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Movie: Heaven’s Bookstore
Romaji: Tengoku no honya – koib
Japanese: 天国の本屋～恋火
Director: Tetsuo Shinohara
Writer: Atsushi Matsuhisa (novel), Wataru Tanaka (novel)
Producer:
Cinematographer
Release Date: June 5, 2004
Runtime: 111 Min.
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Cast:
Yuko Takeuchi – Shoko/Natsuko
Tetsuji Tamayama – Kenta
Karina – Yui
Hirofumi Arai – Satoshi
Teruyuki Kagawa – Takimoto
Yoshio Harada – Yamaki
Akashi Takei
Kyoko Kagawa

KENTA (Tetsuji Tamayama), a young pianist who has just lost his job, is drowning his woes at a bar, when he meets a man in a Hawaiian shirt named YAMAKI (Yoshio Harada). He invites Kenta to work with him, and the next thing he knows, Kenta wakes up to find himself in a room he has never been in before. It is a strange room that seems to have no connection to life. He descends a staircase to find many shelves of books. Yamaki appears once again, and tells him that this is Heaven’s Book Service and Kenta is going to start working a short-term part-time job here. In addition to selling books, this bookstore, owned by Yamaki, provides a service of reading aloud to customers. Although he is unsure of his new surroundings, Kenta follows their actions and starts to work in his new part-time job.

One day, Kenta meets SHOKO (Yuko Takeuchi) who had been the pianist that was the inspiration for him to first to start playing the piano. She was a gifted pianist whose promising future was destroyed when an accident caused her to have trouble in hearing.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, KANAKO (also by Yuko Takeuchi), the daughter of a Japanese patisserie store, is planning to bring back the fireworks show, which used to be held until 14 years ago. Everyone who watched the fireworks would look forward to the last piece, the “Loving Fireworks.” It was told that couples that watch it together would be forever united in true love. However, the fireworks shows were discontinued when TAKIMOTO (Teruyuki Kagawa), a young fireworks technician had an accident that caused his fiancee to lose her hearing, and the tragedy lead him to disappear. The pianist, as it turns out, is Shoko, Kanako’s aunt.

Kenta visits Shoko’s home deliver the book, and discovers that she had ended up in heaven before she had the chance to finish a piano piece that she was long working on. Since her arrival in heaven, she has not been able to compose anything. Kenta resolves to finish that last music for her, for the suite that awaits its completion, and for himself.

Around the same time, Kanako visits Takimoto, who has left the fireworks profession completely. She begs him to launch the Loving Fireworks again. However, Takimoto stubbornly rejects her pleas. The people of the shopping district are touched by her drive, and gradually begin to offer their help. But, unless they have the Loving Fireworks, the fireworks show will not be considered a success. Kanako approaches Takimoto one more time to ask for his help. Bit by bit, he begins to tell her about his past. The fireworks piece he dedicated to a pianist. That the pianist began composing songs for the fireworks, to complete a suite over a ten years’ period. That they had promised to marry. That an explosion caused her to have hearing problems and to give up her piano. And about a fireworks technician who felt responsible and walked away from fireworks altogether. Kanako tries to tell Takimoto that he wasn’t the only reason that her aunt gave up her piano, and that the person who grieved most by his abandonment of fireworks was Shoko. However, Takimoto refuses to listen. The scheduled date of the fireworks show is now only two weeks away.

Kenta works hard with Shoko on the music. He realizes the reason that he has came to heaven. As the completion of the music draws close, Yamaki tells Kenta that his job in heaven is finished and that he must return to earth. Kenta gives his last reading at the Heaven’s Book Service. And as his last job in heaven, he plays the suite he has just completed. As he plays, he begins to recall that he originally took up the piano because of his love of playing it.

On the day of the fireworks show, Takimoto does not show up. However, just when the event was about to be finished, a firework goes off on top of a hill. Wading through the crowds heading home, Kanako runs up to the hill to find Takimono, launching the “Loving Fireworks”. It is a pale ring of light silently appears in the pitch-black sky-it was truly the fireworks of love. It is then when Kanako senses a faint sound of piano from close by.

Unaware of her tears falling, Kanako looks at the grand piano to find a man there-it is Kenta. Although Kenta is surprised to see a woman who looks exactly like Shoko, they immediately sense a strong bonding. In the moonlight, the two introduce themselves to each other, which would be the beginning of their new story, together.

Movie: Bakamono – The Idiots
Romaji: Bakamono
Japanese: ばかもの
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Writer: Akiko Itoyama (Novel)
Producer:
Cinematographer:
Release Date: December 18, 2010
Runtime: 120 min.
Distributor: Go! Cinema
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

10 years ago Hide (Hiroki Narimiya), a college student, meets Yuki Gakuko (Yuki Uchida), an older woman, through work. They become lovers with Hide falling hard for Yuki Gakuko. The following year, Yuki abruptly announces one day that she is going to marry another man. This devastates Hide. Hide eventually finishes college and finds a job, but his yearning for Yuki leads him into depression and alcoholism.

Meanwhile, Yuki is involved in a car accident and suffers a life altering injury. Now, 10 years later the two former lovers come across each other once again. They are both shells of their former selves …

Cast: Hiroki Narimiya, Yuki Uchida, Miho Shiraishi, Yuri Nakamura, Reina Asami
Natsuki Okamoto, Miyoko Asada, Takashi Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Yuko Kotegawa

Japanese: 肌の隙間
Genre: Drama
Director: Takahisa Zeze
Writer: Aki Sato
Release Date: 28 May 2005
Runtime: 77 min.
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Cast:
Fujiko … Sunako
Daisuke Iijima
Yoichiro Ito … Kanagawa
Takehito Kotani
Masaki Miura
Kenji Otani … Hidenori

Plot:
apanese ‘pink’ filmmaker Takahisa Zeze directs this highly stylised and almost dialogue-free film, which has its roots in the brutal and erotic but has made the crossover to arthouse cinema. Two young people, Hidenori and Sunako (Kenji Otani and Fujiko), are on the run from the law following Hidenori’s killing of his mother. The two manage to hitch a ride in a passing ice-cream van, but Sunako is assaulted by its driver while bathing in a stream in a forest. They escape through the trees, eventually ending up in a secluded wooden cottage where they hide out, eking out a feral existence by raiding neighbouring gardens. With Hidenori still in a state of shock, Sunako eventually breaks the communication barrier using her body, seducing him in a bathtub full of floating ripe tomatoes. It is a turning point in their relationship, and Hidenori then becomes the sexually dominant partner in this strange relationship. But one day, Hidenori plunges a knife into his stomach, forcing the pair to leave their makeshift haven and seek help in the big city.