When the Last Sword is Drawn

Turning Japanese

22 November 2004

Quirky, transgressive and deeply human filmmaking characterises Japanese cinema and continues to make it so fascinating to Australian audiences. In 2004, the 8th Japanese Film Festival presents a showcase of contemporary films that cover the vast spectrum of Japanese cinematic experience.

The Festival opens with the multi-award winning, unconventional samurai drama When the Last Sword is Drawn. Winner of the 2003 Japanese Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, the film is set during the Meiji Period in the late 1800s, and tells the story of a common samurai in turbulent times. Yoshimura leaves his loved ones and the hardships of his poor clan, to seek his fortune in the big city, in a renowned samurai faction. This poignant drama unfolds amidst a fascinating and chaotic period in Japan’s history.

Two of the latest anime hits are screening at the Festival: Oshii Mamoru’s Innocence, and Tokyo Godfathers from Kon Satoshi, the groundbreaking director of Perfect Blue.

Innocence, screening only in Sydney, depicts a world in which the lines between human, cyborg and robot have become blurred. Full of philosophical pondering, the film questions the paradigms of what it is to be human.

Meanwhile, the enchanting Tokyo Godfathers takes us to the snowy streets of Tokyo, where a runaway, a drunk and an ex-drag queen are thrown into adventure after stumbling across an abandoned baby.

The Festival also features feel-good dramas and jet-setting love stories, which will leave you laughing or crying – or both. Quill is based on a true story about a ‘seeing-eye’ Labrador puppy and marks a leap into new territory for director Sai Yoichi. Better known for his excursions into society’s underworld and his shocking people portraits, in Quill Sai moves audiences with his remarkable story of the life of a seeing-eye dog and the visually impaired. Quill was the highest grossing film of 2003 for the legendary Japanese production company Shochiku. The Festival features three other Shochiku films, Love Collage, Heaven’s Bookstore and Fireflies: The River of Light.

- Chloe Flynn

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