Following years of directing music videos and shorts, Taichi Kimura unleashes his impressive first feature film, “Afterglows.” Shot in black and white, the film also features a screenplay by the trio Ryosuke Asano, Takuma Hiramatsu, and Yasuhiro Kim. The movie had its international premiere at the Japannual Film Festival.
Check also this interview Interview with Taichi Kimura: Obsession is an Important Emotion to Drive People Forward
Cab driver Akira Morishima is grief-stricken following the death of his girlfriend, Sayuri Komatsu, a successful singer who tragically committed suicide. While on the job, he listens to a radio essay named “Afterglows,” which prompts him to reflect on memories with his deceased lover. Yet, while Akira desperately tries to move on with his life, his obsessions become more depraved, and his grip on reality loosens. Eventually, his life spirals out of control.
While its narrative and stylistic choices may seem familiar, “Afterglows” is still full of surprises.
Check also this interview Interview with Taichi Kimura: Obsession is an Important Emotion to Drive People Forward
Cab driver Akira Morishima is grief-stricken following the death of his girlfriend, Sayuri Komatsu, a successful singer who tragically committed suicide. While on the job, he listens to a radio essay named “Afterglows,” which prompts him to reflect on memories with his deceased lover. Yet, while Akira desperately tries to move on with his life, his obsessions become more depraved, and his grip on reality loosens. Eventually, his life spirals out of control.
While its narrative and stylistic choices may seem familiar, “Afterglows” is still full of surprises.
- 10/27/2023
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSPoor Things.The 80th Venice Film Festival concluded last weekend. The jury, chaired by Damien Chazelle, awarded the Golden Lion to Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest, Poor Things; in his latest dispatch, Leonardo Goi calls it "joltingly alive, a film that crackles with the same restless curiosity and lust of its protagonist." See a summary of all the awards, plus a roundup of our coverage.San Sebastian Film Festival has announced who will serve on their festival juries for their 71st edition: Claire Denis will be the president for the Official Section, while Hayao Miyazaki will receive an honorary award for career achievement. His latest film, The Boy and The Heron, will open the festival.Recommended VIEWINGFor their 50th anniversary, the Film Fest Gent have commissioned 25 new short films inspired by new musical compositions. There's...
- 9/16/2023
- MUBI
The dark fantasy “Flashback Before Death” is the directorial debut of composer Hiroyuki Onogawa, who is best known for his collaborations with Sogo Ishii, and his wife Rii Ishihara. Set in 1930s Japan, the director tells an eerie story about death and sorrow.
Flashback Before Death is screening at Japan Cuts
After completing his studies in France to become a translator, Kikuo, played by Masatoshi Kihara, returns home to his sister Tsuruha (Hanae Seike). It is a stormy and gloomy night as she embraces him at the door and leads him to a dinner table with a creepy doll. The audience is also kept in the dark about the main plot points and has to gather hints to make sense of the events. The doll used to be Tsuruha's child and was named Hinano. Due to a disability, she had to suffer a lot and was longing for death. Hinano's...
Flashback Before Death is screening at Japan Cuts
After completing his studies in France to become a translator, Kikuo, played by Masatoshi Kihara, returns home to his sister Tsuruha (Hanae Seike). It is a stormy and gloomy night as she embraces him at the door and leads him to a dinner table with a creepy doll. The audience is also kept in the dark about the main plot points and has to gather hints to make sense of the events. The doll used to be Tsuruha's child and was named Hinano. Due to a disability, she had to suffer a lot and was longing for death. Hinano's...
- 8/3/2023
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
North America's largest Japanese film festival presents two weeks of contemporary movies from Japan, including opening film The First Slam Dunk directed by Takehiko Inoue, centerpiece film Under The Turquoise Sky directed by Kentaro, closing film The Three Sisters Of Tenmasou Inn directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Japan Society announces the full lineup of the 16th annual Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film, the largest festival of its kind in North America, set for July 26–August 6. This year's edition will present 29 films and mark the first fully in-person Japan Cuts since 2019. This year's festival spans 12 days and features 24 feature-length films and five short films across Feature Slate, Next Generation, and Short Film Spotlight sections, as well as a special tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto. Among the festival's lineup are five International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, seven U.S. Premieres, three East Coast Premieres and three New York Premieres. Additionally, Japan Cuts...
Japan Society announces the full lineup of the 16th annual Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film, the largest festival of its kind in North America, set for July 26–August 6. This year's edition will present 29 films and mark the first fully in-person Japan Cuts since 2019. This year's festival spans 12 days and features 24 feature-length films and five short films across Feature Slate, Next Generation, and Short Film Spotlight sections, as well as a special tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto. Among the festival's lineup are five International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, seven U.S. Premieres, three East Coast Premieres and three New York Premieres. Additionally, Japan Cuts...
- 6/22/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Masatoshi Nagase | Written and Directed by Sogo Ishii
Electric Dragon 80.000 V’s opening narration, delivered by Masakatsu Funaki, informs us that dragons are not mythical creatures, they exist with the bodies of men. That’s followed by scenes of a young boy climbing an electrical pylon only to get a massive shock from the high-tension wires.
This does something to the part of his brain that “we inherited unchanged from lizards” and results in Dragon Eye Morrison frequently getting in trouble for fighting. Attempts to cure it with electric shock therapy only make it worse, turning him into a walking battery. Now an adult he collects lizards and plays guitar to work out his aggression. As the narrator puts it “what saved him from ruin was…The Electric Guitar” as we watch him play.
But ruin in the form of Thunderbolt Buddha has come looking for him.
Electric Dragon 80.000 V’s opening narration, delivered by Masakatsu Funaki, informs us that dragons are not mythical creatures, they exist with the bodies of men. That’s followed by scenes of a young boy climbing an electrical pylon only to get a massive shock from the high-tension wires.
This does something to the part of his brain that “we inherited unchanged from lizards” and results in Dragon Eye Morrison frequently getting in trouble for fighting. Attempts to cure it with electric shock therapy only make it worse, turning him into a walking battery. Now an adult he collects lizards and plays guitar to work out his aggression. As the narrator puts it “what saved him from ruin was…The Electric Guitar” as we watch him play.
But ruin in the form of Thunderbolt Buddha has come looking for him.
- 3/22/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Known largely for his fast-paced punk-inspired films like “Electric Dragon 80 000 V” and “Punk Samurai Slash Down“, Gakryu Ishii (formerly known as Sogo Ishii) has also crafted a multitude of more considered and surreal drama’s that often go overlooked when people discuss his work. Notably, films such as “Mirror Mind” and “Bitter Honey” shuck the sensational in-your-face attitude of the director’s punk films, opting for a more serene and beautiful visual approach. One such film that shows the director taking a more reserved approach is “August in Water”.
“August in Water” takes place during a drought affecting the people of Japan, creating a general malaise among the students at a school with the summer heat sapping their energy, and in extreme cases, citizens end up petrified from the inside. Insight into the surreal events is granted to a young student named Izumi Hazuki, who after...
“August in Water” takes place during a drought affecting the people of Japan, creating a general malaise among the students at a school with the summer heat sapping their energy, and in extreme cases, citizens end up petrified from the inside. Insight into the surreal events is granted to a young student named Izumi Hazuki, who after...
- 2/5/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Quentin Dupieux awarded screenplay prize ex-aequo with himself for Smoking Causes Coughing and Incredible But True.
Finnish production Sisu directed by Jalmari Helander took the main award at the 55th edition of Sitges, marking the director’s second time winning the prestigious Catalan genre event’s best feature award after his 2010 selection Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.
Helander’s third feature also earned best actor at Europe’s biggest genre film festival for Jorma Tommila, cinematography for Kjell Lagerroos, and music for Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä. Handled by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (excluding Nordics), the Second World War survival...
Finnish production Sisu directed by Jalmari Helander took the main award at the 55th edition of Sitges, marking the director’s second time winning the prestigious Catalan genre event’s best feature award after his 2010 selection Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.
Helander’s third feature also earned best actor at Europe’s biggest genre film festival for Jorma Tommila, cinematography for Kjell Lagerroos, and music for Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä. Handled by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (excluding Nordics), the Second World War survival...
- 10/16/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
The Suzuokas are a seemingly regular family of three, living in the suburbs. The husband, Toshio, runs a small metalworking industry in the basement of the house they live in. His wife, Fumie is a homemaker and their little daughter, Hotaru goes to the elementary school and takes harmonium lessons.
“Harmonium” is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
However, when Kusataro Yasaka, an old acquaintance of Kanji arrives unexpectedly to their house, after he is released from prison, everything changes. Kanji seems to have a past life that Mariko did not know of, and a secret he shares with Kusataro that makes him invite him to stay at their house. Mariko is infuriated in the beginning, but as time passes and Kusataro reveals the reasons he went to prison, he takes a liking to him. The same applies to Hotaru, as Kusataro also knows how to play...
“Harmonium” is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
However, when Kusataro Yasaka, an old acquaintance of Kanji arrives unexpectedly to their house, after he is released from prison, everything changes. Kanji seems to have a past life that Mariko did not know of, and a secret he shares with Kusataro that makes him invite him to stay at their house. Mariko is infuriated in the beginning, but as time passes and Kusataro reveals the reasons he went to prison, he takes a liking to him. The same applies to Hotaru, as Kusataro also knows how to play...
- 2/8/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A seemingly regular family gets an unexpected visitor
The Suzuokas are a seemingly regular family of three, living in the suburbs. The husband, Toshio, runs a small metalworking industry in the basement of the house they live in. His wife, Fumie is a homemaker and their little daughter, Hotaru goes to the elementary school and takes harmonium lessons.
However, when Kusataro Yasaka, an old acquaintance of Kanji arrives unexpectedly to their house, after he is released from prison, everything changes. Kanji seems to have a past life that Mariko did not know of, and a secret he shares with Kusataro that makes him invite him to stay at their house. Mariko is infuriated in the beginning, but as time passes and Kusataro reveals the reasons he went to prison, he takes a liking to him. The same applies to Hotaru, as Kusataro also knows how to play the harmonium and begins teaching her.
The Suzuokas are a seemingly regular family of three, living in the suburbs. The husband, Toshio, runs a small metalworking industry in the basement of the house they live in. His wife, Fumie is a homemaker and their little daughter, Hotaru goes to the elementary school and takes harmonium lessons.
However, when Kusataro Yasaka, an old acquaintance of Kanji arrives unexpectedly to their house, after he is released from prison, everything changes. Kanji seems to have a past life that Mariko did not know of, and a secret he shares with Kusataro that makes him invite him to stay at their house. Mariko is infuriated in the beginning, but as time passes and Kusataro reveals the reasons he went to prison, he takes a liking to him. The same applies to Hotaru, as Kusataro also knows how to play the harmonium and begins teaching her.
- 2/20/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
As we have also started to deal with Asian music in Asian Movie Pulse lately, a list that features movie soundtracks was a must. In the entries that follow, we have collected 50 films’ scores that have stayed in our minds and have made us happy, sad, or simply to enjoy ourselves while listening to them. From anime to musicals, from cult to art-house and from dramas to comedies, here is a list with 50 works that define the movies they were included at least as much as their visuals.
*Some movies never had their soundtracks released but we felt that the songs included deserve a mention here. By clicking on the titles you can read our reviews of the films, by clicking on the song titles you can listen the tracks from YouTube.
1. 9 Souls
Dip create intense background music that follows rock and alternative paths, with each of the tracks pointing...
*Some movies never had their soundtracks released but we felt that the songs included deserve a mention here. By clicking on the titles you can read our reviews of the films, by clicking on the song titles you can listen the tracks from YouTube.
1. 9 Souls
Dip create intense background music that follows rock and alternative paths, with each of the tracks pointing...
- 8/25/2020
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Hiroyuki Onogawa – music composer, author of the legendary film scores to ‘August in the Water’, ‘Electric Dragon 80.000 V’, ‘Labyrinth of Dreams’, collaborator for Sogo (Gakuryu) Ishii and Koji Fukada on their life most significant projects. Nowadays working also as a film producer – ‘The Hungry Lion’ he co-produced has just been released in Japan. In the interview, Onogawa recollects the times he was a part of the cyberpunk genre and juxtaposes it with the current state of Japanese cinema.
You mentioned in our last conversation that you do not compose film music in order to pull the heartstrings of the viewers. Why is that so?
It might be a bit complex to explain it briefly. For instance, when we have a tragic scene and the music is touching, it automatically explains it. I do not like to explain – one might feel sorrow upon watching a particular scene, but there comes the...
You mentioned in our last conversation that you do not compose film music in order to pull the heartstrings of the viewers. Why is that so?
It might be a bit complex to explain it briefly. For instance, when we have a tragic scene and the music is touching, it automatically explains it. I do not like to explain – one might feel sorrow upon watching a particular scene, but there comes the...
- 11/10/2018
- by Nikodem Karolak
- AsianMoviePulse
The collaboration between Eiji Uchida and Third Window Films has proved quite fruitful, being in the process of even creating a specific style, which begun with “Lowlife Love” and continues with “Love and Other Cults”.
Ai is a girl who seems to get no break in her miserable life. Her father is nowhere to be found, and her mother is a religion fanatic, although not with a specific one, but with the concept of joining different cults constantly. Not interested in her daughter even a bit, she unburdens her into the hands of her latest cult. The girl manages to find some semblance of peace in that community, but this sentiment is shattered when the leader of the cult, a westerner named Lavi is arrested and the cult disbanded. Ai finds herself in school, where she does seem to fit a bit, although not for long Her odyssey to find someone to love her,...
Ai is a girl who seems to get no break in her miserable life. Her father is nowhere to be found, and her mother is a religion fanatic, although not with a specific one, but with the concept of joining different cults constantly. Not interested in her daughter even a bit, she unburdens her into the hands of her latest cult. The girl manages to find some semblance of peace in that community, but this sentiment is shattered when the leader of the cult, a westerner named Lavi is arrested and the cult disbanded. Ai finds herself in school, where she does seem to fit a bit, although not for long Her odyssey to find someone to love her,...
- 5/5/2017
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A seemingly regular family gets an unexpected visitor
The Suzuokas are a seemingly regular family of three, living in the suburbs. The husband, Toshio, runs a small metalworking industry in the basement of the house they live in. His wife, Fumie is a homemaker and their little daughter, Hotaru goes to the elementary school and takes harmonium lessons.
However, when Kusataro Yasaka, an old acquaintance of Kanji arrives unexpectedly to their house, after he is released from prison, everything changes. Kanji seems to have a past life that Mariko did not know of, and a secret he shares with Kusataro that makes him invite him to stay at their house. Mariko is infuriated in the beginning, but as time passes and Kusataro reveals the reasons he went to prison, he takes a liking to him. The same applies to Hotaru, as Kusataro also knows how to play the harmonium and begins teaching her.
The Suzuokas are a seemingly regular family of three, living in the suburbs. The husband, Toshio, runs a small metalworking industry in the basement of the house they live in. His wife, Fumie is a homemaker and their little daughter, Hotaru goes to the elementary school and takes harmonium lessons.
However, when Kusataro Yasaka, an old acquaintance of Kanji arrives unexpectedly to their house, after he is released from prison, everything changes. Kanji seems to have a past life that Mariko did not know of, and a secret he shares with Kusataro that makes him invite him to stay at their house. Mariko is infuriated in the beginning, but as time passes and Kusataro reveals the reasons he went to prison, he takes a liking to him. The same applies to Hotaru, as Kusataro also knows how to play the harmonium and begins teaching her.
- 10/27/2016
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.