With the focus on mid and short films increasing significantly this year, Osaka Asian Film Festival presented another quite intriguing edition, with the choices from both within Japan and the rest of Asia highlighting the quality of the programming once more. At the same time though, the fact that both Japanese and Korean cinema, which make up for a large part of the program, are not on their best years, does take a toll. Particularly regarding the former, the repetition of the same tropes, and more importantly, the almost complete lack of tension most Japanese movies seem to exhibit nowadays, does border on the annoying. There were still some films that stood out, with “Snowdrop”, “Swimming in a Sand Pool” , “Inch Forward”, and “Girls and Boys” exhibiting some fresh ideas, but the aforementioned fact remains. At the same time, it is also a fact that is quite difficult to find...
- 3/19/2024
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Yoshida Kota was born 1978 in Tokyo and graduated from Waseda University. He studied filmmaking at the Enbu seminar and gained international recognition with “Yuriko's Aroma” (2010) at festivals like “Nippon Connection”. Different from his last film “Sexual Drive” (2021), he now turns to the severe topic of social welfare and presents a gripping social drama.
On the occasion of the world premiere at “Osaka Asian Film Festival” Yoshida Kota reveals his thoughts behind the script and talks about how to combine vulnerability and dignity on screen.
“Snow Drop” is a courageous movie because it does not shy away from a challenging and unadressed topic. Everyone talks about the ageing Japanese society. There are also more and more movies that adress this “problem” in terms of dementia and eldery care. But it seems to me that most of them stay on a superficial and bold level in telling these stories. Your movie is different.
On the occasion of the world premiere at “Osaka Asian Film Festival” Yoshida Kota reveals his thoughts behind the script and talks about how to combine vulnerability and dignity on screen.
“Snow Drop” is a courageous movie because it does not shy away from a challenging and unadressed topic. Everyone talks about the ageing Japanese society. There are also more and more movies that adress this “problem” in terms of dementia and eldery care. But it seems to me that most of them stay on a superficial and bold level in telling these stories. Your movie is different.
- 3/8/2024
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
Receiving welfare in Japan is a social stigma. Family members are called and asked if there is financial support, supervisors inspect your privacy, and on top of that, you feel the psychological pressure of being labeled as a failed individual. That's why many people in Japan hesitate to make use of it and the downward spiral into poverty worsens. Kota Yoshida showcases one of these touching cases in his newest film “Snow Drop” which has its world premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival.
Snow Drop is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
Over 33 years “Snow Drop” tells the story of Naoko and her family. Leaving the family when she was little, her father Eiji returns home after 15 years. In the following years, her mother becomes demented and has to be taken care of at home. After Eiji has an accident that prevents him from continuing his job, Naoko, now...
Snow Drop is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
Over 33 years “Snow Drop” tells the story of Naoko and her family. Leaving the family when she was little, her father Eiji returns home after 15 years. In the following years, her mother becomes demented and has to be taken care of at home. After Eiji has an accident that prevents him from continuing his job, Naoko, now...
- 3/6/2024
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
Kôta Yoshida's Sexual Drive is now showing exclusively on Mubi in most countries—including the United Kingdom, India, Turkey, Ireland, Brazil, and Mexico—starting November 23, 2022, in the series Undiscovered.Sexual Drive is an experiment to see how erotic movies can be made without direct sexual expressions.Natto is a sticky and smelly food which is unique to Japan. I thought it would be interesting to express its slimy texture and smell in an erotic way, so I started making the first episode of Sexual Drive, “Natto.” About two years later, I made "Mapo Tofu" and "Ramen with Extra Back Fat." I thought I could make this a series if I made Kurita, the character who appeared in "Natto," appear as a key person in the other episodes as well. Kurita is a character who reflects my own thoughts and experiences. It's not that I'm always driven by erotic fantasies like Kurita…...
- 11/24/2022
- MUBI
New Release Wall
At the midway point of 2022, it seems difficult to imagine how “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24/Lionsgate) wouldn’t be figuring heavily in best-of lists and award chatter come December. The sophomore feature from The Daniels (“Swiss Army Man”) mixes genres and metaphysics with heart and soul to create a hard-to-describe but easy-to-love masterpiece, one that’s not quite like anything else you’ve ever seen. Moving, funny, exciting, mind-bending and always giving you something to look at — including extraordinary performances from Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis — this is a one-of-a-kind film that will reward repeat viewings (and a deep dive into the extras on the DVD and Blu-ray).
Also available:
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” (20th Century Studios): There’s a mystery to solve, a sinkhole to fill, and a restaurant to save in the first big-screen outing for the long-running Fox animated sitcom.
At the midway point of 2022, it seems difficult to imagine how “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24/Lionsgate) wouldn’t be figuring heavily in best-of lists and award chatter come December. The sophomore feature from The Daniels (“Swiss Army Man”) mixes genres and metaphysics with heart and soul to create a hard-to-describe but easy-to-love masterpiece, one that’s not quite like anything else you’ve ever seen. Moving, funny, exciting, mind-bending and always giving you something to look at — including extraordinary performances from Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis — this is a one-of-a-kind film that will reward repeat viewings (and a deep dive into the extras on the DVD and Blu-ray).
Also available:
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” (20th Century Studios): There’s a mystery to solve, a sinkhole to fill, and a restaurant to save in the first big-screen outing for the long-running Fox animated sitcom.
- 7/11/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
An impotent Japanese man who hasn’t slept with his wife in more than five years receives a house call from her secret lover, who tortures — and arouses — the husband with pungent descriptions of his partner’s vaginal secretions, which he lustfully compares to the stink and stringiness of fermented soybeans. A beautiful woman stricken with panic attacks runs over a familiar pedestrian on her way to buy some mapo tofu, only to discover that her masochistic victim might know how to alleviate her anxiety. A handsome executive who’s sick of his mistress receives a phone call that she’s been abducted, and is forced to listen to her captor ramble on about the missing woman’s carnal appetites as he slurps noodles in a ramen bar where talking is strictly forbidden.
Kôta Yoshida’s 70-minute “Sexual Drive” serves up an explicit yet tasteful triptych of semi-connected shorts, all...
Kôta Yoshida’s 70-minute “Sexual Drive” serves up an explicit yet tasteful triptych of semi-connected shorts, all...
- 4/21/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Sexual Drive Movie Review Film Movement Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net, linked from Rotten Tomatoes by Harvey Karten Director: Kôta Yoshida Screenwriter: Kôta Yoshida Cast: Manami Hashimoto, Ryô Ikeda, Mukau Nakamura, Honami Satô, Tateto Serizawa, Shogen, Rina Takeda Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 3/25/22 Opens: April 22, 2022 No film will ever match the conflating […]
The post Sexual Drive Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Sexual Drive Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/17/2022
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
If Ryûsuke Hamaguchi satiated your appetite for Japanese triptychs with the best film of last year, and you are now seeking more to devour, look no further. Kôta Yoshida’s Fantasia Fest favorite Sexual Drive, which offers a compact, 70-minute compendium of three stories involving food and sex, will now be arriving digitally on April 22 via Film Movement. Ahead of the debut, we’re delighted to premiere the exclusive trailer.
Led by Manami Hashimoto, Ryô Ikeda, Mukau Nakamura, Honami Satô, Tateto Serizawa, Shogen, and Rina Takeda, Sexual Drive is an unconventional triptych––equal parts thriller, sex comedy, and gastronomy––following the seemingly unconnected lives of three people around Japan and their appetites, both culinary and carnal. In the first story, designer Enatsu worries about his sexless marriage. Next, office worker Akane is recovering from driving-induced panic attacks. In the final third, elite advertising agent Ikeyama wants to end a relationship with his lover.
Led by Manami Hashimoto, Ryô Ikeda, Mukau Nakamura, Honami Satô, Tateto Serizawa, Shogen, and Rina Takeda, Sexual Drive is an unconventional triptych––equal parts thriller, sex comedy, and gastronomy––following the seemingly unconnected lives of three people around Japan and their appetites, both culinary and carnal. In the first story, designer Enatsu worries about his sexless marriage. Next, office worker Akane is recovering from driving-induced panic attacks. In the final third, elite advertising agent Ikeyama wants to end a relationship with his lover.
- 4/8/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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