The 12th Japanese Film Festival, 2009
When you think Japanese cinema, you probably think about anime, right? Or samurai flicks. Or mind-f*ck horror. Or a lurid blend of bizarre sex and graphic violence. For 12 years now, The Japan Foundation has been bringing discerning cinemagoers all this... and much, much more!
Like wasabi hitting your sinuses, the festival kicks off with plot-twisting crime comedy AFTER SCHOOL.
Hunting & Gathering
When did ‘romance' turn into ‘romantic comedy'? Barring sometight-corsetted period pieces, Hollywood decided that audiences only wanted love stories if they came wrapped in self-depreciating pop-culture gags. Thank god the French don't always feel the urge to befunny.
HUNTING & GATHERING is hardly dour, though.
I do
Everyone loves a French film. There’s something about the accent coupled with the anticipation of unexpected nudity that puts even the best of us on the edge of our seats. We can tell you now there’s no nudity in I DO, but there is an awkward scene involving love-toys and leather.
The romantic comedy follows hardened bachelor Luis (Alain Chabat), whose overbearing mother and sisters constantly pester him to find a wife.
Tom Goes to the Mayor
From the crazy, nonsensical cartoonists at the Adult Swim network in The States, TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR is one of the weirdest yet. So weird, that it divided Adult Swim viewers more than any cartoon in the networks' history. People either loved it or absolutely despised it. Me? I loved it, so was thrilled when they released all 31 episodes on this handy three disc DVD set.
Summer Rain
Antonio Banderas’, ‘Summer Rain’ treads new ground since his directing debut of ‘Crazy in Alabama’, the fluffy romantic comedy of 1999. Set in Southern Spain of the 1970s the heavily stylised story runs within the allegorical parallels of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, Antonio Soler’s prize-winning novel and Banderas’ autobiography.
Paris, Je T'aime
Anthologies work because they’re so soothing for those with short attention spans. If you don’t like one chunk? Wait a few minutes, and you’ll be watching something else. ‘Paris, je t'aime’ has no less than 18 short films by arthouse directors from around the world, including Gus Van Sant, Tom Twyker, the Coen Brothers, Olivier Assayas, and more.
The Science of Sleep
In THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP, Stéphane hosts a talkshow in his dreams which is filmed on a cardboard set inside his head with windows that look out of his own eyes. If you’re familiar with the work of director Michel Gondry, that’s probably all you need to know.
Without the dour conceptual genius of Charlie Kaufman’s script for Gondry's previous movie, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF A SPOTLESS MIND, this film is more personal and more random.
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