Happy Weekend.
I hope you are well.
This is a two-part trailer post because there are a lot of films going out. I’ll keep this brief since I am providing coverage of the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (preview one and preview two) and I want to watch as many films as possible! I reviewed one of the films playing at Yamagata when it got screened at Japan Cuts 2021: Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions.
What are the first batch of films released this weekend?
Onoda – 10,000 Nights In The Jungle
ONODA 一万夜を越えて 「ONODA ichi man yoru o koete」 
Release Date: July 21st 2021 (France)
Duration: 174 mins.
Director: Arthur Harari
Writer: Arthur Harari, Vincent Poymiro (Script)
Starring: Yuya Endo, Kanji Tsuda, Yuya Matsuura, Tetsuya Chiba, Shinsuke Kato, Issei Ogata,
Filmmaker’s Website Japanese Website IMDB
This is an international co-production directed by French filmmaker Arthur Harari and it retells a true story. It opened the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Synopsis from the Website: Japan, 1944. Trained for intelligence work, Hiroo Onoda, 22 years old, discovers a philosophy contrary to the official line : no suicide, stay alive whatever happens, the mission is more important than anything else.
Sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines where the Americans are about to land, his role will be to wage a guerilla war until the return of the Japanese troops.
The Empire will surrender soon after, Onoda 10.000 days later.
Child of Kamiari Month
神在月のこども 「Kamiari no kodomo」
Release Date: October 08th, 2021
Duration: 99 mins.
Director: Takana Shirao
Writer: Ryuta Miyake, Tetsuro Takita, Tomomi Mochizuki,
Starring: Aju Makita (Kanna), Maaya Sakamoto (Shiro), Miyu Irino (oni boy Yato), Arata Iura (Norimasa Hayama), Kou Shibasaki (Yayoi Hayama),
Animation Production: LIDEN Films
The company Cretica Universal is trying to utilise the unique culture and nature of Japan to create IP and here they have done so through an animation based on the legends surrounding an area of Izumo city, Shimane prefecture. I first wrote about it as part of last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
Synopsis: October is known as Kamiari month, a time when the gods are believed to leave their dwelling places for a bonding rite in the Izumo region. Kanna is a 12-year-old girl who lives a life similar to us but she learns from a rabbit named Shiro that she and her late mother Yayoi are descendants of gods and that Yayoi had the responsibility of delivering food to the Izumo conference. Now Kanna must follow her mother in taking on this responsibility and she travels to the land of the gods in the hope she can get them to revive her mother.
The Laws of the Universe: Part 2 Elohim Chapter 
宇宙の法 エローヒム編 「Uchuu no Hou: Erohim-hen」
Release Date: October 08th, 2021
Duration: 119 mins
Director: Isamu Imakake
Writer: Sayaka Okawa (Screenplay), Ryuho Okawa (Original Creator)
Starring: Yoshiko Sengen (Yaizael), Satomi Arai (Seraphim),
Animation Production: HS Pictures Studio
This is the third in a series of Happy Science religion sci-fi films that depict the mysteries, origins, and hidden truths of the universe.
Synopsis: About 150 million years ago, there an advanced human civilization lived on Earth in Elohim City, a place ruled by Elohim, a god who descended to earth. Trade flourishes and there is contact with aliens but one race of hostile extra terrestrials sends a huge meteorite bomb towards the Earth. Yaizael, a female warrior who has protected numerous planets from evil, comes to rescue Earth.
Gekijouban Macross Δ Movie 2: Zettai Live!!!!!! 
劇場版マクロスΔ 絶対LIVE!!!!!! 「Gekijouban MakurosuΔ Zettai LIVE!!!!!!」
Release Date: October 08th, 2021
Duration: 119 mins
Director: Shoji Kawamori
Writer: Toshizo Nemoto (Screenplay), Shoji Kawamori (Original Creator)
Starring: Yuma Uchida, Minori Suzuki, Asami Seto, Ami Koshimizu, Junna, Kiyono Yasuno,
Animation Production: Satelight
This will be screened with a short film that draws upon Macross Frontier.
Synopsis: This is the movie version of the TV anime Macross Delta, which was broadcast in 2016. Eight years after the events in Macross F (Frontier), Walküre and their Valkyrie escort of Delta Flight hold a concert to celebrate the ceasefire between the Kingdom of Windermere on the outskirts of the galaxy and Earth government as well as the containment of the mysterious “Var Syndrome,” a disease that makes people violent with the power of singing. However, a new threat emerges…
Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2205: Aratanaru Tabidachi – Zenshou: Take Off 
宇宙戦艦ヤマト2205 新たなる旅立ち 前章 TAKE OFF 「Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2205: Aratanaru Tabidachi – Zenshou: Take Off」
Release Date: October 08th 2021
Duration: 103 mins.
Director: Kenji Yasuda
Writer: Harutoshi Fukui, Hideki Oka (Script), Leiji Matsumoto, Yoshinobu Nishizaki (Original Creator)
Starring: Daisuke Ono (Susumu Kodai), Houko Kuwashima (Yuki Mori), Chitose Morinaga (Caroline Raiden), Kenichi Suzumura (Daisuke Shima), Kent Ito (Shigeru Sakamoto), Kikuko Inoue (Starsha Iscandar), Koichi Yamadera (Abelt Desler),
Animation Production: Satelight
Synopsis: The remakes of the classic anime Space Battleship Yamato continue apace with this entry that is inspired by the first of two chapters inspired by the 1979 TV special Space Battleship Yamato: A New Departure. Three years have passed since the battle against the White Comet Empire and a band of people known as the Gamilas are in search of a home planet. They have come to the Milky Way Galaxy after tracking down a suitable place but this sets off a territorial dispute that soon involves Earth who take the side of the Gamilas people. The Yamato is called into action and sets off on a training voyage with a new crew in preparation for the coming conflict but there is an assassin on board.
The Sound of Grass 
草の響き 「Kusa no Hibiki」
Release Date: October 08th, 2021
Duration: 116 mins.
Director: Hisashi Saito
Writer: Hitomi Kase (Script), Yasushi Sato (Original Novel),
Starring: Masahiro Higashide, Nao, Shunsuke Daito, Kaya, Yuki Mine, Shigeru Muroi, Yuta Hayashi,
This is based on a Yasushi Sato story. He was a writer from Hakodate who committed suicide but left behind a body of work that has inspired many a film including And Your Bird Can Sing, Over the Fence, and Sketches of Kaitan City.
Synopsis: Kazuo (Masahiro Higashide) and Junko (Nao) are a married couple who live in Tokyo. A huge upheaval comes when he suffers from a mental issue and he returns to his hometown of Hakodate in the far north. A psychiatrist recommends that he jog everyday and so, following his doctor’s advice, Kazuo takes to jogging. Whatever the weather, he jogs around the city and he soon regains his mental equilibrium but he also has strange interactions he meets during his runs. Meanwhile, Junko, a native of Tokyo, tries her best to adjust to life in a new environment.
Genkinahito 