This year’s cinematic calendar began with Drive My Car, the instant classic Japanese film that went on to win best foreign language film at this year’s Academy Awards.
How fitting therefore, that the year ends with a festival of Japanese films, old and new, cementing and celebbrating their esteemeed space in world cinema.
Here’s three excellent reasons to attend.
Intriguing serial killer suspenser with twists and turns and surprises galore, LESSONS IN MURDER is a study in mind boggling manipulation.
Like so many monsters before him, habitual torturer, Yamato presents as a really nice guy, a local baker, who secretly grooms his victims by systematic acts of kindness.
When he is finally arrested and tried, found guilty and condemned to death, he concedes to all the murders save one.
Ironically concerned that there is a killer still on the loose in the community, he enlists a uni student, Masaya, to discover the other murderer’s identity.
LESSONS IN MURDER is a textbook example of cat and mouse, of convergent narratives and conspicuous coincidence. It nails it.
Brilliant bolshi anti bureaucracy thriller that has resonance and relevance in the wake of recent local disasters, IN THE WAKE is a poignant murder mystery, the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Set ten years after the event, a detective who lost his wife and child in the tsunami is investigating the murders of welfare workers, government officials employed at the time of the disaster.
The deaths appear to be linked to an arsonist recently paroled, but it turns out he is not the only link in a chain that stretches back a decade.
It features a beautiful performance by Mitsuko Baisho.
There will be guaranteed gasps in the auditorium while experiencing Intolerance with its intricate portrayals of the behaviour and psychology of people caught in extreme situations. A cascade of consequence follows a catastrophic event, fuelled by guilt, regret, blame and a ravenous media pack.
The Japanese Film Festival
Latest Releases: 7-11 December at Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona
Special Series: 12-14 December at The Chauvel
The full program can be found at: https://japanesefilmfestival.net/films-schedule
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