Finding Serenity in Chaos:
A Nobuhiko Ōbayashi Tribute
Honouring history and changing the future through cinema.
About
The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) in Australia is an annual film festival that has been presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney since 1997. It is one of a number of international Japanese Film Festivals established by The Japan Foundation in Tokyo with the aim of supporting and growing interest in Japanese films and cinema culture throughout the world.
JFF Program Director Yurika Sugie JFF Programmers Susan Bui, Simonne Goran, Anne Lee and Aurora Newton
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@japanesefilmfest @japanfilmfest japanesefilmfestival.net
Design kevinvo.com.au
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Overview
Finding Serenity in Chaos:
A Nobuhiko Ōbayashi Tribute
Honouring history and changing the future through cinema. The Japanese Film Festival presents a special film series that celebrates the late director Nobuhiko Ōbayashi (1938-2000), an endlessly innovative filmmaker, screenwriter and editor. A pillar of modern cinema and pioneer of Japanese experimental film, Ōbayashi’s illustrious six decade career spans feature films, short films and TV commercials. The 1960s saw Ōbayashi experimenting with filmmakers such as Shūji Terayama and Toshio Matsumoto on 8mm and 16mm film, creating shorts and developing his signature style of charming characters and chaotic editing techniques. In 1977, he released his feature debut House (JFF Classics 2020), which made him an international cult icon. Ōbayashi’s oeuvre is characterised by a focus on youth and coming of age themes, and as he grew older, he continued to deviate from cinematic conventions while also becoming increasingly interested in conveying his disdain for war.
This program comprises the director’s final four films, which represent his life’s mission to inspire peace through his works. Casting Blossoms to the Sky, Seven Weeks and HANAGATAMI are a trilogy of films conceived in response to the nuclear disaster following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, in which Ōbayashi ruminates on war, nuclear power, community and the lasting impact of tragedy and loss. Labyrinth of Cinema saw Ōbayashi return to his hometown to shoot his final opus, a culmination of these themes and an homage to his love for cinema. Ōbayashi believed that cinema can influence perspectives and bring about positive change. Despite their somber and often tragic themes, these four films implore us not to forget our past, while simultaneously re-invigorating our optimism towards humanity and capacity to improve our futures.
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Casting Blossoms to the Sky
この空の花―長岡花火物語
Director: Nobuhiko Ōbayashi 2011 • 160mins • colour Japanese with English subtitles UNCL: Suitable for all ages
If all the bombs in the world could be changed to fireworks. Released after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Casting Blossoms to the Sky is the first film in Nobuhiko Ōbayashi’s “war trilogy.” Journalist Reiko Endō (Yasuko Matsuyuki) travels to Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture to investigate why the city welcomed so many victims of the Tōhoku tsunami. There, she learns about the town’s history during World War II by speaking with the residents, along with the town’s yearly fireworks tradition to honour the lives lost. At the same time, Endō’s exboyfriend is in charge of organising the local high school’s play depicting the town’s WWII history, intertwining the narratives of past and present, fireworks and bombs into one. A poignant look at the impact nuclear power has on ordinary Japanese citizens beyond the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Casting Blossoms to the Sky educates while at the same time offering a humanistic perspective on what war can do to a community. © 2011 Nagaoka Movie Production Committee, PSC
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OBAYASHI TRIBUTE
Seven Weeks
野のなななのか
Director: Nobuhiko Ōbayashi 2014 • 171mins • colour Japanese with English subtitles UNCL: Suitable for 18+ (Contains violence and sexual violence)
Not even death can keep some secrets buried. When 92-year-old doctor Mitsuo Suzuki (Tōru Shinagawa) passes away, his sister, grandchildren and great-granddaughter flock back to their small hometown of Ashibetsu in Hokkaido to participate in the nanananoka (a Buddhist funerary ritual of holding a memorial every seven days for 49 days). Upon their arrival, they meet the mysterious Nobuko Shimizu (Takako Tokiwa), a former nurse at Mitsuo’s clinic. Nobuko seems to know more about Mitsuo and his family than she should and the secrets Mitsuo took to the grave start to come alive. The second of Nobuhiko Ōbayashi’s trilogy created after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Seven Weeks is characterised by flashbacks, fragmented scenes and a galloping pace, as Ōbayashi skillfully uses the microcosm of one man to examine the wider social psyche of Japan and the devastating impact of war and the nuclear race on love, family and even art itself. © Ashibetsu Movie Production Committee, PSC
OBAYASHI TRIBUTE
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HANAGATAMI
花筐／ＨＡＮＡＧＡＴＡＭＩ Director: Nobuhiko Ōbayashi 2017 • 169mins • colour Japanese with English subtitles UNCL: Suitable for 15+ (under 15s must be accompanied by an adult)
A vividly moving reflection on young love and heartache for all that’s lost. Capping off Nobuhiko Ōbayashi’s “war trilogy” with a film that was in development for 40 years, HANAGATAMI is a psychedelic, rose-tinted lament for the youth stolen by war. An adaptation of Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novel of the same name, HANAGATAMI is set in a picturesque seaside town on the western coast of Japan in the final lead up to WWII. The story follows the innocent 16-year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) and his group of extraordinary friends. Tension builds as the carefree adolescents share fleeting intimate exchanges while reflecting on the value of their lives and the inescapable impending doom on the horizon. Nobuhiko Ōbayashi’s signature directional style of jarring, iconoclastic edits and texturally audacious cinematography make for a disorientating visual shockwave, indicative of avante-garde techniques that first inspired his films during the sixties. © karatsu film partners/PSC2017
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OBAYASHI TRIBUTE
Labyrinth of Cinema
海辺の映画館―キネマの玉手箱 Director: Nobuhiko Ōbayashi 2019 • 179mins • colour Japanese with English subtitles UNCL: Suitable for 15+ (under 15s must be accompanied by an adult)
An accelerated adventure through the history of war and cinema. Labyrinth of Cinema sees esteemed auteur Nobuhiko Ōbayashi returning to his hometown, a port city named Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, to shoot his final opus. One rainy day, the townspeople gather to enjoy a marathon screening of old war films at the town’s only cinema. With the rain cancelling any plans for outdoor activities, it seems as though the whole town is present to celebrate the cinema before it closes down for good. Lightning strikes and four young moviegoers find themselves on the other side of the silver screen. The protagonists traverse a smorgasbord of genres, while attempting to outrun enemies and witnessing transformative moments in Japanese history, such as the Boshin War, the second Sino-Japanese conflict and finally they find themselves in Hiroshima days prior to the atomic bombing. A love letter to cinema, Labyrinth of Cinema is a summation of the director’s iconically frenetic film style imbued with the ultimate message of peace he wished to impart on future generations. © 2020 “Labyrinth of Cinema” Film Partners/PSC
OBAYASHI TRIBUTE
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Venue and Booking Information
Dates and Venues
Reserve Your Tickets
Festival Enquiries
Sydney
Free Admission Reserve Your Tickets japanesefilmfestival.net
The Japan Foundation, Sydney (02) 8239 0055 japanesefilmfestival@jpf.org.au
11–14 March 2021 The Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace 380 Military Road Cremorne NSW 2090
An online booking fee of $2.50 applies for each ticket purchased. Please note that in-person reservations at the box office do not incur a fee.
Box office open 1pm–9pm (02) 9908 4344
Schedule
The Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace
Sydney 11–14 March Date
Time
English Title
Japanese Title
Genre
Labyrinth of Cinema
海辺の映画館―キネマの玉手箱
DRAMA
18:00
HANAGATAMI
花筐／ＨＡＮＡＧＡＴＡＭＩ
DRAMA
11 Mar • Thu 18:00 12 Mar •Fri 13 Mar • Sat
11:00
Seven Weeks
野のなななのか
14:30
DRAMA
13 Mar • Sat
18:00
Labyrinth of Cinema
海辺の映画館―キネマの玉手箱
DRAMA
14 Mar • Sun 11:00
Casting Blossoms to the Sky
この空の花―長岡花火物語
DRAMA
14 Mar • Sun 18:00
Seven Weeks
野のなななのか
13 Mar • Sat
14 Mar • Sun 14:30
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Casting Blossoms to the Sky
HANAGATAMI
この空の花―長岡花火物語
花筐／ＨＡＮＡＧＡＴＡＭＩ
DRAMA
DRAMA
DRAMA
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