"Osaka Elegy" by Mizoguchi (c) Janus Film
The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center’s Japanese FilmFest will take place on Aug. 31 through Sept. 2.
This festival will showcase films ranging from Akira Kurosawa’s Lower Depth, a definitive piece during Japan’s Golden Age of Film to more modern, family films like Ninja Kids.
The JACCC will also be hosting a Tribute to Isuzu Yamada who passed away on July 9 at the age of 95 by presenting two films, Lower Depth (1957) by Akira Kurosawa and Osaka Elgy (1936) by Kenji Mizoguchi, which feature late Isuzu Yamada. Award winning actress Yoko Sugi will make a special appearance to introduce these films.
"Lower Depths" by Kurosawa (c) Janus Film
Lower Depth (1957)
Aratani Japanese American Theatre
Saturday, Sept. 1, at 1pm
$10 General Admission
In Lower Depth, Akira Kurosawa brilliantly translates Maxim Gorky’s 1902 proletariat play to Edo-period Japan. The film tells the story of a couple that is struggling to make ends meet by renting out rooms in an old, run-down tenement. The intricate storyline investigates the couple’s relationship as well as the relationships throughout the community amidst infidelity, poverty, and murder.
Ninja Kids!!! (2011)
Aratani Japanese American Theatre
Saturday, Sept. 1, at 7pm
Ninja Kids!!! was directed by renowned director, Takashi Miike, who also directed hits including 13 Assassins and Harakiri. This film follows young Rantaro who is sent off to ninja training school by his parents. Competition begins to stir things up after a rival group comes in and tries to steal Rantaro and his school’s glory.
Osaka Elgy (1936)
Aratani Japanese American Theatre
Sunday, Sept. 2, at 1pm
$10 General Admission
Both a cultural and commercial success, Mizoguchi’s Osaka Elgy takes the audience through the life of Ayako Murai (Isuzu Yamada), a young woman who becomes her employer’s mistress in order to pay off her father’s debt only to be arrested, ostracized by her family, and kicked out of her home. Though Ayako’s struggles are atypical, the audience is able to feel both the internal and external struggles that she encounters in her personal life.
Movies on the plaza
Food, family, and fun come together on the JACCC plaza as this year’s FilmFest features, Gigantor Revenge of Captain Spider (1963) and New Treasure Island (1964), two of the finest anime movies to come out of Japan in the early sixties.
On the Plaza
Friday, Aug. 31, at 8pm
Gigantor (1964)
Gigantor was directed by Mitsuteru Yokoyama and focuses on a 12-year old boy named Jimmy Sparks who has a remote control robot named Gigantor. Though the robot was originally created to cause destruction it eventually changes roles into a gentle giant.
New Treasure Island (1964)
This family film was directed by Tezuka Osamu and tells the story of a young boy who sets off to find Treasure Island after finding a map that his father left behind. His journey is one that people of all age will enjoy watching.
