Japanese film a rare road movie gem
massey-university
Tue Jun 30 2015 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Japanese film a rare road movie gem
Tuesday, 30 June 2015, 10:33 am
Press Release: Massey University
Japanese film a rare road movie gem
The Japanese film Haru’s Journey – to screen at Massey University’s Auckland campus on Monday, July 8 – is a rare road movie gem, filmed in the Tohoku region before the devastating 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
It’s also a fitting prelude to the Japan Foundation’s Travelling Exhibition which opens in the campus library on July 11.
The free films are brought to New Zealand with the kind permission of the Japan Foundation and the Consulate-General of Japan in Auckland, and are shown in Japanese with English subtitles.
Auckland campus registrar Andrea Davies says the films offer a window on Japan and are a great opportunity for people to visit the campus.
“The free Japanese films on campus have been really well received by the local community and our students, who either come back specifically to watch the films, or from campus student accommodation where they are living.”
Haru’s Journey examines the universal themes of acceptance, resilience and reconciliation. Tadao, an elderly fisherman, lives in a lonely village in Hokkaido with his granddaughter Haru. Having injured his leg, he cannot live without her help. When Haru loses her job as a primary school nutritionist, she wants to move to Tokyo to look for new opportunities. Tadao is not pleased, but begrudgingly agrees to accompany her on a journey through Tohoku in the hope that one of his estranged siblings will look after him.
The August Japanese film event is a double-feature of Makoto Shinkai’s animated films The Voice of Distant Star and The Garden of Words.
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Described as “poignant and beautiful”, The Voice of Distant Star is the story of high school students Mikako Nagamine and Noboru Terao. When the alien Tarsians attack, Mikako volunteers to be a pilot in the space force that will protect humankind. The lovers try to remain in contact using text messages, but as each battle takes Mikako further from Earth, each message takes longer and longer to arrive. Will their love stand the test of time and distance?
Written, directed and produced by Makoto Shinkai, the film wowed the mainstream base of anime fandom, who were delighted and touched by his fascinating blend of genre and melancholy. At the time of its release, Shinkai was deemed an exciting new voice in anime narrative.
The Garden of Words is a love story with a twist. When Takao, a young high school student who dreams of being a shoe designer, decides to skip school one day in favour of sketching a rainy garden, he has no idea how much his life will change when he encounters Yukino. Older, but perhaps not much wiser, she seems adrift in the world. Despite the difference in their ages, they strike up an unusual relationship that unexpectedly continues and evolves, with random meetings in the same garden on each rainy day. But the rainy season is coming to a close, and there are so many things left unsaid and undone between them.
Preceeding the main feature is a short 15-minute documentary on life and culture in Japan, which starts at 6.15 pm. The films are screening are:
July
Haru’s Journey (2010)
Director: Masahiro Kobayashi
Running time: 134 minutes
Rating: M
August
The Voice of Distant Star (2011) + The Garden of Words (2013)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Running time: 25 minutes and 46 minutes
Rating: PG + M
For more information on the Japanese films or the upcoming Japan Foundation Travelling Exhibition TOHOKU: Through the Eyes of Japanese Photographers, visit the website: http://www.auckland.nz.emb-japan.go.jp/culture/film\_show.htm
ENDS
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