ACF 1138: "Films for Hope" tribute animation festival at Japan Society on Septembe 11th, 2011

La Luna (c) 2011 Disney-Pixar

 Tribute Animation Festival for Japan

Debuts in NYC with Premiere Pixar Short

Films for Hope

Curated by Justin Leach with Appearances by Enrico Casarosa and Dai Sato **

Sunday, September 11, 2011, 1:00-8:00 pm, at Japan Society

Conceived and developed in response to the disasters following the March 11 earthquake in Japan, Films for Hope is a showcase of thrilling, diverse short animated films from around the world celebrating the creativity of artists inspired by Japanese animation techniques and storytelling.

Taking place Sunday, September 11, at Japan Society, Films for Hope commemorates the half year point after the earthquake, as well as the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

“This is a time of mourning and remembrance in the U.S. and Japan, with rebuilding efforts in both countries still underway,” notes curator Justin Leach. “This series of films captures the spirit of possibility and the incredible invention that ushers us through seemingly insurmountable challenges and makes us more resilient on the other side of tragedy.”

With over 30 shorts from countries such as France, Spain, the U.K. Germany, Poland, Taiwan, China, Canada, the U.S. and Japan, the festival features the East Coast premiere of Pixar’s latest animated short film, La Luna. Director Enrico Casarosa appears in person to discuss the creation and production of La Luna, as well as his efforts to help Japan through grassroots fundraising.

In addition, Dai Sato presents his new animated feature Norageki! (Five Numbers!), a U.S. premiere, and discusses his efforts to help those impacted by the earthquake and share his thoughts on how the disasters will impact Japan’s animation industry in the years to come.

The one-day festival is comprised of four programs. The first two are family-friendly and suitable for all ages, including Once Upon a Dream: Kids Block ( 1:00-2:00 pm) and Komaneko: The Curious Cat (2:30-3:30). Programs 3 and 4 are recommended for ages 13+ due to some violence and mature themes. They are Sector Animauteurs (4:00-5:15) and the centerpiece presentation La Luna and Five Numbers! (5:30-7:00). The final program is followed by a reception.

Tickets to individual programs are $10/$7 members, students and seniors. A ONE-DAY PASS including all four screenings is available for $34/$24 Japan Society members, students & seniors. Half of all ticket sales go to the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. All films shown have been graciously donated in support of the project. Curated by Justin Leach, the festival is a joint initiative of Japan Society’s Film Program and the U.S.-Japan Innovators Network.

SCHEDULE

Program 1: Once Upon a Dream: Kids Block
1pm-2pm

Featuring Le Royaume by Oussama Bouacheria, Julien Chheng, Sébastien Hary, Aymeric Kevin, Ulysse Malassagne, Franck Monier, Nunos Alves Rodrigues, Mobile by Verena Fels, Happy Bogeys 1 by Takashi Kurihara, Paraphernalia by Sabrina Cotugno, Dreamgiver by Tyler Carter, Happy Bogeys 2  by Takashi Kurihara, Burning Safari by Vincent Aupetit/Jeanne Irzenski/Florent De La Taille/Maxime Maleo/Aurelien Predal/Claude-William Trebutien, Salesman Pete by Marc Bouyer, Max Loubaresse, Anthony Vivien,  Happy Bogeys 3 by Takashi Kurihara, The Arctic Circle by Kevin Parry, Lizard Planet by Tomoyoshi Joko, Happy Bogeys 4 by Takashi Kurihara, Shell Out by Sunmee Dong, Gulp by Sumo Science, and Out of Sight by Ya-Ting Yu.

This Program is suitable for all ages.

Program 2: Komaneko: The Curious Cat
2:30pm-3:30pm

Komaneko by Tsuneo Goda    

2006, 60 min., 35mm, color.  Directed by Tsuneo Goda.  No dialogue.

Komaneko spends her days in her attic making films with her handmade dolls. This delightful puppet animation features five short episodes from the director of the Domo-kun series Komaneko’s pastel hues, kawaii characters and storylines delight both children and adults alike.

This Program is suitable for all ages.

Program 3:  Sector Animauteurs                    

4pm-5:15pm

Featuring Rain Town by Hiroyasu Ishida, Caffeine by Danae Diaz, Happy Bogeys 5 by Takashi Kurihara, In a Pig's Eye by Atsushi Wada, Happy Bogeys 6 by Takashi Kurihara, Paths of Hate by Damian Neno2, Happy Bogeys 7 by Takashi Kurihara,  Key Lime Pie by Trevor Jimenez, Kung Fu Cooking Girls by Cloud Yang, Grand Central by Charlotte Cambon, Théo Guignard, Noé Lecombre, Hugo Moreno, Soizic Mouton, Brooklyn by Alice Bissonet, Benjamin Moreau, Corentin Penloup, Marion Roussel, Louis Thomas, Happy Bogeys 8 by Takashi Kurihara, Alma by Rodrigo Blaas, The Lighthouse Keeper by David Francois, Rony Hotin, Jeremie Moreau, Baptiste Rogron, Gaelle Thierry, Mailys Vallade, and La Maison en Petits Cubes by Kunio Kato  (2009 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film).

This Program is suggested for ages 13+ for some violence and mature content in Paths of Hate and Kung Fu Cooking Girls.

Program 4: La Luna and Five Numbers!
5:30pm-7pm

La Luna, New York Premiere

2011, 6 min 51sec., 35 mm, color, directed by Enrico Casarosa.

The timeless fable of a young boy coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his papa and grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family's most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his papa or his grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions?

Five Numbers!  U.S. Premiere

2011, 24 min., DVD, color, directed by Hiroaki Ando, script by Dai Sato.

Four ex-convicts wake up in the ultimate prison. The guards are all gone and they do not know why they are there. A race to escape ensues, and the only person who seems to know the way out is the fifth prisoner, a mysterious old man with a black cat.

This Program is suggested for ages 13+ for mature content in Five Numbers!

The screenings are followed by a conversation with director Enrico Casarosa (La Luna) and scriptwriter Dai Sato (Five Numbers!, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) on the making of their latest films and how the aftermath of the March 11 disasters in Japan may influence Japan’s animation industry.

~

Enrico Casarosa is Director / Head of Story for Pixar Animation Studios. He joined Pixar in January 2002.  He began working as a story artist on Cars and the Academy Award-winning feature Ratatouille.  Casarosa’s next project was as story artist on Disney•Pixar’s Academy Award-winning feature film Up. Casarosa made his directing debut with the short film, La Luna, which will screen with the Disney•Pixar feature film Brave in 2012. Casarosa counts his early influences in Hayao Miyazaki’s work and grew up watching Miyazaki’s television series in Italy. Born and raised in Genoa, Casarosa moved to New York City in his twenties, to study animation at the School of Visual Arts and Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Before coming to Pixar, Casarosa worked as a storyboard artist at Blue Sky Studios on Ice Age and Robots.  He also worked as a background designer and storyboard artist for a number of Disney Channel Television Series’ including “101 Dalmatians” and “PB&J Otters”. More at http://enricocasarosa.com/wordpress.1/.

Dai Sato, is an anime scriptwriter for Storyriders. Dai Sato started as a runner at several of Tokyo's leading animation studios and TV stations before establishing a name for himself in TV. He has collaborated with some of Japan's best-known anime writers, and used this experience in game development projects and interactive club events. He set up the Tokyo-based indie label Frogman Records in 1993, and in 1996 he created the Tokyo and London-based tech/anime/fashion/game consultancy group FROGNATION with Kengo Watanabe and Lynn Robson. Then, in the summer of 2007, Dai left FROGNATION and started his own company, Storyriders. An experienced journalist, he has regular weekly and monthly columns in many of Tokyo's leading game and culture magazines.  Dai has been a writer for critically and popularly acclaimed television series and films such as Tekken: Blood Vengeance  (2011), Halo Legends (2010), Eden of the East (2009), Samurai Champloo (2004), Casshern (2004), Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2004), and Cowboy Bebop (1998). Dai is a member of Japan Society’s U.S.-Japan Innovators Network.

Films for Hope is founded by Justin Leach, a 12 year veteran of the animation industry who has worked in on such films as: Great Expectations, Palmetto, Bunny, Ice Age, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell 2.0, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ice Age 3, Rio, Ice Age 4 (in production), and Leafmen (In production). Leach lived and worked in Japan for nearly three years as a CG Creator at Production I.G. Hecurrently works at Blue Sky Studios as a Rigging Supervisor. He is a member of Japan Society’s U.S.-Japan Innovators Network. More at http://filmsforhope.org/.

Japan Society’s Film Program offers a diverse selection of Japanese films, from classics to contemporary independent productions. Its aim is to entertain, educate and support activities in the Society's arts & culture programs. The Film Program has included retrospectives of great directors, thematic series and many U.S. premieres. Some original film series curated by the Japan Society have traveled to other U.S. venues in tours organized by the Film Program. For more, visit http://www.japansociety.org/film.

Founded in 1907, Japan Society is a world-class, multidisciplinary hub for global leaders, artists, scholars, educators, and English and Japanese-speaking audiences. At the Society, more than 100 events each year feature sophisticated, topically relevant presentations of Japanese art and culture and open, critical dialogue on issues of vital importance to the U.S., Japan and East Asia. An American nonprofit, nonpolitical organization, the Society cultivates a constructive, resonant and dynamic relationship between the people of the U.S. and Japan. More at http://www.japansociety.org.

Films for Hope takes place Sunday, September 1:00-8:00 pm. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street between First and Second avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 and 7 subway at Grand Central or the E and V subway at Lexington Avenue). Tickets to individual programs are $10/$7 members, students and seniors. A ONE-DAY PASS including all four screenings is available for $34/$24 Japan Society members, students & seniors (this offer is only when purchasing tickets in person or over the phone.) Tickets can be purchased in person at Japan Society, by calling the box office at 212-715-1258, or by visiting www.japansociety.org. For more information, call 212-832-1155 or visit the website.

ACF 1135: "Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers" exhibition coming to Japan Society, NY

Akio Hamatani (1947- ). W-Orbit, 2010.

Rayon, indigo; special technique.

Diameter approximately 157 in. (400 cm). 

Courtesy of the artist.

Japan Society Showcases a Growing Aesthetic Movement–Art

Inspired By Extreme Textile Making

Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers

September 16-December 18, 2011 at Japan Society Gallery

This fall Japan Society Gallery will explore a new art that is emerging from a remarkable fusion of Japanese artisanal and industrial textile-making. Coaxed from materials as age-old as hemp and newly developed as microfilaments, a varied array of more than 35 large-scale works will be on view in Fiber Futures: Japan's Textile Pioneers from Friday, September 16 to Sunday, December 18, 2011.

While the spirit of a Japanese sensibility and a technical virtuosity hewn over centuries is everywhere evident, what best characterizes the work on view is a thirst for experimentation, whether it be in the search for the unconventional material or in the fusing of seemingly opposing extremes of old and new. One also sees the medium of fiber used to express ideas about nature and sustainability and personal and cultural identity.

Hitomi Nagai (1954- ).

Birth, 2011.

Cotton; waffle weave.

79 × 43 × 11 in. (200 × 110 × 28 cm).

Photo: Mareo Suemasa.

“These works remind us that important art need not always be about rebellion or subversion,” notes Joe Earle, Director of Japan Society Gallery and curator of the exhibition. “For most of the 30 artists represented here, it is the material that tells them what to do next, in the spirit of tariki, originally a Buddhist term meaning the ‘power of another.’”

Hiroko Watanabe.

Aka no kodō (Red Pulse), 1999.

Cotton and metal fiber; hand weaving.

51 × 39 × 10 in. (129 × 98 × 25 cm).

Photo: Mareo Suemasa.

“The very qualities that are unique to fabric inspire me and my fellow artists to try to move beyond mere technical mastery to create daring and beautiful works of art,” says Hiroko Watanabe, a professor at Tama Art University, president of International Textile Network Japan, and an artist represented in Fiber Futures. The exhibition is a juried show, jointly presented by Japan Society and International Textile Network Japan as part of a long-term collaboration with Tama Art University Museum in Tokyo.

Kyōko Ibe (1941- ).

Airy Sonnet of Blue, 1989.

Kōzo mulberry fiber.

197 × 236 × 276 in. (500 × 600 × 700 cm).

Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo.

Photo: Ei Oiwa.

Japan Society has commissioned an installation from Kyoko Ibe, one of Japan’s most influential paper artists, as part of the exhibition. An ethereal web of indigo-dyed gossamer threads will sway to the breeze and catch and reflect light as it floats above the garden pool in the lobby of the Society’s landmarked building. Ibe’s other work in the show is a screen made of paper from the 19th century, remnants of ink glowing blue-black—a palimpsest of words once read and lives once lived. Emotion is found in reuse in this highly sophisticated object lesson in sustainability.

Jun’ichi Arai (1932 -).

Flame-resistant shop curtain, 2005.

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) film, vacuum-deposited aluminum.

142 × 142 in. (360 × 360 cm).

Photo: Mareo Suemasa.

Jun’ichi Arai, one of the world’s most celebrated textile pioneers, is contributing a show-stopper, a huge, eye-poppingly beautiful filmy gold and silver curtain whose formal simplicity belies extraordinary technical complexity. Of a double-cloth weave—gold on one side, silver on the other—the curtain is made of monofilament “slit film” yarn, ultra-thin strips sliced from polyphenylene sulfide film with a 1/10000 of a millimeter vacuum-deposited aluminum coating. For the silver color, the aluminum was covered with an even thinner layer of clear epoxy resin, and for the gold, the resin was mixed with a yellow dye. Finally, the artist employed a process called “melt-off,” which he himself invented, to dissolve the aluminum coating from unprotected areas of the surface.

Yuh Okano (1965- ).

Flower: Coming Events Cast Their Shadow Before, 2010.

Silk, partially felted with raw wool; hand-formed corsages.

71 × 20 in. (180 × 50 cm).

Courtesy of the artist.

Yuh Okano, another noted textile designer and artist active in both Japan and New York, will show a brick-hued piece from her “Water” series, pairing the natural (wool) and the synthetic (polyester) to rugged, regal affect. The tireless inventor Reiko Sudo, known for devising “abusive treatments” in the pursuit of unexpected surfaces, presents a new installation work. Fabrication (2011) floats in space, a single piece of fabric fashioned from tightly embroidered “warps” hand-shaped over a metal rod into strips and then sewed together in different combinations.

Reiko Sudo’s “abuse” of fabric is just one of the extremes to which conventional textile methods are taken—or pushed—in this exhibition. On occasion, the process becomes part of the meaning of the artwork, as in Kazuyo’s Onoyama’s astonishing Orikata (Folded Form), 2006. Here the artist has taken a thin yellow polyester fabric and folded it over and over as a prayer for, in the artist’s words, “happiness, peace, abundance and good health, and as an expression of the close relationship that should exist between human life and our natural environment.” (It is a custom in Japan to fold 1,000 paper cranes as a way of praying for recovery from illness.) For Hiroko Watanabe, the challenge was to so saturate a handwoven piece of cotton and metal fiber fabric with scarlet that, in the artist’s words, would draw out “the magical power of red.” The resulting tufted drop of fabric is tough, dense, difficult, and unforgettable.

Yasuko Iyanaga (1948- ).

Umi kara no okurimono: Air, X [A Gift from the Sea: Air, X], 2010.

Spun silk and wire; tie-dyeing.

51 1/8 × 51 1/8 × 19 5/8 in. (130 × 130 × 50 cm).

Courtesy of the artist.

For the viewer who encounters Yasuko Iyanaga’s bravura application of shibori tie-dyeing on a single piece of spun silk, it may seem as though a gentle breath is animating a giant, curvaceous, and ridge-encrusted sea creature. Other artists as well explore fiber’s potential as a sculptural medium to express natural beauty, including Hitomi Nagai, whose large-scale waffle-weave is composed of white warp and weft threads gathered and twisted at regular intervals into an enigmatic honeycomb, and Kyoko Kumai, whose large-scale installation—near-weightless orbs of fine stainless-steel yarn—evokes the sky and the cosmos.

Naoko Serino (1962- ).

Generating—8, 2006. Jute; free technique.

51 × 79 × 157 in. (130 × 200 × 400 cm).

 Courtesy of the artist.

The artists featured in Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers are:

Machiko Agano, b. 1953; Mitsuko Akutsu, b. 1952; Jun’ichi Arai, b. 1932; Tomoko Arakawa, b. 1974; Tetsuo Fujimoto, b. 1952; Dai Fujiwara, b.1967; Akio Hamatani, b. 1947; Kyoko Ibe, b. 1941; Kiyomi Iwata, b. 1941; Yasuko Iyanaga, b. 1948; Naomi Kobayashi, b. 1945; Kinya Koyama, b. 1946; Shigeo Kubota, b. 1947; Kyoko Kumai, b. 1943; Akiko Kumazawa, b. 1976; Tetsuo Kusama, b. 1946; Hitomi Nagai, b. 1954; Emiko Nakano, b. 1941; Yuh Okano, b. 1965; Fuminori Ono, b. 1971; Kazuyo Onoyama, b. 1951; Rei Saito, b. 1978; Hisako Sekijima, b. 1944; Naoko Serino, b. 1962; Reiko Sudo, b. 1953; Hideho Tanaka, b. 1942; Takaaki Tanaka, b. 1967; Misao Tsubaki, b. 1941; Hiroko Watanabe, b.1957; Atsuko Yoshioka, b. 1947.

For further information about this upcoming exhibition, click here.

ACF 1112: Final update of links of cooperative coverage of New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts

The Last Ronin © 2010 "The Last Ronin" Film Partners

Well, it’s Wednesday again and time for my final set of links of the cooperative coverage by four websites of the 10th Annual New York Asian Film Festival, co-presented by Subway Cinema and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and of Japan Cuts: The New York Festival Of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, presented by Japan Society NYC. NYAFF and Japan Society joined forces, as they have in the past, to c0-present several films.

The four cooperating websites (in no particular order) are:
- VCinema
- AsianCineFest
- The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy
- cineAWESOME!

There are three additional sites for which I’m also providing links. Two of them have appeared in my previous posts of links, one is new. The three additional sites are:

-- New Korea Cinema website, which has had a relationship with VCinema for some time.

-- Meniscus, which although not part of our cooperative effort, is where Chris Bourne has also posted some reviews

-- Dreamlogic.net - Chris Nelson of dreamlogic.net emailed me some links to reviews at his site after catching my coverage through Jon Jung of VCinema. It’s my pleasure to include them here.

Within each site listed below, the reviews are listed most recent first, earliest last. There's some cross-posting, particularly by Chris Bourne and myself, usually first at VCinema, then on our own blogs. In certain of these cross-posts, you'll find that the second postings differ somewhat from the originals.

VCinema

Haru’s Journey – Christopher Bourne

Wandering Home – Stan Glick

Torso – John Berra

Three Points

Bonus Episode 8: An Interview With Tsui Hark – an audio interview by Stan Glick

Rinco’s Restaurant – Stan Glick

Battlefield Heroes – Pierce Conran

The Last Days of The World – Rex Baylon

Love and Loathing and Lulu and Ayano – Christopher Bourne

The Recipe - Jon Jung

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

The Man From Nowhere – Pierce Conran

Haunters – Pierce Conran

Ringing in Their Ears – Christopher Bourne

“Won’t Somebody Think of the Children!!” (family friendly films at NYAFF & Japan Cuts) – Rex Baylon

Reign of Assassins – John Berra
The Seaside Motel – John Berra
A Night In Nude – Stan Glick

The Unjust – John Berra
The City of Violence – Stan Glick
Horny House of Horror – Christopher Bourne
Milocrorze: A Love Story – Stan Glick
BKO: Bangkok Knockout – Christopher Bourne

AsianCineFest – Dr. Stan Glick

An Interview With Tsui Hark – post linking to the audio interview at VCinema

The Food of Rinco’s Restaurant

Rinco’s Restaurant

Japan Cuts film festival arrives!

NYAFF Wu Xia Trailer & Remaining Screening Schedule

The “7 Courtesans of Tenzakuro” in Milocrorze: A Love Story
Milocrorze: A Love Story

The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy – Christopher Bourne

Haru’s Journey

City of Violence

Love and Loathing and Luly and Ayano

Ringing in Their Ears
The Recipe

Horny House of Horror

BKO: Bangkok Knockout

cineAWESOME!

Wandering Home – Lisa Kirchner
The Blade – James McCormick

The Unjust – Rufus De Rham

Top 7 Tuesday: NYAFF/Japan Cuts Edition – July 5^th Podcast of cineAWESOME’s personal top 7 choices from the two festivals

Karate-Robo Zaborgar – James McCormick

Episode 006: NYAFF – July 4^th Podcast includes consideration of what to watch at the New York Asian Film Festival

Ninja Kids!!! – Rufus De Rham

Milocrorze: A Love Story – James McCormick

Bonus Episode 001: Interview with Grady Hendrix – June 29 Podcast in which Rufus interviews Grady, one of the founders of Subway Cinema, the group that sponsors the New York Asian Film Festival, and the main frontman for NYAFF.

Toilet – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
Troubleshooter – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
A Night in Nude: Salvation – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
Buddha Mountain – James McCormick

New Korean Cinema

The Recipe – Christopher Bourne

Meniscus - Christopher Bourne is also posting reviews here

The Blade

Buddha Mountain

Milocrorze: A Love Story

Dreamlogic.net

Into the White Night

Vengeance Can Wait

The Knot

The Seaside Motel

Three Points

Battle Royale (archived DVD review)

Gantz (archived movie review)

ACF 1103: Japan Society NY screens "Wandering Home" tonight at 9 PM

Wandering Home (a.k.a. Walking Home, at least at IMDb) joins a number of outstanding movies concerned with substance addiction, such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955, drug addiction) and The Lost Weekend (1945, alcoholism). Sensitively directed by Yoichi Higashi (who wrote the screenplay based on a novel by Reiko Saibara), it tells the tale of Yasuyuki Tsukahara (Tadanobu Asano, looking nothing like Kakihara, the character he played in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer), a man in his late thirties, perhaps early forties, who is drinking himself into an early grave.

The film opens in a restaurant where a large group of young people are enjoying food, drink, and one another's company. A bit away from this group sits a solitary man whose attention is on one of the lovely young women facing in his direction. Using his thumbs and forefingers, he frames her in a rectangle, as a photographer or movie director might. After a moment, he passes out and tumbles on to the floor. Some of the staff, obviously familiar with this routine, come to help get him upright. Assisting them are the man's family, his wife and children, a son about eight or nine and a daughter a few years younger. Except the family is not really there; he's imagining their presence through his alcoholic stupor. Thus we meet Mr. Tsukahara.

We learn that at one time he was indeed a photojournalist, and his experiences documenting death and suffering were contributing factors to his alcohol addiction, as was his own father's alcoholism. Tsukahara did once have a family: a wife Yuki (Hiromi Nagasaku) and two children, his son Hiroshi and daughter Kaoru. But he verbally and physically abused his wife, who divorced him, and now he lives with his widowed mother, who teaches flower arrangement.

Returning to his mother's home from the restaurant, he proceeds to the bathroom where he spews up a great deal of blood, not for the first time as we subsequently learn. He's taken by ambulance to a hospital where he is visited by his wife, who clearly still loves the part of him that is not an alcoholic, and his children, who love him unconditionally but wish he would stop drinking. Repeatedly he's told by various doctors that his "numbers are so bad" that it's a wonder he's still alive.

After getting discharged, he tries to conquer his addiction as an out-patient but fails, and ultimately winds up in the alcoholism ward of a psychiatric hospital for treatment. While the film does address the medical issues and treatment involved, it is primarily devoted to the effects of the disease on the addict and those close to him (or her). The story is perhaps somewhat atypical in that Yasuyuki has remarkably supportive people in his ex-wife, his children, and his mother, all of whom want desperately for him to overcome his affliction. Also, both he and Yuki are particularly handsome individuals with winning smiles. Nonetheless, the story is entirely believable, and one cannot help but long for a positive outcome.

I'm not about to give away what ultimately happens, but I will say that near the end there's a scene that takes place at the shore. As the film cuts from a group of individuals near the water to a person on a low rise, probably a dune, the effect is disorienting, since at first it isn't clear how that person could have gotten there. With some shot/reverse shot cuts and a cut back to the shoreline, it suddenly becomes clear what's going on. It "got a bit dusty" in my apartment as I watched this scene play out on a DVD screener, and it has gotten dusty every time I've thought about it, including now as I write this. It's an honestly earned emotional response to a film that addresses it's subject with clarity, caring and concern.

Wandering Home is a touching, heartfelt adult drama, filled with love and humanity. It will be shown tonight, Thursday, July 21st at 9:00 PM at Japan Society, NYC. This screening, part of Japan Cuts 2011: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, will mark the film's North American Premiere. For tickets, click here.

This review was initially posted in slightly different form at VCinema.