Held to commemorate the 133rd anniversary of Thai-Japanese diplomatic relations by the Japan Foundation Bangkok and SF Cinema, the Japanese Film Festival will screen 14 films that represent the art, culture and general lifestyle of the country, from Feb 6 at SF World Cinema, CentralWorld. Here are some highlights.
A Banana? At This Time Of Night?
The opening film is a comedy based on the true story of Yasuaki Shikano (Yo Oizumi) who suffers from muscular dystrophy. He hires volunteers to take care of him, but demands attention from everyone. He likes to ask one of his volunteers, Hisashi Tanaka (Haruma Miura), to buy a banana for him late at night. When he meets a new volunteer, Misaki Ando (Mitsuki Takahata), he falls in love with her without knowing that she is Hisashi's girlfriend.
Children Of The Sea
This animated feature presents the story of a girl named Ruka who can communicate with marine creatures. At an aquarium where her father works, she meets two mystery boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised by dugongs and have special powers like she does. One day, all fish in the world suddenly vanish. The three kids team up to search for fish in the ocean world.
Masquerade Hotel
At Cortesia Hotel, a detective named Kosuke Nitta (Takuya Kimura) is undercover as hotel staff to investigate a serial-killer case. While Kosuke focuses on revealing the true identities of hotel guests, his supervisor, Naomi Yamagishi (Masami Nagasawa), prioritises the safety of guests.
All movies have Thai and English subtitles. After Bangkok, the film festival will move to SF Cinema, CentralPlaza Khon Kaen from Feb 21-23, SFX Cinema Meya Lifestyle Shopping Chiang Mai from Feb 28 until March 1, and SFX Cinema Central Festival Phuket from March 6-8.
For more information and ticket prices, visit sfcinemacity.com.
Award-winning animated feature Children Of The Sea. SF Cinema
Detective film Masquerade Hotel. photos courtesy of SF Cinema
