For non-Japanese fans of Japanese films, the annual Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is an excellent chance to see new and classic titles on a big screen with subtitles.
Japan’s largest film festival, which will be held Oct. 28 through Nov. 6 at venues in and around the Tokyo Midtown Hibiya shopping and entertainment complex, presents a wide-ranging line-up sourced from Japan, Asia and around the world, as well as talk sessions with Hirokazu Kore-eda, Johnnie To and other leading directors. Be warned, though, tickets can sell out quickly, especially when stars appear on stage to take part in softball Q&As.
The following are my own picks for Japanese films to check out at the festival’s 37th edition.
One of the hardest tickets to get is for the opening film, Kazuya Shiraishi's "11 Rebels," a period actioner based on a long-forgotten script by Kazuo Kasahara (1927-2002). Among his many credits are the Kinji Fukasaku gang genre classics “Battles Without Honor and Humanity” (1973) and “Yakuza Graveyard” (1976).
Shiraishi channeled Fukasaku’s trademark gritty realism in his own cop-versus-gangster movies, including “The Blood of Wolves” (2018). He also essayed the samurai period genre for the first time with an old-school swashbuckler, “Bushido,” which was released here in May. Based on the trailer, “11 Rebels” looks to be full-throttle entertainment with swords, guns and explosions galore. And knowing Shiraishi, the story will be anything but dull.
Three Japanese films are vying for the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix — TIFF’s top prize — in the Competition section. One is Shinzo Katayama's "Lust in the Rain," a stylish love story based on the work of revered manga artist Yoshiharu Tsuge and filmed almost entirely in Taiwan. Katayama rose to prominence for hard-edged dramas set on the social margins, beginning with his 2018 feature debut, “Siblings of the Cape.”
Also in the Competition line-up is Akiko Ohku's "She Taught Me Serendipity," a quirky romantic drama starring Yuumi Kawai, in demand now after her star turn in the festival favorite "Desert of Namibia." Her character, a college girl whose take on life is as nonconforming as her distinctive bun hairstyle, recalls Mayu Matsuoka’s oddball heroine in Ohku’s “Tremble All You Want,” winner of the 2017 TIFF Audience Award.
Still another Competition title from Japan is Daihachi Yoshida's "Teki Cometh," which stars veteran Kyozo Nagatsuka as a retired college professor who is living a peaceful life alone until he gets a message on his PC telling him that his "teki" (enemy) is coming. Based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, this black-and-white film looks from the trailer to have touches of Yoshida’s signature dark humor, but segues into more disturbing territory.
Worth checking out in Asian Future, a section for up-and-coming filmmakers from the Asian region, is Tetsuichiro Tsuta's "Black Ox," a black-and-white film about a man and his title animal companion, based on a Zen fable. Tsuta’s "The Tale of Iya" (2013), which also screened at TIFF, was a visual stunner with a folktale-like story, and this film looks to be similar.
In the Gala Selection is Yusuke Morii’s "Route 29,” a follow-up to his much-praised 2022 directorial debut, "Amiko." In this road movie, based on the poetry of Taichi Nakao, Haruka Ayase stars as a socially awkward janitor tasked with bringing a teenage girl (“Amiko” star Kana Osawa) to see her mom. In the trailer, Ayase looks to be almost unrecognizable from her usual chipper heroines — which is a good sign.
The Nippon Cinema Now section presents a five-film tribute to Yu Irie, this year’s Director in Focus. The offerings range from his 2008 break-out hit “8000 Miles: SR Saitama's Rapper” to this year’s “A Girl Named Ann,” a dark coming-of-age drama starring Kawai (of “She Taught Me Serendipity").
Also of interest is Takeshi Fukunaga’s “Ainu Puri,” a follow-up to “Ainu Mosir” (2020), his indie drama about contemporary life in an indigenous Ainu community. Once again the setting is present-day Hokkaido, where a father tries to pass on Ainu ways (“Ainu puri”) to his son.
Other films in Nippon Cinema Now are by directors unknown to me, if not to the world, so it's hard to make firm recommendations. But given the high quality of selections by programming director Shozo Ichiyama and his team in recent editions, I’m willing to take my chances. TIFF, after all, is a festival for discoveries.
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