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Originally a stage play that shattered the previous theater attendance record, “Remain in Twilight” functions as a rather different style of coming-of-age film, since its protagonists are on the verge of being middle-aged.

“Remain in Twilight” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival

Six friends reunite for a friend’s wedding ceremony, in order to rehearse a dance routine that they performed, embarrassingly, in high school. Although they have not been particularly close as a group recently, the dynamics of the past are still pretty much there, and the five of them soon embark on a drunken trip down memory lane. Through their interactions, it is revealed that Kinichi Fujita manages a theatrical comedy troupe, and thus is the choreographer of the current routine, and Tetsuya Akashi, who was somewhat of a bully during their schooldays, is one of his actors. Yusaku “Neji” Mizushima is the only one who stayed in their native Shizuoka,...

“A Life Turned Upside Down: My Dad’s an Alcoholic” casts a damning eye on the pernicious role alcohol plays in the working careers and social lives of Japanese men. Narrated by the innermost thoughts of a daughter during the 25 years she spends watching her father drink himself to death, With achingly honest things to say about misplaced female guilt, and uplifting messages about female strength, “A Life” deserves to be on the radar of streaming platforms looking for high quality, universally accessible foreign-language fare.

The source material is Mariko Kikuchi’s autobiographical online manga, the title of which translates literally as “My father, who becomes a monster when he’s drunk, causes me pain.” When the manga first appeared in April 2017, overwhelming demand caused the publisher’s server to crash. At the heart of Kikuchi’s story, and faithfully maintained in the screenplay by Katagiri (“Room Laundering”) and fellow male writer Ayumu Kyuma,...

Stars: Masataka Kubota, Fumika Shimizu, Nobuyuki Suzuki, Hiyori Sakurada, Yu Aoi, Shoko Aida, Kenta Hamano, Kunio Murai | Written by Ichiro Kusuno | Directed by Kentaro Hagiwara

Live-action anime adaptions have an interesting history to say the least. They can be great but some have been rather problematic (Dragonball Evolution). One of the latest franchises to receive the live-action treatment is Tokyo Ghoul so the question is: Where does it stand among adaptions?

Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternate reality where ghouls exist among humans. Ghouls can only survive by feeding on human flesh so because of this, they have to hide themselves in order to avoid capture by the authorities. The story centers on average college student, Ken Kaneki, who is attacked by his date who turns out to be a ghoul. Unfortunately, surviving this may not have been a blessing as Kaneki is transformed into a half-ghoul as a...

Stars: Masataka Kubota, Fumika Shimizu, Nobuyuki Suzuki, Hiyori Sakurada, Yu Aoi, Shoko Aida, Kenta Hamano, Kunio Murai | Written by Ichiro Kusuno | Directed by Kentaro Hagiwara

Live-action anime adaptions have an interesting history to say the least. They can be great (Death Note, the Japanese movies) but some have been rather problematic (Dragonball Evolution). One of the latest franchises to receive the live-action treatment is Tokyo Ghoul so the question is: Where does it stand among adaptions?

Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternate reality where ghouls exist among humans. Ghouls can only survive by feeding on human flesh so because of this, they have to hide themselves in order to avoid capture by the authorities. The story centers on average college student, Ken Kaneki, who is attacked by his date who turns out to be a ghoul. Unfortunately, surviving this may not have been a blessing as Kaneki is transformed...