Stars: Sayu Kubota, Yuzu Aoki, Mituru Fukikoshi, Akaji Maro, Shunsuke Tanaka, Hitomi Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda | Written by Ken’ichi Ugana, Hirobumi Watanabe | Directed by Ken’ichi Ugana
Love Will Tear Us Apart is the latest film from director Ken’ichi Ugana, who has made a name for himself on the festival circuit with films like Extraneous Matter and Visitors. His latest is a strange tale that takes one part It Follows and one part slasher movie.
The film follows Wakaba, a young girl whose father is an abusive alcoholic and whose mother is too timid to defend herself or Wakaba. But that doesn’t stop Wakaba from defending her fellow classmate Koki who is being bullied by other students at elementary school. However that defence, and subsequent friendship between the two, is ruined by the school bullies turning their attention to Wakaba. But that attention doesn’t last long as the...
Love Will Tear Us Apart is the latest film from director Ken’ichi Ugana, who has made a name for himself on the festival circuit with films like Extraneous Matter and Visitors. His latest is a strange tale that takes one part It Follows and one part slasher movie.
The film follows Wakaba, a young girl whose father is an abusive alcoholic and whose mother is too timid to defend herself or Wakaba. But that doesn’t stop Wakaba from defending her fellow classmate Koki who is being bullied by other students at elementary school. However that defence, and subsequent friendship between the two, is ruined by the school bullies turning their attention to Wakaba. But that attention doesn’t last long as the...
- 2/28/2024
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Despite the fact that Kenichi Ugana usually follows genre paths in his filmmaking, his will to change styles is also evident throughout his body of work, which we have been covering since 2018 and “Good-Bye Silence”. His latest work, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” amusingly goes into slasher territory, in a movie that had its world premiere at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and won the Grand Prix at the Portland Horror Film Festival.
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The film begins in an elementary school, where we are introduced to Wakaba, a girl who has to face her father's aggressive behavior, along with her mother. Probably due to this, when she sees one of her classmates, Koki, being bullied in school, she decides to help him, in a decision, though, that ends up with both of them being bullied by two particular students,...
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The film begins in an elementary school, where we are introduced to Wakaba, a girl who has to face her father's aggressive behavior, along with her mother. Probably due to this, when she sees one of her classmates, Koki, being bullied in school, she decides to help him, in a decision, though, that ends up with both of them being bullied by two particular students,...
- 7/8/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“When you start looking in the darkness, you’ll see something. That’s the idea I wanted to depict and convey,” Kogahara Takeshi told Variety, after the screening of his debut “Nagisa,” a movie where darkness and silences play a crucial role.
The plot follows a young man (played by Yuzu Aoki) who suffers from guilt related to the death of his adored sister (Yamazaki Nanami), and encounters her ghost in a haunted tunnel. Thus, he keeps on visiting the tunnel to re-experience his past.
“The core idea came up when I was studying at the film school, a long time ago – 20 years ago or so. The idea was to [have a character] go into a tunnel and there see someone else, a ghost of someone special, [someone] you belong to.”
“Nagisa”
While continuing his career path, this idea remained stuck in Kogahara’s mind, until he managed to write a first draft of “Nagisa” eight years ago.
The plot follows a young man (played by Yuzu Aoki) who suffers from guilt related to the death of his adored sister (Yamazaki Nanami), and encounters her ghost in a haunted tunnel. Thus, he keeps on visiting the tunnel to re-experience his past.
“The core idea came up when I was studying at the film school, a long time ago – 20 years ago or so. The idea was to [have a character] go into a tunnel and there see someone else, a ghost of someone special, [someone] you belong to.”
“Nagisa”
While continuing his career path, this idea remained stuck in Kogahara’s mind, until he managed to write a first draft of “Nagisa” eight years ago.
- 12/4/2022
- by Davide Abbatescianni
- Variety Film + TV
Newcomers in filmmaking are characterized by a lack of experience, which, however, can prove a most important tool in presenting original stories and implementing new cinematic approaches. Taku Tsuboi does just that in a film whose story combines the Aum incident with 3/11 and elements of thriller, mystery and the supernatural, and its approach, elements of stage play and performance.
“Sacrifice” is screening at Japan Cuts 2020
The film sets its tone from the introduction scene, where a young girl, in the setting of the headquarters of a cult, predicts the 2011 Earthquake. Flash forward some years, and the girl is now a college student, while we also learn that her name is Midori and the cult she was unwittingly involved with was The Sacred Tide. While her premonitions continue, strange things continue to occur around her, as a killer of cats seems to roam the campus, and a human body is eventually found.
“Sacrifice” is screening at Japan Cuts 2020
The film sets its tone from the introduction scene, where a young girl, in the setting of the headquarters of a cult, predicts the 2011 Earthquake. Flash forward some years, and the girl is now a college student, while we also learn that her name is Midori and the cult she was unwittingly involved with was The Sacred Tide. While her premonitions continue, strange things continue to occur around her, as a killer of cats seems to roam the campus, and a human body is eventually found.
- 7/20/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A delicate yet deeply felt portrait of that ephemeral time of life that is adolescence, the 60-minute featurette “Moonless Dawn” is a young work from young director/writer Harika Abe, and when I say young I certainly don’t mean green or juvenile, but on he contrary I mean fresh, with a flourishing creative drive and the pulse of its target audience. Winner of Moosic Lab 2018’s Actor Award “Moonless Dawn” is now streaming via the Japanese Film Festival Magazine.
“Moonless Dawn” follows three teenagers facing the sense of helplessness in dealing with pre-adulthood and the loss of reference points that it inevitably brings with it. Kou (Yuzu Aoki) is lost in a father/son relationship he simply cannot fix, where the father’s alienation and despair constitute an unfair load on Kou’s shoulder. Saki (Haruka Echigo) too has family turmoils; her parents are arguing all the time and...
“Moonless Dawn” follows three teenagers facing the sense of helplessness in dealing with pre-adulthood and the loss of reference points that it inevitably brings with it. Kou (Yuzu Aoki) is lost in a father/son relationship he simply cannot fix, where the father’s alienation and despair constitute an unfair load on Kou’s shoulder. Saki (Haruka Echigo) too has family turmoils; her parents are arguing all the time and...
- 4/3/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
About the Film
A delicate yet deeply felt portrait of that ephemeral time of life that is adolescence, the 60-minute featurette “Moonless Dawn” is a young work from young director/writer Harika Abe, and when I say young I certainly don’t mean green or juvenile, but on he contrary I mean fresh, with a flourishing creative drive and the pulse of its target audience. Winner of Moosic Lab 2018’s Actor Award “Moonless Dawn” is now streaming via the Japanese Film Festival Magazine.
Synopsis
“Moonless Dawn” follows three teenagers dealing with pre-adulthood and the loss of reference points that it inevitably takes with it. Kou (Yuzu Aoki) is lost in a father/son relationship he simply cannot fix, where the father’s alienation and despair constitute an unfair load on Kou’s shoulder. Saki (Haruka Echigo) too has family turmoils; her parents are arguing all the time and the male...
A delicate yet deeply felt portrait of that ephemeral time of life that is adolescence, the 60-minute featurette “Moonless Dawn” is a young work from young director/writer Harika Abe, and when I say young I certainly don’t mean green or juvenile, but on he contrary I mean fresh, with a flourishing creative drive and the pulse of its target audience. Winner of Moosic Lab 2018’s Actor Award “Moonless Dawn” is now streaming via the Japanese Film Festival Magazine.
Synopsis
“Moonless Dawn” follows three teenagers dealing with pre-adulthood and the loss of reference points that it inevitably takes with it. Kou (Yuzu Aoki) is lost in a father/son relationship he simply cannot fix, where the father’s alienation and despair constitute an unfair load on Kou’s shoulder. Saki (Haruka Echigo) too has family turmoils; her parents are arguing all the time and the male...
- 4/2/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
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