When Nobuhiko Obayashi sadly passed away in April 2020, most social media was filled with many posts showing pictures of the director and perhaps the feature most people remember, his 1977 film “Hausu”. While there is no denying about the quality of said film, given the vast career of Obayashi which spans over five decades, these pictures also indicate that so many viewers still need to discover for themselves the multitude of themes and the experimental visual style of the majority of his body of work, in which his debut feature makes up only a small portion. One way to start this journey into Obayashi’s work may be the upcoming release of his penultimate work, “Hanagatami” by Third Window, a touching and very poetic film about growing up during war times.
“Hanagatami” is screening at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, as part of the Obayashi Nobuhiko Film Show Case
In 1941, Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka), a sixteen-year-old teenager,...
“Hanagatami” is screening at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, as part of the Obayashi Nobuhiko Film Show Case
In 1941, Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka), a sixteen-year-old teenager,...
- 11/10/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
In the last decade of his long and prolific career, Nobuhiko Obayashi (1938-2020) — best-known in the U.S. as the filmmaker behind the cult hit House (1977) — wrote and directed a trio of deeply personal and formally audacious films that confronted Japan’s wartime past.
Made in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 2011 and informed by Obayashi’s firsthand experience as a child born on the eve of World War II in Hiroshima Prefecture, the staggering films in this trilogy—consisting of Casting Blossoms to the Sky (2012), Seven Weeks (2014) and, Hanagatami (2017)—collectively consider the loss of innocence for an entire generation of Japanese youth raised in the shadow of war and national disaster.
Kimstin is proud to present Nobuhiko Obayashi’s War Trilogy, which opens at Japan Society, NY and nationwide virtual cinemas and theatres on July 9th
Hanagatami
Drama • 2h 51m • 2014
After being diagnosed...
Made in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 2011 and informed by Obayashi’s firsthand experience as a child born on the eve of World War II in Hiroshima Prefecture, the staggering films in this trilogy—consisting of Casting Blossoms to the Sky (2012), Seven Weeks (2014) and, Hanagatami (2017)—collectively consider the loss of innocence for an entire generation of Japanese youth raised in the shadow of war and national disaster.
Kimstin is proud to present Nobuhiko Obayashi’s War Trilogy, which opens at Japan Society, NY and nationwide virtual cinemas and theatres on July 9th
Hanagatami
Drama • 2h 51m • 2014
After being diagnosed...
- 7/6/2021
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North America rights and set a October 16 theatrical release for Twiceborn, the Hiroshi Akabane-directed inspirational drama. The film, produced by Irh Press, is having its U.S. premiere that week at the San Diego Film Festival and after that screen in Europe at the Raindance Film Festival.
A U.S. digital bow will come January 19.
The pic is based on the true story of executive producer and original story writer Ryuho Okawa from a screenplay by his daughter Sayaka Okawa. It follows Satoru Ichijo, a successful businessman who relinquishes everything to pursue his true calling: the happiness of humankind. Hiroaki Tanaka, Yoshiko Sengen, Nao Hashegawa, Shiro Namiki and Shunsuke Kubozuka star.
Here’s the trailer:
***
Barefoot: The Mark Baumer Story, the Julie Sokolow documentary charting activist-writer Mark Baumer’s ultimately tragic trek across America to bring awareness to the climate-change debate, is getting an October 27 digital release via 1091 Pictures.
A U.S. digital bow will come January 19.
The pic is based on the true story of executive producer and original story writer Ryuho Okawa from a screenplay by his daughter Sayaka Okawa. It follows Satoru Ichijo, a successful businessman who relinquishes everything to pursue his true calling: the happiness of humankind. Hiroaki Tanaka, Yoshiko Sengen, Nao Hashegawa, Shiro Namiki and Shunsuke Kubozuka star.
Here’s the trailer:
***
Barefoot: The Mark Baumer Story, the Julie Sokolow documentary charting activist-writer Mark Baumer’s ultimately tragic trek across America to bring awareness to the climate-change debate, is getting an October 27 digital release via 1091 Pictures.
- 9/25/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Summer Sale
1-21 July
It’s that time of the year for the Third Window Films/Arrow Video Summer Sale!
DVDs from £4 and blurays from £7! Worldwide Shipping!
From July 1-21st
Shop now at: https://bit.ly/2BVEd9l
Upcoming Releases
3 great Japanese films available to pre-order Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu,...
1-21 July
It’s that time of the year for the Third Window Films/Arrow Video Summer Sale!
DVDs from £4 and blurays from £7! Worldwide Shipping!
From July 1-21st
Shop now at: https://bit.ly/2BVEd9l
Upcoming Releases
3 great Japanese films available to pre-order Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu,...
- 7/3/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Three upcoming Japanese films from Third Window Films are now available for preorder.
Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu, Toshihiko befriends the beautiful, Apollo-like Ukai (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), the contemplative Kira (Keishi Nagatsuka), the ingenuous Akine (Hirona Yamazaki) and the brooding Chitose (Mugi Kadowaki) as they all contend with the war’s inescapable gravitational pull.
Hanagatami
Out July 6th
In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.
In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu, Toshihiko befriends the beautiful, Apollo-like Ukai (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), the contemplative Kira (Keishi Nagatsuka), the ingenuous Akine (Hirona Yamazaki) and the brooding Chitose (Mugi Kadowaki) as they all contend with the war’s inescapable gravitational pull.
- 6/16/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
When Nobuhiko Obayashi sadly passed away in April 2020, most social media was filled with many posts showing pictures of the director and perhaps the feature most people remember, his 1977 film “Hausu”. While there is no denying about the quality of said film, given the vast career of Obayashi which spans over five decades, these pictures also indicate that so many viewers still need to discover for themselves the multitude of themes and the experimental visual style of the majority of his body of work, in which his debut feature makes up only a small portion. One way to start this journey into Obayashi’s work may be the upcoming release of his penultimate work, “Hanagatami” by Third Window, a touching and very poetic film about growing up during war times.
In 1941, Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka), a sixteen-year-old teenager, returns from Europe to his Japanese home to attend school.
In 1941, Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka), a sixteen-year-old teenager, returns from Europe to his Japanese home to attend school.
- 5/16/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Nobuhiko Obayashi's Hanagatami (2017) is showing January 24 – February 22, 2019 exclusively on Mubi as part of the series Direct from Rotterdam.It may be easy to dismiss Nobuhiko Obayashi as a cult horror film director due to the notoriety of his celebrated debut feature, Hausu (1977), but what does not get discussed often enough is Obayashi as a thinker who has always pushed the boundaries of the cinematic medium. He was a central figure in the 1960s Japanese 8mm and 16mm experimental film scene, his pop-star vehicle “idol” films in the 1980s were national sensations, and he continues to make convention-defying movies with his abundant use of green screens in digital cinema. His diverse and prolific filmography spans across genres including horror, crime, comedy, documentary, family dramas, coming-of-age dramas and even animation. Watch Exchange Student (1982) and you'll see that Makoto Shinkai's Your Name (2016) was made decades earlier. Many may know that Obayashi was...
- 1/24/2019
- MUBI
Now in its 12th year, Japan Cuts continues to grow as the largest festival of contemporary Japanese cinema in North America. Bringing a wide range of the best and hardest-to-see films made in and around Japan today — from blockbusters, independent productions and anime, to documentaries, avant-garde works, short films, and new restorations — Japan Cuts is the place to experience Japan’s dynamic film culture in New York City. Like every year, this thrilling 10-day festival offers exclusive premieres, special guest filmmakers and stars, fun-filled parties, live music and more! Tickets are on-sale now!
The festival programmers Aiko Masubuchi, Kazu Watanabe and Joel Neville Andersonhave highlighted in a note that “perhaps most strikingly, the struggle for dignity and individual rights reverberates throughout the lineup—including Lgbtq advocacy (“Of Love & Law”), reparations for government abuse (“Sennan Asbestos Disaster”) or the plight of refugees (“Passage of Life”). Additionally, multiple films deal with the...
The festival programmers Aiko Masubuchi, Kazu Watanabe and Joel Neville Andersonhave highlighted in a note that “perhaps most strikingly, the struggle for dignity and individual rights reverberates throughout the lineup—including Lgbtq advocacy (“Of Love & Law”), reparations for government abuse (“Sennan Asbestos Disaster”) or the plight of refugees (“Passage of Life”). Additionally, multiple films deal with the...
- 6/25/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
If there is a theme that often reappears in Nobuhiko Obayashi’s oeuvre, it is the impact of war. While this theme was already present in his very first full-length feature “House” (1977), which has to read as a symbolic expression of the destruction of the A-bomb, it seems to have become a more urgent matter for him in the last couple of years. “Kono Sora no Hana”, a narrative he directed in 2012, concerned the bombing of Nagaoka, and “No No Nanananoka”, which he made two years later, handled Japan’s wartime responsibility.
With “Hanagatami”, a project Obayashi abandoned 40 years ago to make “House” instead and his third anti-war movie in a row, he once again underlines his personal motivation to carry out the dream and philosophy of the late Akira Kurosawa: to achieve world peace with the power of the cinematographical narrative. This time, by adapting Kazuo Dan’s...
With “Hanagatami”, a project Obayashi abandoned 40 years ago to make “House” instead and his third anti-war movie in a row, he once again underlines his personal motivation to carry out the dream and philosophy of the late Akira Kurosawa: to achieve world peace with the power of the cinematographical narrative. This time, by adapting Kazuo Dan’s...
- 6/2/2018
- by Pieter-Jan Van Haecke
- AsianMoviePulse
Lemon Tree acquires the coming-of-age tale set in 1941 Japan.
Japan’s Free Stone Production has sold Hanagatami – the last film in director Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “wartime trilogy” after Casting Blossoms To The Sky (2012) and Seven Weeks (2014) – to China (Lemon Tree).
Based on a script Obayashi wrote prior to his 1977 debut feature House, Hanagatami is set in spring 1941 when Toshihiko, played by Shunsuke Kubozuka, shows up at the home of his aunt (Takaki Tokiwa) in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture. Entertaining a crush on his tubercular cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi), while reveling in his “depraved” adolescence with other girls, he indulges in courage-testing...
Japan’s Free Stone Production has sold Hanagatami – the last film in director Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “wartime trilogy” after Casting Blossoms To The Sky (2012) and Seven Weeks (2014) – to China (Lemon Tree).
Based on a script Obayashi wrote prior to his 1977 debut feature House, Hanagatami is set in spring 1941 when Toshihiko, played by Shunsuke Kubozuka, shows up at the home of his aunt (Takaki Tokiwa) in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture. Entertaining a crush on his tubercular cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi), while reveling in his “depraved” adolescence with other girls, he indulges in courage-testing...
- 3/20/2018
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
As tough as high school was, at least I can say that I didn’t get bespectacled ass pummeled on a regular basis. The upcoming Japanese action/drama “Furyou Shounen: 3000-nin no Atama”, an adaptation of Endo Natsuk’s autobiography, chronicles the exploits of a teenaged badass as he attempts to become the toughest cock on the block. I’ve seen my fair share of high school brawlers, but this one looks particularly entertaining. This, of course, has much to do with the film’s teaser, which you’ll find embedded below. If you like watching teenag guys beat the hell out of one another, this one has your name written all over it. “Furyou Shounen: 3000-nin no Atama” stars Saito Takumi, Shunsuke Kubozuka, Atsuko Sudo, Shinzo Hotta, Hiroaki Iwanaga, and Akiyoshi Kumiko. The aforementioned clip awaits...
- 1/30/2012
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
Yesterday it was announced that manga artist Tatsuya Egawa (Golden Boy, Tokyo Daigaku Monogatari) has completed work on his second live-action film as a director and that it will be released this summer. Unlike his last film, 2006’s “Tokyo University Story”, this is not based on one of his manga, but an entirely original story.
Takuya Ishida (The Chasing World) and Sei Ashina (Nanase Futatabi: The Movie) star as two of 10 people gathered together in a room to play a mysterious game. In fact, they’ve each been brought there under a secret contract, and are not allowed to reveal any details about their true identities to each other. The film is said to highlight dark aspects of the human psyche, illustrating people’s potential for lust and violence when trapped somewhere and controlled.
Other cast members include Shunsuke Kubozuka, Ai Maeda, Keisuke Horibe, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Nana Natsume, Jai West,...
Takuya Ishida (The Chasing World) and Sei Ashina (Nanase Futatabi: The Movie) star as two of 10 people gathered together in a room to play a mysterious game. In fact, they’ve each been brought there under a secret contract, and are not allowed to reveal any details about their true identities to each other. The film is said to highlight dark aspects of the human psyche, illustrating people’s potential for lust and violence when trapped somewhere and controlled.
Other cast members include Shunsuke Kubozuka, Ai Maeda, Keisuke Horibe, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Nana Natsume, Jai West,...
- 6/11/2010
- Nippon Cinema
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