Contemporary Japanese Cinema
Hakai no Hi
Dir. Toyoda Toshiaki
Japan 2020, 57’
Subtitles: Polish & English
Seven years ago, a mysterious monster was found deep in a rural coal mine. Since then, rumors of a plague spread through the small town, and people experience an unexplainable mental illness. A young Shugendo practitioner goes missing only to resurface transformed, intent on exorcising the world from the monsters haunting it. Directed by Toyoda Toshiaki (Blue Spring) in a moment of urgent creativity that includes the short Wolf’s Calling (JC 2020), his latest film stars the magnetic Shibukawa Kiyohiko (Lowlife Love, JC 2016), MahiToThePeople (of the band GEZAN in his debut film role), Ogata Issey (Tony Takitani), Kubozuka Yosuke (Giri/Haji), and Matsuda Ryūhei (The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan, JC 2019). Toyoda Toshiaki sets out to “exorcise a society obsessed with the monstrosity of self--interest and greed.”
Toyoda Toshiaki
Born in Osaka Prefecture, Toyoda was first a prodigy in the game of shogi or Japanese chess. He attended the Japan Shogi Association's apprenticeship (Shōreikai) from age 9 with the aim of becoming a professional player. But his interest turned to film and he quit when he was 17. Moving to Tokyo at age 21, he began working with producer Genjirō Arato and director Junji Sakamoto, assisting the latter on the shogi-related film Ōte, for which he helped pen the script. He debuted as a director with the film Pornostar in 1999, a film that earned him the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award. His career continued to rise through films like Blue Spring and 9 Souls, but he suffered a setback when he was arrested on drug charges just before Hanging Garden was released in 2005. He resumed directing with the 2009 film The Blood of Rebirth.
Filmography
2000 Unchain
2009 Yomigaeri no chi
2012 I'm Flash!
2019 Wolf's Calling (Short)
Cast & Crew
Director: Toyoda Toshiaki
Screenplay:Toyoda Toshiaki
Cinematography: Maki Kenji
Editing: Yamada Yusuke, Murakami Masaya
Music: Gezan [Shomei] [Kaijitsu], Seppuku Pistols [OMAJINAI], Terui Toshiyuki [ONE], Mars89 [Mineshaft] [You are too impatient] [Mud crawler] [Door knocker] [Mutation] [Phase2] [Fallen] [Blood pond]
Costume Design: Miyamoto Masae
Cast: Shibukawa Kiyohiko, MahiToThePeople, Ogata Issey, Nagasawa Itsuki, Onishi Shima, Kubozuka Yōsuke, Matsuda Ryūhei
Producer: Idehara Tomoyuki, Muraoka Shinichiro, Suguwara Nobuhiro
Production: imagination.inc, Second site.inc
Language: Japanese
Colouration: Colour
