What to watch at this year’s Japanese Film Festival
A bright spot on the calendar of any film lover, the long-running Japanese Film Festival of the Japan Foundation has begun its 2025 edition, with a great sampling of recent Japanese cinema now playing not just in Metro Manila but making its way to Baguio, Iloilo, Cebu, and Davao. Here are some highlights from the 12 movies, which also includes “Sand Land,” “Matched,” “Monster,” “Let’s Go Karaoke!,” “Dito,” and “Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle.”
“Akira” – The 1988 anime classic, remastered for modern cinemas, somehow still looks ahead of its time, even if it’s set in 2019. An adaptation of the hit manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, Otomo himself directs in his directorial debut and made an instant classic out of the gate like some kind of Japanese Orson Welles. A society on the brink, a biker gang of orphans, an encounter with some psychokinetic kids that may have caused the last great disaster, and an epic action/science fiction spectacle begins.
“Perfect Days” – The film that got lead actor and living legend Koji Yakusho a Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival is actually written (with Takuma Takasaki) and directed by the acclaimed German filmmaker Wim Wenders, a devotee of the Japanese maestro Yasujiro Ozu (Wenders even directed a documentary about the man, 1985’s “Tokyo-Ga”). Wenders’ ode to his mentor started as a project highlighting the Tokyo Toilet project, which saw 17 public toilets in Shibuya getting a redesign. Yakusho plays the man who cleans these toilets, enjoying the little things about daily life while trying to maintain an easy equilibrium with the world and the people he encounters.
“The Imaginary” – Based on the novel by A.F. Harrold, this is a Netflix Original from Studio Ponoc, which was founded by ex-Ghibli animators. The story concerns an imaginary friend named Rudger, whose human, Amanda, is endangered by an old evil. Rudger has to rally others like him in a bid to save his human, risking his own (non?)existence in the process. The mother of Amanda, Lizzie, is voiced by Sakura Ando, who is also in “Godzilla Minus One.”
“Godzilla Minus One” – Winner of last year’s Oscar for Best Visual Effects, the most recent Godzilla film to come from Japan was written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who began his career in visual effects and took the famous creature back to his roots, which is to say, postwar Japan. The terrible fury of the renowned kaiju is restored as the lives of the citizens in the creature’s path get torn asunder. An intrepid group of pilots and scientists devise a desperate plan, their only hope.
“Our Secret Diary” – Adapting Sakura Iiyo’s novel, this romantic drama set in high school concerns a miscommunication that balloons into caught feelings and weaponized kilig moments that should have your audience trilling. Shy school DJ Nozomi gets a letter of confessed love, but realizes that it wasn’t meant for her. Nonetheless, she continues the communication, engaging in a back-and-forth with school crush Setoyama. Torn between friendship and blossoming romance, Nozomi is caught in a pickle of her own making.
The Japanese Film Festival takes place at Shangri-La Plaza Red Carpet until today, SM City Baguio until Feb. 16, SM City Iloilo and SM Seaside City Cebu from Feb. 14 to Feb. 23, and SM City Davao and SM North Edsa from Feb. 21 to March 2. For screening schedule and tickets, visit ticket2me.net/JFF and japanesefilmfestph.jfmo.org.ph.
