that have been lurking since that time and poisoned their relationships. When she is informed that Nobuto Suzuki, one of her students who was slightly mentally incapacitated is accused of murder,...
Based on the short story “Ni-jyu Nian Go no Shyukudai” from the “Oufuku Shokan” collection by Kanae Minato, τhe film revolves around Haru Kawashima, a retired school teacher, who currently works as a librarian, the six students (3 boys and 3 girls) she had when she was teaching in a remote village in Hokkaido 20 years before, the chorus they have assembled, an accident that brought their relationship to demise, and a number of secrets that have been lurking since that time and poisoned their relationships. When she is informed that Nobuto Suzuki, one of her students who was slightly mentally incapacitated is accused of murder,...
- 7/31/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Yasha, a concept that comes from Hindu mythology, refers to benevolent nature spirits who take care of trees and the earth. In Buddhism, however, they were interpreted as evil, ghost-like spirits who preyed upon travelers, but later gave up their wicked ways upon hearing the sermons of the Buddha. The Buddhist version of yasha is very similar to another class of Hindu spirits: the ogrish, man-eating demons known as rasetsu. When Buddhism was brought into China, it mixed with Chinese folk religion and astrology, and yasha grew even further away from their Hindu origins. When Buddhism was brought to Japan from China, the Chinese interpretation of yasha was brought along with it. In Japan, yasha were often viewed as Buddhist manifestations of local evil spirits, like amanojaku and oni. Yasha took on some of the characteristics of these spirits, and sometimes even became synonymous with them (source: yokai.com)
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- 12/10/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Daisaku Kimura made a name for himself working as a cinematographer in Japanese cinema since the 70’s, with his work netting him awards from the Japanese Academy three times, namely for “House on Fire”, “Yukai” and “Chorus of Angels“. However, the surprise came when he first transitioned to the director’s chair with “Mt Tsurugidake”, a film that took the Academy by storm in 2010, winning six awards including the ones for direction and cinematography for Kimura. Having exhibited his love and his ability to shoot about and in the mountains, Kimura continued with the theme in “Climbing to Spring”, although in much more tender fashion.
“Climbing to Spring” is screening at Ulju Mountain Film Festival 2019
The story is based on Ryouhei Sasamoto’s homonymous novel and revolves around Tooru, a young man who, as the story begins, works as a securities trader in Tokyo. However, his past is completely different,...
“Climbing to Spring” is screening at Ulju Mountain Film Festival 2019
The story is based on Ryouhei Sasamoto’s homonymous novel and revolves around Tooru, a young man who, as the story begins, works as a securities trader in Tokyo. However, his past is completely different,...
- 9/8/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: Producer Genki Kawamura and Japanese studio Toho are partnering again after global success of Your Name.
Following their collaboration on hit animation Your Name, Japanese studio Toho and producer Genki Kawamura are reteaming on an animated feature based on a TV series created by Shunji Iwai.
The new project, Fireworks, Should We See It From The Side Or The Bottom?, will be directed by Akiyuki Shinbo of Japan’s Shaft animation studio and Nobuyuki Takeuchi, who has worked with Studio Ghibli. Hitoshi One (Bakuman) has adapted the TV series created by writer-director Iwai (A Bride For Rip Van Winkle).
Currently in production, the film tells the story of two young boys and a girl whose fates become intertwined one summer day. Voice talent on the film includes Suzu Hirose (Our Little Sister), Masaki Suda (Drowning Love) and Mamoru Miyano (Death Note). Japanese release is scheduled for August 2017.
New titles on Toho’s slate also include suspense...
Following their collaboration on hit animation Your Name, Japanese studio Toho and producer Genki Kawamura are reteaming on an animated feature based on a TV series created by Shunji Iwai.
The new project, Fireworks, Should We See It From The Side Or The Bottom?, will be directed by Akiyuki Shinbo of Japan’s Shaft animation studio and Nobuyuki Takeuchi, who has worked with Studio Ghibli. Hitoshi One (Bakuman) has adapted the TV series created by writer-director Iwai (A Bride For Rip Van Winkle).
Currently in production, the film tells the story of two young boys and a girl whose fates become intertwined one summer day. Voice talent on the film includes Suzu Hirose (Our Little Sister), Masaki Suda (Drowning Love) and Mamoru Miyano (Death Note). Japanese release is scheduled for August 2017.
New titles on Toho’s slate also include suspense...
- 2/9/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Ken Watanabe, Tomokazu Miura in The Unbroken Setsuro Wakamatsu’s drama The Unbroken was voted the best Japanese film of 2009 at the Japanese Academy Awards ceremony, which was held in Tokyo on March 5. In the controversial drama, best actor winner Ken Watanabe plays an airline union leader fighting for stricter safety regulations following an air crash that left hundreds dead. Corporate corruption, however, gets in the way. The Unbroken was clearly inspired by the Japan Airlines flight 123 crash in 1985, the worst in Japan’s aviation history. Veteran cinematographer Daisaku Kimura (Tidal Wave, The Beast Shall Die) was voted best director for his directorial debut, The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones, which earned Teruyuki Kagawa [...]...
- 3/18/2010
- by Irene Young
- Alt Film Guide
Partial list of nominees & winners Picture of the Year: Villon’s Wife (Kichitaro Negishi) * The Unbroken (Setsuro Wakamatsu) Zero Focus (Isshin Inudo) The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (Daisaku Kimura) Dear Doctor (Miwa Nishikawa) Outstanding Foreign Language Film * Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood) Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle) The Changeling (Clint Eastwood) The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky) Red Cliff – Part 2 (John Woo) Animation of the Year Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Khara) * Summer Wars (Mamoru Hosoda) Doraemon (Shigeo Koshi) Yona Yona Penguin (Rintaro) [...]...
- 3/18/2010
- by Irene Young
- Alt Film Guide
Ken Watanabe in The Sun That Doesn’t Set (Shizumanu Taiyo) Setsurô Wakamatsu’s The Sun That Doesn’t Set, inspired by the 1985 airplane crash that killed 520 people in what remains Japan’s worst airline disaster, is one of five films in the running for the Japanese Academy’s Best Picture award. (See partial list of nominees below.) The film’s star, Ken Watanabe, received a best actor nomination. The other four Best Picture nominees are: Isshin Inudou’s Zero Focus, a murder mystery set in postwar Japan Daisaku Kimura’s Mt. Tsurugidake, about a group of men who set out to climb the unconquered peak in the early 1900s Miwa Nishikawa’s Dear Doctor, in which a village doctor (best actor nominee Tsurube Shofukutei) is exposed as a con artist [...]...
- 12/24/2009
- by Irene Young
- Alt Film Guide
How’s this for a stellar cast: Tadanobu Asano, Ryuhei Matsuda, Aoi Miyazaki and Koji Yakusho have joined together to star in vetern cinematographer Daisaku Kimura’s debut directorial effort. Based on a novel by Jiro Nitta the film tells the story of a team of climbers exploring the Japanese mountains, particularly the fearsome peak of the title. The actual Mt. Tsurugidake is considered one of the more treacherous mountains in the region, as evidenced by the fact sound man Teiichi Saito was badly injured in a rock slide during location shooting and had to be taken to hospital by helicopter. Was it worth it? Well, the first teaser has just been added to the Twitch Player and the cinematography is very impressive. Check it out below the break.
- 8/15/2008
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
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