Tuesday, January 5, 2010

JAPANESE CINEMA GEMS CURRENTLY @ IFI

Departures - until Jan 7thWinner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, director Yojiro Takita’s drama conjures an arresting story from unlikely subject matter: the travails of a cash-strapped cellist who takes on a new job preparing corpses for Japanese funeral rites.This fundamentally warm-hearted film finds a balance of humour and sobriety in its touching exploration of both the pain and the catharsis involved in saying our farewells.

YASUJIRO OZU SEASON - until Jan 29thRegarded by many critics as the greatest of Japanese directors, Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963) is celebrated in this short season built around the re-release of digitally restored versions of Tokyo Story (1953) and Late Autumn (1960).


SCREENINGS:An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma No Aji) until Jan 7th Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) until Jan 14th Floating Weeds (Ukigusa) Jan 16th & 18th The End of Summer (Kohayagawa-Ke No Aki) Jan 17th & 19th Late Autumn (Akibiyori) from Jan 29th.


Coming soon

Still Walking - Jan 15th - 28thHirokazu Kore-eda’s previous work (After Life, Nobody Knows) has been impressive, but this family drama is so wise and true that it affirms his position at the forefront of Japanese cinema. It revolves around a single family gathering, in which elderly parents host their grown-up son and daughter, their respective partners and children. Ozu is a reference point, obviously, but you might as well say Jean Renoir or Chekhov. It’s that good.