Directed by:
Amir NaderiCinematography:
橋本桂二Cast:
Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takako Tokiwa, Takashi Sasano, Shun Sugata, Denden, 鈴木卓爾, 中村育二, 竹井亮介, Satoshi Nikaidô, Yasushi YasudaPlots(1)
Feeling the influence of classic Japanese cinema, New York-based Iranian director Amir Naderi decided to shoot his new picture in the land of the Rising Sun. He set the story of Shuji, a young filmmaker and lover of classic cinema, on the young man’s apartment terrace (which also serves as a film club), but also in a bar where Yakuza thugs congregate. Shuji is being forced to pay off a debt his murdered brother owes the mafia. Their uninviting establishment becomes the locus of a bizarre spectacle, another of Shuji’s “directorial events.” To wit, the avid film fan allows himself to be used as a punching bag for the amusement of the aggressive gangsters, thereby paying off the debt. Naderi conceives his bitter cry in defense of Art Film as a metaphorical lampoon against the injustices which today’s filmmakers must suffer if they decide to stand firm and uncompromising by their personal visions. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Cast
Hidetoshi Nishijima
Japan
Best movies:
The Wind Rises (2013)
Dolls (2002)
Vacation (2007)
Takako Tokiwa
Japan
Best movies:
Awaking (2006)
20th Century Boys: Chapter Two - The Last Hope (2009)
20 Century Boys (2008)
Takashi Sasano
Japan
Best movies:
Departures (2008)
Our Mother (2008)
The Hidden Blade (2004)
Shun Sugata
Japan
Best movies:
The Last Samurai (2003)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Vacation (2007)
Denden
Japan
Best movies:
Our Mother (2008)
Eureka (2000)
Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (2008)
鈴木卓爾
Japan
Best movies:
Suspect X (2008)
My Secret Cache (1997)
A Snake of June (2002)
中村育二
Japan
Best movies:
Half a Confession (2004)
Death Note: The Last Name (2006)
Admiral Yamamoto (2011)
竹井亮介
Japan
Best movies:
Happy Flight (2008)
The Climbers High (2008)
Air Doll (2009)
Satoshi Nikaidô
Japan
Best movies:
The Last Samurai (2003)
Babel (2006)
Guilty of Romance (2011)
Yasushi Yasuda
Japan
Best movies:
Cut (2011)
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023)