Miki Nakatani won Japanese Academy Award for her starring role in Tetsuya Nakashima’s MEMORIES OF MATSUKO
MEMORIES OF MATSUKO (KIRAWARE MATSUKO NO ISSHO) (Tetsuya Nakashima, 2006)
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Thursday, July 15, 6:15
www.japansociety.org/japancuts
www.subwaycinema.com
We called Tetsuya Nakashima’s 2005 hit, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, the “otaku version of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s AMELIE,” referring to it as “fresh,” “frenetic,” “fast-paced,” and “very funny.” His following film, the stunningly gorgeous MEMORIES OF MATSUKO, also recalls AMELIE and all those other adjectives, albeit with much more sadness. Miki Nakatani stars as Matsuko, a sweet woman who spent her life just looking to be loved but instead found nothing but heartbreak, deception, and physical and emotional abuse. But MEMORIES OF MATSUKO is not a depressing melodrama, even if Nakashima incorporates touches of Douglas Sirk every now and again. The film is drenched in glorious Technicolor, often breaking out into bright and cheerful musical numbers straight out of a 1950s fantasy world. As the movie begins, Matsuko has been found murdered, and her long-estranged brother (Akira Emoto) has sent his son, Sho (Eita), who never knew she existed, to clean out her apartment. As Sho goes through the mess she left behind, the film flashes back to critical moments in Matsuko’s life — and he also meets some crazy characters in the present. It’s difficult rooting for the endearing Matsuko knowing what becomes of her, but Nakashima’s remarkable visual style will grab you and never let go. And like Audrey Tatou in AMELIE, Nakatani — who won a host of Japanese acting awards for her outstanding performance — is just a marvel to watch. The film was shown at the 2007 Japan Cuts festival and is being brought back this year by popular demand.
A precursor to such emotional, intense examinations of the contemporary Japanese family as Hirokazu Kore-eda’s STILL WALKING and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s TOKYO SONATA, Toshiaki Toyoda’s HANGING GARDEN is a smart, surreal look at the dark underbelly building beneath a seemingly happy family. Eriko Kyobashi (Kyôko Koizumi) has one rule for her husband, Takashi (Itsuji Itao), son, Ko (Masahiro Hirota), and daughter, Mana Kyobashi (Anne Suzuki): that there are no secrets. The family that shares together, stays together. But there are secrets galore, with Dad sleeping with the younger Mina (Sonim), soon to become Ko’s tutor; Mana frequenting the love hotel where she was conceived; and Eriko harboring thoughts of bloody murder. Based on the novel by Mitsuyo Kakuta, HANGING GARDEN is a superb character study, a cynical, funny, and at times horrific look at a dysfunctional family ready to implode at any moment. After making HANGING GARDEN, Toyoda was arrested on drug charges and reemerged four years later with 
In a close-knit rural village far from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, the police have arrived, investigating the mysterious disappearance of Dr. Ino (Tsurube Shofukutei), the local doctor who takes care of everyone’s medical needs, running the clinic and making regular house calls, a trusted figure often seen riding around on his motorized bike, greeting the citizens like an old friend. As the detectives question the residents, flashbacks depict the special relationship that existed between the well-compensated doctor — the town pays him $200,000 a year — and the people. Dr. Ino had recently been joined by an intern, med-school graduate Keisuke Soma (Eita), who showed up in a flashy convertible, upset he didn’t get a position in a Tokyo hospital, but even he was soon won over by Dr. Ino’s charm and skill. But when nurse Akemi Ohtake (Kimiko Yo) has to guide Ino through a difficult procedure and city doctor Ritsuko Torikai (Haruka Igawa) has doubts about how Ino is treating her ill mother (Kaoru Yachigusa), questions arise that bring some surprising answers. Winner of three major categories at the 2009 Hochi Film Awards — Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Eita), and Best Supporting Actress (Yachigusa) — DEAR DOCTOR is a warm, tender-hearted story written and directed by Miwa Nishikawa, who also earned accolades for her first two films, 2003’s WILD BERRIES and 2006’s SWAY. Shofukutei is terrific as Dr. Ino, a cross between Akira Emoto’s Dr. Akagi and Robin Williams’s Patch Adams (and we mean that in a good way). The solid cast also includes the ubiquitous Teruyuki Kagawa (SWAY, TOKYO SONATA, GOLDEN SLUMBER) as pharmaceutical supplier Masayoshi Saimon. DEAR DOCTOR is a real charmer.
