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Toronto International Film Festival
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Yuka



Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 382
Location: Tokyo

PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:10 am    Post subject:

Hi Jenny , Eri and everyone,

Glad to know you enjoyed "Confessions".

Hope you have chance to watch Akunin 悪人/"Villain" directed by Lee Sang-il in your country.
May be you heard Japanese actress Eri Fukatsu has won the best actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival.
Okada plays important role in this story. Wink

Eri Fukatsu is one of my favorite Japanese actress. I used to see her on stage and she’s much better on stage than in movie.
In Villain, I thought parents role played by Akira Emoto and Kirin Kiki are much better than main character .
I thought Satoshi Tsumabuki, who played main role, isn’t villain enough.
I mean he must work harder to stand up against other good actors in this movie.

According to MR. Tran Anh Hung’s interview, after the audition, he told 3 main casts (Matsuyama(Watanabe) , Kikuchi(Naoko) and Mizuhara(Midori)) to watch “The Dreamers” by Bernardo Beltolucci for reference.
I saw this film several years ago , found it a little provocative but didn’t link it to Norwegian Wood at that time.
Kengo Kora, who plays Kizuki is getting more media attention in Japan than Kenichi Matsuyama at the moment.

BTW, Matsuyama and Tsumabuki I mentioned before, both belong to same very big agency in Japan.
So may be they’re given more opportunities to play good roles than other actors.
Of course, it’s up to them to make good use of their chances. Smile

Looking forward to reading your review on N.Wood.

Please enjoy TIFF and
have a good weekend, everyone Waving
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sparkles_n15



Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 224
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 3:32 pm    Post subject:

Back from the screening of Norwegian Wood! Forgive me for being a little brain dead... Confessions played last night at 9pm, while NW played this morning at 9am. I had to give up my afternoon film cause I was so exhausted. (-_-)zzzz

My take on the film -

I felt that the film kept the integrity of the novel. There were elements that were left out, including mentions of Naoko's older sister, or Reiko's past. The film focused only on Watanabe's present, instead of showing him reminiscing his past. Aside from these points, I felt it kept to the original story.

The cinematography in the film was absolutely beautiful. There was a nice blend of imagery that was broken up by the choice of music playing in the background.

In terms of the acting, I thought all the actors portrayed their characters really well. I would have to agree with what Eri posted about Rinko as Naoko. I felt she seemed more...maniac than fragile. It's a little hard to describe. Personally I enjoyed watching the scenes of Watanabe interacting with Midori.

No one in the audience laughed during the love scenes, although there was a bit of snickering when they were talking about it. There was one scene when Watanabe was crying. Let's just say it didn't really fair so well with me...

Overall I enjoyed the movie. I can't say if it will live up to people's expectations, but it is a beautiful film that I'm sure everyone will enjoy (if not for the depressing story then at least the stunning cinematography).

+++

A little bit more on Confessions now that I have time think about it -

I was really surprised by how the story was told. I thought it would be emotionally heartbreaking, focusing only on the loss of her daughter. However, it was told in such a way that it made you reach out to all the characters when you hear their part of the 'confession'.

There were so many elements that were recurring throughout the movie. Something seemingly insignificant like the bubbles popping or the backwards clock all of a sudden made sense at the end. It's been a while since I've seen a movie where all the elements are placed in front of you and everything just clicks into place. I was really impressed. (Thumbs up!!)

+++

Yuka - Akunin is not playing at TIFF unfortunately. I will have to wait for another chance to watch it. Okada is in every movie coming out of Japan right now, so I'm sure I'll catch him somewhere. Wink
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Yuka



Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 382
Location: Tokyo

PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:08 pm    Post subject:

Thank you Jenny for your comment! You must be tired watching many films.
Latin movie festival started here in Tokyo, but I can only watch the movies played during weekend.. So my eyes are tired, too..haha.
There are many good films from Latin countries. So sad most of them don’t have chance to be introduced to theaters in Japan… Crying or Very sad

I have to wait until Dec. to watch Norwegian Wood....
Li Bingbing’s work must be beautiful !!!! Very Happy

Confessions as you say is not melodramatic movie at all.
If you liked this movie, may be you’ll like The Memory of Matsuko and Kamikaze Girls by the same director.
Compared to Cofessions, visually very colorful, too.
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Eri



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 589
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:40 pm    Post subject:

Dear Jenny and Yuka,

Thanks for letting us know about NW.
I think Mr Murakami's only advice to Mr Tran in the end was "Making a beautiful movie", so I guess it is successful in that way. Very Happy

I also watched Aknin (Villain) recently.
At first, I also thought Tsumabuki (who's got nice, gentle and boyish image, and he wanted to change that with this movie) was too gentle to be the villain, but after I read the original story, I thought he was the right person to do this role.

Not so much in the movie, but in the original story, more details described him as honest and caring in nature, good looking but introvert and lonely man.
I was very sympathetic toward him because he committed the crime accidently, and took all the blames and chose to be a villain for not hurting others.

Although it is a sad story, it made me believe that majority of the people have a good nature, even someone looks like a nefarious villain as long as they have some feelings for others.


Last edited by Eri on Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Yuka



Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 382
Location: Tokyo

PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:29 pm    Post subject:

Hello Eri and Jenny,

I also read the original novel for Villain . As in most of recent movies, the original story is much more detailed in describing characters .
I think this is a kind of role many of young Japanese actors (especially, someone who has a mild mannered and nice guy image) wish to play.

I read the author and director worked on the script together .
The story takes place in southern part of Japan, so dialogues are in dialects .
So Jenny, may be you can pick up the difference …??? Wink
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sparkles_n15



Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 224
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 7:08 pm    Post subject:

TIFF is officially over for another year! They announced the People's Choice Award earlier in the day and it went to Tom Hooper's The King's Speech. Keep an eye out for it when it get released worldwide. =)

I managed to survive 3 movies in one day. Who knew eye drops would come in handy? =P

I started the morning with Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock (唐山大地震). The movie was such a tearjerker. I will admit to shedding a tear or two because it was really heartbreaking. The actors were amazing in it. Of course, Chen Daoming and Zhang Jingchu were phenomenal and really added to the film. Have a box of kleenex with you if you are watching this.

The afternoon I watched a documentary called Genpin. It was pretty....bland (even for a documentary). There was no consistency, no focal point in the film. I thought it was poorly edited. Anyway, maybe I don't respond as well to documentaries.

Tonight I watched Takeshi Miike's 13 Assassins. Very Miike...but I thought it lacked his usual humour. It was your typical samurai movie. Personally I prefer his other works, like Yatterman (biased) or Sukiyaki Western, which had screened at TIFF.

That about wraps up my TIFF report! Off to catch some Zzzz.
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Safran



Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 1322
Location: Austria

PostPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 10:09 pm    Post subject:

Dear Jenny !

Thank you for your interesting report and reviews from TIFF - I like to remember my own strenuous but exciting FF experiences : Zzzz Wink - haha
Wish I could be able to discuss with you and our Japanese friends Sad (cause some of the films you mentioned, like 13 Assassins, Norwegian Wood - were screened in Venice too.
I hope for another Festival - another chance Wink !

Helga
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sparkles_n15



Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 224
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:45 am    Post subject:

Hi Helga,
I am very interested in everyone's opinions on these movies. Hopefully it won't be a long wait for the international release. =)

Yuka, eye drops do wonder! LOL. I will have to look for the other movies by the same director. Confessions was my favourite film at TIFF this year.
My Japanese is too poor to pick up the dialects. I think I'll stick to the subtitles. Smile

Eri, thanks for the gist of the story. If I get a chance to watch Akunin, I will keep that in mind.

BTW, TIFF Lightbox is the newest building downtown (it opened in time for the filmfest). It's a 5-story complex with 5 public theaters, 2 galleries, 3 learning studios, and much more. WKW's Chungking Express will be shown once more on the big screen in November. Remember to check it out if you're in Toronto!
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Yuka



Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 382
Location: Tokyo

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 5:32 am    Post subject:

FYI,

"Norwegian Wood" will be distributed to 36 countries , so I hope Helga you’ll get a chance to watch it. Smile

At this moment, it's said
"Confessions" will be distributed to HK , Taiwan and Ireland
"Villain" to HK, Macau, Taiwan and Korea(Pusan IFF), so far.
BTW, Did you check Pusan’s lineup ?
They have a great lineup for international film festival to be held in Asia .
I know they receive a full support from the government,
but I don’t think Tokyo can catch up with their scale and a variety selections of films.

Jenny, thank you for your comment !
I’m sure you’ll be able to pick up the difference sometime soon !! Wink

Yuka Waving
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suellen



Joined: 22 Aug 2009
Posts: 68
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:37 pm    Post subject:

Hi Jenny,

I was wondering whether you managed to get to the Tiff. Now that I read this I see you managed to fit some films in! Were they shown in the new building?

There was so much media coverage of the premieres that it was just like being there. Once again I could not attend this year...it's so close and yet so far! Did you see any celebraties while you were there? Ah, I live vicariously through you...

Colin Firth's movie about the king's speech impediment sounds great. Can't wait for it to be widely distributed...

Thanks getting you're tired self downtown for us and the wonderful synapsis.
_________________
suellen
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sparkles_n15



Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 224
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:12 pm    Post subject:

Hi Suellen,

Sorry for such a late reply!

I didn't have a chance to go to the TIFF Lightbox. None of my films this year screened there, so I have yet to venture inside. I went waaay too late to do any celebrity stalking. Although I wouldn't have mind running into Mr. Eastwood. Or GACKT for that matter. Razz

I see Akunin is being screened at the HKAFF (Hong Kong Asian Film Festival). Hope it does well!
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mary



Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 251
Location: Ireland

PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 7:44 pm    Post subject:

Hi Jenny, Yuka, Eri and Helga

Thank you for sharing info and your thoughts on all those movies I found all your posts very interesting. You keep us up to date with new releases, hopefully sometime in the future I will get to see some of them.

Jenny you are lucky to have such a good flim festival in your country. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm for movies with us.

I am keen to see Norwegian Wood. I don't know if it will be released here, if not there's always the internet, although I prefer to see interesting movies at the cinema. My curiosity was aroused by the story so I have bought the book, this will be my first Murakami. I bought it a few weeks ago fully intending to start reading (got through the first chapter found it a good read) but until now haven't had the chance to get any further.

Wish me good reading...mary
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