Contemporary Japanese Cinema
Kudakechiru Tokoro o Misete Ageru
Dir. SABU
Japan 2020, 127’
Subtitles: Polish & English
A story about unlikely love that shatters accepted wisdom. Typical high-schooler Kiyosumi Hamada tries to rescue solitary Hari Kuramoto -- called the “most hated student in the junior year” -- from being bullied. Kiyosumi is aware of Hari’s charm and the beauty of her mind, Hari is grateful to Kiyosumi and admires him, and the two of them are gradually closing the distance between their hearts. And yet, Hari has a secret she dares not tell anyone. Even for Kiyosumi, who wants nothing but to protect Hari, a terrible danger is coming…
SABU
Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Sabu studied at an Osaka fashion school before deciding to go to Tokyo to become a professional musician. It was suggested he try acting and in 1986 he made his film debut in Sorobanzuku. He earned his first starring role in the 1991 World Apartment Horror, a live-action film directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo of Akira fame. Working from a script he wrote himself, he made his directorial debut with the 1996 Dangan Runner, a film that set his early style of "quirky action-comedies propelled by characters who hurtle headlong though squirming narratives steered more by the forces of incidence and coincidence than the actions of the protagonists themselves. Shin'ichi Tsutsumi played the lead in Sabu's first five films. Blessing Bell, starring Susumu Terajima (who has played minor roles in nearly all of Sabu's films), was a turn away from his kinetic, parodic, and black comedy narratives, and earned the NETPAC Award at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival.Later films featured the J-pop band V6. In 2009, he directed The Crab Cannery Ship, a modern adaptation of a classic of Japanese proletarian literature written by Takiji Kobayashi. He has continued to work as an actor, such as in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001). His film Chasuke's Journey was selected to be screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.
Filmography
1996 Dangan ranna
2002 Drive
2003 Hard Luck Hero
2011 Usagi doroppu
2019 Dancing Mary
Cast & Crew
Director: SABU
Screenplay: SABU, Takemiya Yuyuko
Cinematography: Ezaki Tomoo
Music: Matsumoto Junichi
Cast: Nakagawa Taishi, Ishii Anna, Inowaki Kai, Kiyohara Kaya, Matsui Airi, Kitamura Takumi, Yada Akiko, Kino Hana, Harada Tomoyo, Tsutsumi Shinichi
Producer: Shimizu Yoichi, Kajiwara Tomiharu, Yagi Yusuke
Production: Aeon Entertainment
Language: Japanese
Colouration: Colour
