Made In Japan

Fed up of James Bond? Sick to death of this season’s slasher films? Well, a gallimaufry of esteemed bodies – the Embassy of Japan, the Ireland Japan Association and the commendable people at Access Cinema – have joined forces to bring four of the best recent Japanese releases to a theatre near you.
You need more reasons to be cheerful? Well, all screenings are free, you just need to pick up a ticket at a Japanese Film Festival stand in each venue on the day. Simply pop along to Cineworld Dublin on November 15 and 16, the Kino in Cork on 22 and 23 or the Storm Cinema in Limerick on 26 and 27 and choose from this shimmering collection of movies.

The Girl Who Lept Through Time – Anime is, rightly, one of the biggest subcultures among the Young People of Ireland, yet we are years behind the rest of Europe where purpose-built Japanimation screening theatres are the norm. For shame. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, like Perfect Blue and Paprika, ought to have had a huge theatrical run. Typically for the Shojo genre, the film follows a clumsy though endearing teenage schoolgirl who, upon realising she has the ability to jump backwards in time, uses her powers to do-over various awkward romantic encounters. A winning marriage of soft sci-fi and puppy love, it has already scored big with audiences in France, Germany and Poland.

Go– Though frequently compared to Trainspotting, Isoa Yukisada’s frenetic coming-of-age picture makes Danny Boyle’s work look wan and sickly by comparison. From the now classic opening scene in which teen hero Yosuke gets a severe beating on a basketball court to the excruciating bit when he admits to a Japanese girlfriend that he is, in fact, Korean, Go is an electrifying account of everything that’s good and bad about adolescence.

Hotel Hibiscus – If Hotel Hibiscus weren’t live action, it would surely be a Studio Ghilbi picture. The story of a spirited young girl named Mieko and her quirky family hotel with only one room for rent, Yuji Nakae’s award winning film makes terrific use of its Okinawa setting, an exotic locale that compliments the kooky-ness of Mieko, her pool-shark dad, polygamous mom and mixed race siblings perfectly.

Mind Game– This award-winning anime from director Masaaki Yuasa and underground comiX stalwart Robin Nishi does precisely what it suggests on the tin; it messes with your head. A freaky psychedelic po-mo adventure, the film follows perennial porn-addicted loser Nishi as his love for a childhood sweetheart brings him up against the Mafia, all the way up to heaven and back down into the belly of a whale. This crazy epic tale is jollied along by eye-popping experimental animation that is ideal for thrill seekers, the aesthetically curious and users of soft drugs.