FREE movies! Immerse yourself in the Japanese film industry with the Eiga Sai, a Japanese film festival organized by The Japan Foundation, Manila. The aim of the organization is to “[enhance] goodwill and mutual understanding via the promotion of cultural exchange between Japan and the Philippines.” This year’s theme is “Tasteful Japan,” showcasing some of the country’s contemporary movies. The film festival began yesterday (sorry about the late post) but you can catch still catch these films at Ayala Center Cebu, Cebu Business Park, Cebu City.
1.) Princess Jellyfish
It’s all about transformation. An awkward, jellyfish-loving otaku (a person who is obsessed with Japanese popular culture, sometimes a certain niche) named, Tsukimi, who lives in a house called, Amamizukan, where other otaku women live. Each of them has their own specific interest. In an effort to save what they’ve known as their home from demolition, a cross-dressing college boy gives the women pep talks and fashion lessons to turn the ladies into fashionistas. He even manages to turn Tsukimi into a fashion designer. A live action version of a manga (Japanese comic), catch this eccentric tale TODAY at 7:00 PM.
2.) Wood Job
Yuki Hirano was supposed to move on to the next chapter of his life – college – when he fails the entrance exam. He’s not worried, thinking it means he’ll be able to take a break for a year before retaking the exam until his girlfriend dumps him. That’s when Yuki finds a recruitment flyer for a company with a pretty girl on the cover. Allured by her beauty, he decides to apply for the one-year forestry training. He finds out only later that he has to live in a remote village and work on an even more remote mountain where it’s nothing like the city and especially has no cellphone coverage. Can he survive? Watch this movie tomorrow, August 21, 2015, Thursday at 7:00 PM.
3.) Our Family
Reiko Wakae is 60 years old and is getting more and more forgetful but her 2 sons and husband don’t notice at all until she talks incoherently at a family gathering. Only when she goes to see a doctor do they realise that there’s something wrong – she has a tumor in her brain and has a week left to live. This forces the broken family to come together. As the days go by, her illness progresses and she starts to become childlike and says whatever is on her mind, including recollections of her husband’s embarrassing past and bitterness she had never let go of. More skeletons come out of the closet and no one is prepared for the changes. With minimal cinematics, this simple family drama won’t fail to get those tears streaming. It starts playing on the big screen on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 4:30 PM.
4.) Parasyte
It’s a body snatcher thriller based on an anime (Japanese cartoons) but in this story, Shinichi Izumi, a Japanese teenager manages to stop one of the aliens from taking complete control over his body and isolates it on his hand. This, however, forces him to have to learn to live with his body’s new resident. This makes his school life more difficult than it already is. But there are several like his new friend that are not as friendly and looking for hosts. Soon, people he knows are falling victim to this species. Righty, Shinichi’s alien, becomes a sort of mediator between Earth’s invaders and the humans but since he himself will die without a host, he can’t seem to decide what he really wants. The invasion begins on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 7:00 PM.
5.) Thermae Romae II
This sequel continues the story of Lucius Modestus, a Roman bathhouse architect who discovers he can travel through time and space to modern Japan. This just means he ends up in baths of sumo wrestlers and exclusive female public baths. It proves to be more beneficial to him as he ends up bringing new ideas for bathhouse designs to ancient Rome. As he learns more things from the modern world, he starts to affect ancient Rome even more and not everyone back home is happy. He soon finds himself in the middle of a conflict that could divide the Roman Empire. Travel back in time with Lucius on Sunday, August 23, 2015 at 4:00 PM.
6.) Tada’s Do-It-All House: Disconcerto
A mix of characters that are the opposite of society’s image of ideal, the story begins with a call from Tada’s roommate’s ex-wife, asking for a favor. She’s going abroad and needs someone to takes care of her daughter, Haru. Unfortunately, the father, Gyoten, hates children and his daughter is no exception to him. Tada agrees without telling Gyoten until Haru arrives. Already in a complicated situation, another call from a gangster asking for a favor, turns Tada’s world upside-down. The gangster, Hara, asks Tada to investigate an organization that grows organic vegetables that seems to be hiding something. This movie adaptation of a novel is not the heart-warming comedy it first appears to be. See how different it is for yourself on Sunday, August 23, 2015 at 7:00 PM.
