For independent filmmakers from elsewhere in Asia with high censorship or distribution hurdles, Japan must look like paradise. Last year, most of the 581 local films released here were low-budget indie titles. Hardly any of their makers got rich, but at least their films saw the theatrical light of day. But as illustrated by the troubled history of ¡°A Drop from Tomato,¡± a heart-warming drama by actor-director Hideo Sakaki, dozens of Japanese indie films fail to make the transition from production to release for years ¡ª or forever.

Filmed in 2012 with a cast headed by name actors Renji Ishibashi and Manami Konishi, ¡°A Drop from Tomato¡± struggled to find a distributor. Selected for the 2015 edition of the Okuridashi Film Festival ¡ª a now-discontinued event showcasing ¡°shelved¡± domestic films ¡ª ¡°Tomato¡± won the Grand Prize and finally got an opening date.

So felicitations are in order ¡ª or are they? Like it or not, the film arrives in theaters labeled as ¡°damaged goods.¡± Sakaki and his backers are clearly hoping for a success that makes believers out of doubters. But my own reaction on a second viewing ¡ª I had first seen the film not long after its completion ¡ª was that there was less damage than over-ripeness: ¡°Tomato¡± now feels past its sell-by date.