The Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan¡¯s biggest film fest and a showcase for foreign movies that otherwise might never see the light of day here, will run from Oct. 22 to 31 this year. Opening the festival is Robert Zemekis¡¯ ¡°The Walk,¡± and the closer is local tearjerker ¡°Kishuten Eki Taminaru¡± (¡°Terminal¡°), which features megastar Koichi Sato.
The Competition section is beefed up this year, with three Japanese movies making the cut: ¡°Foujita¡± by one of Japan¡¯s last remaining auteurs Kohei Oguri; ¡°The Inerasable¡± (¡°Zan-e¡°) by artisan Yoshihiro Nakamura; and ¡°Sayonara¡± by the uniquely progressive Koji Fukada. Of these, ¡°The Inerasable,¡± starring Yuko Takeuchi, apparently takes the J-horror genre to another level ¡ª ¡°It goes far beyond the concept of scary,¡± according to programming director Yoshihiko Yatabe. Other worthwhile films in competition from outside Japan include the Brazilian ¡°Nise ¡ª The Heart of Madness,¡± with its ¡°One Flew Over the Cuckoo¡¯s Nest¡± undertones, and the Iranian whodunnit ¡°The Girl¡¯s House.¡±
The Japan Now section features 10 local films released over the past year (with the exception of ¡°0.5 mm¡°), and also includes a selection of older films by Masato Harada, widely acknowledged as one of the most daring filmmakers working in Japan today. TIFF¡¯s pop-up restaurant, Tokyo Cinema Cuisine, will again offer dishes from five renowned chefs.
New sections at the festival include a selection of films starring Ken Takakura and ¡ª arriving just in time for Halloween ¡ª an all-night screening of classic J-horror films honoring the masters of the genre.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.