Japanese Film Festival to hit Broadway

Ten Japanese movies will be shown Nov. 17-Dec. 3 at two Broadway cinemas in Shenzhen. Movie enthusiasts can not only enjoy new productions made in the past three years, but also the classic “Galaxy Express 999” in the remastered 4K version. All the movies will be shown in Japanese with Chinese subtitles.

A scene from “Drive My Car.” File photos

‘Drive My Car’ (2021)

Plot: A stage actor and director, unable to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, meets a young woman who is appointed to drive his car. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions are unveiled. The movie won best foreign movie awards at the Academy Awards, the BAFTA Awards and the Golden Globes in 2022, as well as the best screenplay award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

"Galaxy Express 999"

‘Galaxy Express 999’ (1979)

Plot: In the future, one can achieve immortality by obtaining a mechanized body. Orphaned, young Tetsuro hitches a ride on the space train Galaxy Express 999 in the hope of obtaining a cyborg body to avenge his mother’s death. Along the way, he meets Maetel, who is the spitting image of his dead mother.

‘Yudo’ (2023)

Plot: Two estranged brothers inherit Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse. One sees it as an homage to their late father; the other — a struggling architect — as lucrative real estate for condos. Their eclectic collection of townsfolk customers shows them that the value of the bath goes way beyond a scrub and soak.

‘Manhole’ (2023)

Plot: “Manhole” is a situational thriller depicting the struggle of a man who falls into a manhole.

"Okiku and the World"

‘Okiku and the World’ (2023)

Plot: Two rogue vagrants make their living as “manure men,” turning the waste from the tenement toilets into fertilizer sold to local farmers. With Okiku, the only daughter of a fallen samurai, and among the overflowing piles of excrement, a well-nourished love story unfolds.

‘No Place to Go’ (2022)

Plot: Michiko used to work as a live-in part-timer at an izakaya, but suddenly she loses her job and her house due to the pandemic. Michiko is at her wits’ end and in front of her is a bus stop that stands in the darkness, illuminated only by the streetlights.

‘I Go Gaga: Welcome Home Mom’ (2022)

Plot: Director Naoko Nobutomo chronicles the enduring love, resilience and struggles of her nonagenarian parents as her mother’s Alzheimer’s-related dementia gradually worsens.

‘Small, Slow But Steady’ (2022)

Plot: A hearing-impaired woman with dreams of becoming a boxer is threatened with closure of her boxing club due to the pandemic and the illness of its aging president, who has been her biggest supporter, pushing her to her limit.

"Plan 75"

‘Plan 75’ (2022)

Plot: In the future, the government program “Plan 75” encourages senior citizens to be voluntarily euthanized to remedy a super-aged society. An elderly woman whose means of survival are vanishing, a pragmatic “Plan 75” salesman, and a young Filipino laborer face choices of life and death.

‘Amiko’ (2022)

Plot: Amiko’s endless energy makes her an outcast at school and gets her in trouble at home. When a painful family loss disrupts her seemingly idyllic seaside life, her sense of isolation intensifies, yet it doesn’t stop Amiko from inviting people into her world.

Ticketing: WeChat miniprogram “百老汇影城”

Venue 1: Broadway Cinematheque, 5/F, MixC World, Nanshan District (华润万象天地五楼深圳百老汇电影中心)

Metro: Line 1 to Hi-tech Park Station (高新园站), Exit A

Venue 2: Palace Cinema, 4/F, Raffles City, Nanshan District (来福士广场四楼深圳百丽宫影城)

Metro: Line 9 or 12 to Nanyou Station (南油站), Exit E