Happy Weekend and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
I hope you are well.
Welcome to the last trailer post of 2019!
This week was spent Christmasing with my mother and sister which involved getting a new pet and eating lots of good food. I managed to start watching films again, a couple of classics and and a new one and I hope to get some reviews done.
In terms of published content, two reviews for Hirokazu Koreeda films, the first being The Third Murder and the second being Shoplifters.
What’s released this weekend?
Tora-san, Wish You Were Here 
男はつらいよ お帰り 寅さん 「Otoko wa tsuraiyo Okaeri Torasan」
Release Date: December 27th, 2019
Duration: 116 mins.
Director: Yoji Yamada
Writer: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara (Screenplay),
Starring: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieka Baisho, Gin Maeda, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Kumiko Goto, Mari Natsuki, Ruriko Asaoka, Chizuru Ikewaki, Jun Miho, Mari Hamada,
It is the 50th Anniversary of the Tora-san series and this is the 50th film. Long-time director Yoji Yamada, returns to the series to bring back the travelling salesman and his adventure in love but as seen from his family’s perspective.
Synopsis: Mitsuo, Tora-san’s nephew, has arrived at Kurumaya Cafe in Shibamata, Tokyo, on the sixth anniversary of the death of his wife for a memorial service. Tora-san’s family ran the place as a traditional confectionery store before it was turned into a cafe but the living quarters in the back remain unchanged. It is here that the family gather to reminiscence about the past, including Tora-san’s adventures in love up and down Japan. It is now, at Tora-san’s childhood home, that Mitsuo runs into Izumi, his first love.
Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion: Mirai Kara Shinsoku no ALFA-X 
新幹線変形ロボ シンカリオン 未来からきた神速のALFA-X 「Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion: Mirai Kara Shinsoku no ALFA-X」
Release Date: December 27th, 2019
Duration: 79 mins.
Director: Takahairo Ikezoe
Writer: Kento Shimomiya (Screenplay),
Starring: Ayane Sakura (Hayato Hayasugi), Rie Kugimiya (Hokuto), Kentaro Ito (Nahane), Kotaro Yoshida (Ohanef),
Animation Production: OLM, SynergySP
Synopsis: Hayato Hayasugi and other children serve as conductors to pilot the Shinkalion, robots that are based on various models of real-life Japanese bullet trains. The children must work together with the adults of the “Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute” (SUEI) to defeat a monster that looks like a jet black bullet train. Hayato meets his father Hokuto when the latter travels from the past to the present as a boy to help Hayato protect Earth from a new threat.
Looking for Yutaka Ozaki 
尾崎豊を探して 「Ozaki Yutaka o Sagashite」
Release Date: December 27th, 2019
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Teru Sato
Writer: N/A
Starring: Yutaka Ozaki
Synopsis: Yutaka Ozaki was a singer who died at the age of 26 in 1992 but he is still popular and he is the subject of this documentary where we see some of his concerts from the 80s and, through seeing Ozaki’s songs, we understand him a bit better.
A Horse is Born Somewhere Today 
今日もどこかで馬は生まれる 「Kyo mo doko ka de Uma wa Umareru」
Release Date: December 28th, 2019
Duration: 94 mins.
Director: Kenichi Hirabayashi
Writer: N/A
Starring: Takahiro Araki, Ryuichi Ouchi, Yoshihiro Okada,
Synopsis: A documentary about race horses, in particular, those who raced. Through looking at different horses and interviewing people involved in horse racing a picture is built up.
Genkinahito 
RE: “50th Anniversary of the Tora-san series and this is the 50th film.”
I had no idea. Netflix has the first three movies, all of which I loved. Animego did an excellent job providing cultural notes on the releases that I saw.
I would like to catch up on the series sometime.
I see that he is not wearing his jacket over his shoulder like a cape anymore.
You might know, Richard Gere was involved in some type of tribute to Tora-San.
I have not watched any of the films and I had no idea Richard Gere was involved in a tribute. That’s actually a surprise that makes Gere more interesting.
I found out this week that there’s an actual Tora-san museum so I might be going there.
Go watch the first one then!
Photo link: Gere wears the suit jacket like a cape as the original also did.
He looks good wearing the outfit.
There are so many films to watch and not enough time…
If you are going to teach a course on Japan film, I recommend having the Animego (spelling?) brand, as the annotations they provide are very good. In the first movie, There is one funny scene where Tora-san explains kanji script.while making puns. Directly translated it would not make any semse, but the annotations make it quite enjoyable.
Also the first movie really fooled me. I was watching that and I HATED this guy and how he acted. I turned it off midway, but then finished it later. The character very much redeems himselve in the second half, and I understood the reasoning for his bad behavior early one.