NFAJ: Hasegawa/Director’s Co.
Revisiting the Films of an Indie Collective
Venue(s): National Film Archive of JapanOct. 15 to Dec. 30, 2022. English subbed films start on Oct. 27, 28, 30. Look for with "with English subtitles" or English titles for E-subs or check below. https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/toho202209/#section1-2
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Official website: www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/kazuhiko202209/#section1-2
Theater website: www.nfaj.go.jp/english/visit/access/
Tariff: General: ¥520, Student/Senior: ¥310, Under 16: ¥100
Advance tickets: ¥520: https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/kazuhiko202209/#section1-4
Talk event: Guests will talk after the screenings.
Title: 長谷川和彦とディレクターズ・カンパニー ( Hasegawa Kazuhiko to Director’s Company)
The National Film Archive of Japan (NFAJ), in conjunction with the Tokyo International Film Festival (running October 24 – November 2), will co-host special screenings in 35mm showcasing work from Kazuhiko Hasegawa and the Director’s Company. Founded in 1982 by Hasegawa Kazuhiko and other filmmakers, the group included Toshiharu Ikeda, Sogo (now Gakuryu) Ishii, Kazuyuki Izutsu, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kichitaro Negishi, Kazuki Omori, Shinji Somai and Banmei Takahashi.
These young (all under 36 years old) men were looking for support outside the studio system to fuel greater artistic growth, and went on to produce unique titles for 11 years. NFAJ is focusing on notable early works by director Shinji Aoyama (1964-2022), who worked on the films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa (as well as Daniel Schmid and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson) before making his own directorial debut in 1995. Two of Aoyama’s works are being screened with English subtitles.
TWO PUNKS
Two Punks, チンピラ
Director: Shinji Aoyama, 100 min,
35mm, color, with English subtitles
Friday, October 28, 2022 3:00 PM @ Small Hall
October 30, 2022 (Sun) 12:30 PM@Small Hall
Aoyama’s second film after Helpless (1996), Two Punks is a remake of a 1984 Toru Kawashima film. Yoichi (a very young Takao Osawa) comes to Tokyo from Shikoku full of bravado and starts working at a club run by a yakuza boss, where he meets the mopey, middle-aged Michio (Duncan). The two decide to start a horse-race betting business, but Michio makes the mistake of having an affair with the boss' mistress and disappears.
There will be post-screening talks (Japanese only) on October 28 and 30, but alas, Aoyama is no longer around to be there.
SHADY GROVE
Shady Grove
Director: Shinji Aoyama, 99 min,
35mm, color, with English subtitles
Thursday, October 27, 2022 3:00 PM @ Small Hall
Sunday, October 30, 2022 3:50 PM @ Small Hall
Aoyama’s fifth film, made in 1999, just before he made Eureka and earned two Cannes awards, depicts the relationship between Rika, an office worker who is obsessed with marrying her up-and-comer boyfriend — who suddenly dumps her — and a film publicist (Arata Iura, who made his acting debut in Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life the same year), who feels like he’s just grinding his gears at work. The two lonely souls meet, if that’s the right word, when Rika drunk-dials him late one night, and they bond over the “shady grove,” a utopian spot that has now been developed into apartments. About 80% of the film was shot on digital video, but the scenes in the grove were shot on film.
National Film Archive of Japan
Please be sure to check with the theater before going.