Stereo Future (2001)

Keisuke, an aspiring samurai-movie actor lands a major role in a new film, but must contend with a director who has nothing but scorn for him, but who continually fawns over the film's ... See full summary »

Director:

Hiroyuki Nakano

Writers:

Masatoshi Kimura, Hiroyuki Nakano

Stars:

Masatoshi Nagase, Akiko Monô, Tamaki Ogawa

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Keisuke Katsura
Akiko Monô	...	Eri Momozaki
Tamaki Ogawa	...	Kaoru Momozaki
Kumiko Asô	...	Mika Andou
Naoto Takenaka	...	Ryuutarou Takayama
Mitsuru Fukikoshi	...	Ryou Kuroki
Morio Kazama	...	Maki kantoku (Director)
Shôichirô Akaboshi	...	Fujisawa jokantoku (Assistant director)
Pierre Taki	...	Kengo Kawase
Shunsuke Matsuoka	...	Shunsuke Yamamoto
Daniel Ezralow	...	Dr. Danny Moreno
Kei Tani	...	Ninja - Kagemaru
Makoto Ohtake	...	Video-editor no Wada
Ren Ohsugi	...	Telebi-kyoku Hensei-buchou no Kuroiwa
Kitarô	...	Telebi-kyoku Hensei-buchou

Storyline

Keisuke, an aspiring samurai-movie actor lands a major role in a new film, but must contend with a director who has nothing but scorn for him, but who continually fawns over the film's obnoxious ham of a star. Meanwhile, Keisuke has been dumped by his girlfriend, Eri, after she becomes heartbroken when he considers working full-time as a bar manager rather than pursuing his dream. Through her job as a translator, she meets an Italian professor who claims to talk to trees, and who immediately starts trying to woo her.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

5 June 2001 (Japan)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TV Tokyo, Taki Corporation, Tohokashinsha Film Company Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Buddhist statue that can be seen in the background behind Eri and Danny was used previously in _Samurai Fiction (1998)_ in a similar forest.

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Connections

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

User Reviews

Stereo Future: trying to preserve the welfare of nature and emotions of the mankind

Finding hidden gems in generally rich Japanese cinema is becoming more and more rewarding each time, it seems. Not that there aren't enough crafty, internationally successful releases to indulge myself in, it just never gets tiring to find certain films that for some reason didn't quite cross over to a broader audience.

From the reviews and pictures I had a pretty good idea of what type of film this would be. It starts out with pleasant scenery and reoccurring soothing music, reminiscent of All About Lily Chou-Chou, and surprisingly mixes that with more edgy tunes to suit the moments. The way it circulates bunch of characters who are connected to each other reminded me of Survive Stye 5+. Ultimately when you are presented with such a character cycle, you will either enjoy the entire experience or crave more from a specific situation. Unfortunately for the most part I fell under the spell of the latter.

First half of the film provides a typical strain of scenes that seem to be floating on thin air with good music and visuals, but still promising a gradual aim toward a climatic resolution. normally with such films, expectancy of overly cohesive actions and consequences should be kept at a reasonable level, since it's rather difficult for some story tellers to create highly emotional situations while at the same time maintaining hyperactive surrealism. But just when you think the film will fully embody melancholy, it comes out with wacky comedy and action sequences. With stylish camera work they are performed smoothly, proving good entertainment and enjoyable diversity. Perhaps I was mesmerized by Akiko Monou's beauty and equally strong subtlety, little disappointed by the harmlessness of Masatoshi Nagase's con friends, that in the end I wished for the story to have dealt more with romance and how the two leading characters handled the separation and ultimately the revival of their unique relationship.

Even though the outcome of the film didn't get to me the way it intended to, I found the little subplots and situations quite entertaining and worthwhile. However, there are other films that have tackled same style of artistry and storytelling by delivering more thrilling characters and stronger premises with lasting effects. Still, don't let this serve as a discouragement, because in the end, Stereo Future has more going for it than most of the mainstream throwaway films with predictable and unimaginative content.