Now in its sixth year, the Japanese Eyes section of the Tokyo International Film Festival, has evolved from its beginnings as a showcase for the middle range of Japanese films — that is, ones not readily classifiable as hardcore indie or commercial mainstream, though made, in some cases, by well-known directors.

This class of films, however, has been hit hard by the recession, which has dried up funding for all but big- or zero-budget projects — as reflected in this year's Japanese Eyes program. The only one of its eight films falling into middle of the indie-mainstream spectrum was Tetsuo Shinohara's "Tsumuji Kaze Shokudo no Yoru" ("The Night of the Whirlwind Restaurant").

Based on a novel by Atsuhiro Yoshida, this dramady about the nerdy writer son of a popular magician who finds enlightenment and the stirrings of romance in a quaint Hokkaido restaurant, is a shade on the twee side, from the comfy retro art direction to the twinkly "life is mysterious" philosophizing. But the performances of the two leads — Norito Yashima as the prickly lonely-guy hero and Sarara Tsukifune as the cranky, desperate actress who begs him for a starring role in his next play — are both unsugary and individual. And the ending, though expected, hits a true, original note.