Movies
Song Story: Cinema Fighters Project
Song Story is a 12-short anthology split into two different releases. Each of the stories is based on Japanese pop songs, which means the directors had the liberty of making something a bit more creative. And that's exactly what they did. The quality of the shorts is relatively stable, but they are different enough from one another and none of them felt lazy or uninspired. Isamu Hirabayashi had the most abstract of the six shorts and display, which is why it's my uncontested favorite of the bunch, but all of the films here added something substantial to the film. A fun discovery.
A pleasant island drama that makes good use of Gunkenjima, a by-now popular tourist spot on the coast of Japan. The abandoned island provides a nice backdrop to a coming-of-age drama that mixes in mild brawler elements. This gives the film a bit of an edge, though it's not as nihilistic as some other of its notable predecessors. The performances are strong, Saito makes excellent use of the setting and the cinematography is on point (giving off that summery island vibe). The drama is good too, though things become a bit melodramatic at the end. A slightly more subdued take would've been better, but there's lots to enjoy here.Read all