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Movie: Calling You
Romaji: Kimi ni shika kikoenai
Japanese: きみにしか聞こえない
Director: Tatsuya Hagishima
Writer: Tatsuya Hagishima, Otsuichi
Producer:
Cinematographer
Release Date: October 28, 2006 (Japan)
Runtime: 107min
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

Directed by Hagishima Tatsuya, Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai (a.k.a. Calling You) is based on the same-titled light novel series by popular writer Otsuichi. Like Otsuichi’s Waiting in the Dark, which was also recently adapted for the big screen, Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai revolves around two lonely young people who find each other in an uncommon manner. The film’s strengths lie in its haunting, empathetic story and genuinely affecting performances from young leads Narumi Riko and Koide Keisuke. At only 15 years old, Narumi Riko has established herself as one of Japan’s best young actresses, already with seven years of acting experience under her belt and a maturity that belies her age. The beautiful actress has found both popularity and acclaim with her many television outings, as well as subtle performances in films like Shindo and How to Become Myself. Koide is also a familiar face to audiences, having appeared in many popular youth films and dramas like Pacchigi!, Linda Linda Linda, and Nodame Cantabile, and he takes on his first leading film role in Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai.

Shy, quiet, and unsure of herself, Aihara Ryo (Narumi Riko) doesn’t quite fit in anywhere. Though she wants to make friends, she has trouble speaking up and holding a normal conversation like everyone else. It seems that whenever she talks, the words just don’t come out correctly. Gradually, Ryo has gotten used to living life in silence as a lonely and introverted student. With no one to talk to, Ryo also has no need for a cell phone. Longing for friends to talk to, she creates a cell phone in her mind for imaginary phone conversations, and much to her surprise, one day Shinya (Koide Keisuke) picks up on the other side. For the first time in her life, Ryo has found someone she can talk to.

Cast

Riko Narumi – Ryo Aihara
Keisuke Koide – Shinya Nozaki
Nana Katase – Ryo Harada
Hideo Nakano – Tetsushi Aihara
Yuko Kotegawa – Nobuko Aihara
Kaoru Yachigusa – Sachi Nozaki
Mika Hada – School Doctor
Shinichiro Ishikawa – Yoshida
Kouichi Iwaki – Toda
Rikako Sakata – Miki Aihara
Nobuhiko Takada – Mr. Yamaguchi

Movie: Problems in One’s Forties
Romaji: 40 sai mondai
Japanese: ４０歳問題
Director: Yuji Nakae
Writer:
Producer:
Cinematographer:
Release Date: December 20, 2008
Runtime: 87 min.
Distributor: Jolly Roger
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Cast

Takashi Hamazaki
Shinichi Osawa
Hidetoshi Sakurai
Suneohair
Lily Franky
Yoriko Douguchi
Naoya Ogawa
Takehiko Hata
Eri Nitta
Mitsuyo Kakuta
Michihiko Yanai

Movie: Fourteen
Romaji: Juyon-sai
Japanese: 14歳 / １４歳
Director: Hiromasa Hirosue
Writer: Izumi Takahashi
Producer: Mayumi Amano
Cinematographer:
Release Date: May 19, 2007
Runtime: 114 min.
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

Fukatsu Ryo (Namiki Akie) stabbed a teacher to death when she was 14 who treated her as an arsonist. Twelve years later, Fukatsu is a teacher at a middle school whilst remaining traumatized by the incident. One day Fukatsu is reunited with Sugino (Hirosue Hiromasa) who was a classmate at middle school. Sugino has been teaching piano to one of Fukatsu’s pupils. He is also burdened with a psychological scar. It was verbally inflicted upon him when he was 14 and he gave up playing his favorite piano as a result. Both Fukatsu and Sugino reached adulthood without recovering from their trauma, but they start facing their issues from the past and finding hope to live by keeping company with the 14-year-olds with all sincerity who are living in the present whilst being troubled just as they are.

Cast

Hiromasa Hirosue – Koichi Sugino
Akie Namiki – Ryo Fukatsu
Teruyuki Kagawa – Makoto Kobayashi
Masahiro Someya (染谷将大)
Yurika Oneyama (小根山悠里香)
Masaaki Kasai (笠井薫明)
Sachi Natsuo
Nao Tsubaki (椿直)
Misaki Aida (相田美咲)
Misaki Kawahara (河原実咲)
Hironobu Enomoto (榎本宇伸)
Maki Ishikawa
Shingo Matsumura (松村真吾)
Kahori Fujii
Wayumi Gocho (牛腸和裕美)
Shige Kasai