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Everyone of us dreads the moment when we hear the news we may not have the amount of time on earth we thought we had. Even though we will all have to face this day at some point in our lives, it is something we likely keep distant from ourselves and those around us, making it a taboo topic. However, once the knowledge is there, it brings about a change linked to us thinking back on our lives and maybe even regretting some of the events and decisions that turned us into the person we are. In his new feature “Dreaming in Between”, actor and director Ryutaro Ninomiya tells us the story of a man who, after having heard the news he does not have many years left, goes through a period of change. The feature, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival last year, deals with a topic we have seen in many features before,...

“Goze” is a term that stands for a woman, usually, but not necessarily blind, who works as a travelling musician and singer. The tradition dates at least back to the Edo period, and it was present in the rural areas from Kyushu island in the south to Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures in the north. It was active well into the second half of the 20th century when the last professional goze Haru Kobayashi retired from her work in 1978. “The Last Goze”, directed by Masaharu Takizawa, is a biopic about her, and too bad it is not a good movie.

“The Last Goze” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The movie follows her from her birth, through her childhood and goze training and apprenticeships with different mentors, in the early adulthood and the beginning of her career as an independent artist, guild member and group leader. It starts with a warning printed on the screen,...