The 35th Torino Film Festival will take place from November 24th to December 02nd and there are a lot of interesting Asian films. I want to focus on Japanese titles and there are two on the programme, one of which is a super special supernatural romance tale that left me grinning with glee and the other a super fun-looking vampire tale from Japanese cinema legend Sion Sono. Here are the details:
バーミー 「Ba-Mi-」
Running Time: 100 mins.
Director: Jun Tanaka
Writer: Jun Tanaka
Starring: Hironobu Yukinaga, Hiromi Nakazato, Misaki Tsuge, Toshi Yanagi, Yuki Katsuragi,
J-horror is alive and well. Kiyoshi Kurosawa recently flexed his muscles in Europe with Daguerrotype (2016) and Jun Tanaka’s Bamy (2017) impressed critics. I found it brilliant and watched it three times when I was at the Osaka Asian Film Festival. The main reason I adored it was because I felt that it was reminiscent of Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s works.
The cinematography and the ghosts echo Kurosawa’s works, most notably Pulse (2001) – washed-out and drab colour palette which emphasises black spaces that suggest a bleak world with scary shadows that stain normal environments from which ghosts creepily emerge. It brings a fresh take to this through a narrative which plays with the myth of the red string of fate – an unbreakable bond that ties people destined to be together, or should that be individuals who cannot escape what has been preordained by some larger transcendental entity. The film follows this thread of an idea to its natural and almost absurd conclusion in an entertaining and creepy romance where, like in Seance (2001), as horrifying as the ghosts are, we’re given a character study as well. BAMY is original and inventive enough to be its own title and I highly recommend it. For fans of J-horror and Kurosawa, this is a must-see.
Synopsis: One day, Fumiko (Hiromi Nakazato) runs into Ryota (Hironobu Yukinaga), an old acquaintance from her college photography club. They would have missed each other had it not been for a mysterious red umbrella tumbling from the skies causing them to lock eyes. Soon enough they are making plans to get married. They seem like an ideal couple but, unfortunately, their relationship slowly ruptures because Ryota is troubled by a secret ability… he can see ghosts. Fumiko cannot and the two find themselves being torn apart by Ryota’s ability. Things get even more complicated when he encounters Sae Kimura (Misaki Tsuge), a woman with the same ability. She seems like a perfect match and Ryota leaves Fumiko but the bonds of destiny cannot be broken by the will of a mere mortal.
The screening on November 27th will be introduced by director Jun Tanaka. He will be bringing two of the fantastic actors, Hironobu Yukinaga and Hiromi Nakazato, the cinematographer Hideaki Arai, and two of the production designers, Yuto Hama and Mai Yamaguchi.
CINEMA CLASSICO 26th Nov. 2017 11:00
CINEMA REPOSI 27th Nov. 2017 17:30
CINEMA REPOSI 28 Nov. 2017 11:30
CINEMA REPOSI 29 Nov. 2017 19:30
東京ヴァンパイアホテル 「Toukyou banpai hoteru」
Running Time: 142 mins.
Release Date: October 28th, 2017
Director: Sion Sono (biography season)
Writer: Sion Sono, Jun Tsugita, Manabu Ikarimoto (Screenplay),
Starring: Yumi Adachi, Kaho, Ami Tomite, Megumi Kagurazaka, Akihiro Kitamura, Shinnosuke Mitsushima,
Sion Sono (Suicide Club, Love Exposure) is back. Adapted from the Amazon series, Tokyo Vampire Hotel sees two vampire tribes go to war as the world faces an apocalypse. The series is based on an original screenplay and stars actress Kaho (Puzzle), Ami Tomite (Antiporno), Yumi Adachi; and Megumi Kagurazaka, the director’s wife who practically stars in most of his films post Cold Fish. It was filmed in Japan, and also in Transylvania and Romania, including Dracula’s Castle. Here’s an article over at The Japan Times. It has been programmed at the Five Flavours Film Festival and Tokyo FILMeX.
Synopsis from The Japan Times: A vampire clan holes up in an impregnable hotel, with trapped humans as a food source, as civilization collapses outside its doors.
Manami (Ami Tomite) night starts off great as she is celebrating her 22nd birthday in a pub in Shinjuku but it all ends in a bloodbath when she is caught up in a massacre. She’s the only survivor and now that she’s 22, she has access to special vampire powers. This isn’t random. It turns out she is connected to the Dracula clan, something she finds out when she is followed by a mysterious woman who calls herself K (Kaho) and a mysterious man named Yamada who represents the Corvin clan. Both are vampires from rival clans and both want Manami and Yamada has her trapped in a hotel where humans will have to donate blood for all eternity…
CINEMA MASSIMO 24th Nov. 2017 16:00
CINEMA MASSIMO 30th Nov. 2017 11:00
CINEMA MASSIMO 01 Dec. 2017 16:45
Genkinahito 