6 Films you cannot miss at the Japanese Film Festival in Malaysia

By Asian Film Festival on August 28, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

We present a list of six films you shouldn’t miss at the Japanese Film Festival in Malaysia which will take place in Klang Valley (5-11 Sep.), Penang (12-15 Sep.), Johor Bahru (19-22 Sep.), Kuching (3-6 Oct.) & Kota Kinabalu (3-6 Oct.), Malaysia

Selected Films:

Brave Father Online: Our story of Final Fantasy XIV by Noguchi Teruo
Japan | 2019 – 115 minutes

Akio wishes he had a better relationship with his reserved father Akira. One day Akira suddenly quits his job and retires without giving out any explanation to the family. Thinking it could be a good tool to be close to his father, Akio gives him software of online game “Final Fantasy XIV”. By teaching his father how to play the game and secretly interacting with him as an anonymous online avatar, Akio hopes to know his father better through the adventures with other players in the game; little does the young man know what Akira is going through…

Trailer:

Little Love Song by Hashimoto Kojiro – Japan | 2019 – 124 minutes

A high school band is popular in their small hometown in Okinawa. The band belts out original pop songs with such energy and precision that they have fired up the passions of all who see them including the attention of a Tokyo record label scout bent on producing them. As the band members enjoy the happiest days in their young lives with full of hopes, a tragedy takes place, destroying their hopes and spirit. Then, a girl who lives on the U.S. army base suddenly appears with a demo tape of a song.

Trailer:

Lying to Mom by Nojiri Katsumi – Japan | 2018 – 134 minutes

The Suzuki family consists of the son, Koichi, his sister Fumi, and his parents Sachio and Yuko. Koichi is a hikikomori or stay-at-home shut-in. One day, he decides to take his own life and leaves his family in confusion. His mother, Yuko, upon discovering his body, goes unconscious because of the shock. She regains consciousness after 49 days but devoid of any memory of Koichi’s death. Fumi then tells her that Koichi has stopped being a hikikomori and now works in Argentina.”

Trailer:

My Dad is a Heel Wrestler by Fujimura Kyohei – Japan | 2018 – 112 minutes

Takashi Omura was once a popular professional wrestler, but he isn’t popular anymore. He now wears a cockroach mask and wrestles as a villain. He is married to Shiori and they have an elementary school aged son named Shota. Takashi and Shiori have not yet told their son what Takashi does for a living. One day, Shota finds out that Takashi is a professional wrestler and a villain with a cockroach mask. Shota is shocked and tells a lie to his classmate that his dad is a popular professional wrestler.

Trailer:

Samurai Shifters by Inudo Isshin – Japan | 2019 – 121 minutes

In the Edo period, Shunnosuke Katagiri is a samurai and a bookworm. He is also shy, naive and inexperienced. One day, he receives a mission to help a daimyo move. He seeks the aid of his childhood friend Genemon Takamura, as well as the advice of Oran, the beautiful but headstrong daughter of a former magistrate in charge of relocation; he begins to carry out his mission.

Trailer:

When I get home, my wife always pretends to be dead by Lee Toshio
Japan | 2018 – 116 minutes

Jun returns home one night after a hard day to find his wife, Chie, collapsed near the door in a pool of blood. Panicking, he rushes to her side, but then notices a bottle of ketchup nearby. “Tee-hee-hee”, Chie giggles in a feigned unconscious state. “Did I scare ya?” When Jun, relieved, demands a reason for her foolishness, Chie can only laugh teasingly. And so it begins. From that point on, every time Jun returns home, he finds her “dead” by different and increasingly outlandish causes. Jun begins to worry when she never really gives him a reason. Is she bored? Sad? Is it a cry for help?

Trailer: