Japan has long had an image as a country of workaholics, dedicating their lives to the almighty yen. But recent Japanese movies, especially at the lower end of the budget spectrum, are full of furiitā ("freeter," a fairly young part-timer or freelancer) trying to decide what to do with their lives.
Kiyohiko Shibukawa, a former model with distinctive chiseled features and a deep, radio-ready voice, has often played the slacker version of this type in such films as "Lowlife Love" (2015), "Obon Brothers" (2015) and "And the Mud Ship Sails Away" (2013). He's the industry's go-to good-for-nothing.
In Ken Iizuka's quirky ensemble comedy "Enokida Trading Post," Shibukawa is Yojiro Enokida, who runs a cluttered recycle shop in rural Gunma Prefecture. In his own words, he deals in anything "that's not garbage," but business is hardly booming, not that Enokida really cares. Even so, he has two employees: The feisty Chiaki (Sairi Ito) and the testy Kiyoharu (Ryu Morioka), who tend to get on each other's nerves.
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