Saturday, July 14, 7:15 PM — Followed by Striking Love! JAPAN CUTS Opening Party!
Sunday, July 22, 1 PM
Japan Society (333 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017)

U.S. Premiere
Co-presented with The New York Asian Film Festival
July 14 screening features an introduction and Q&A with actress Masami Nagasawa, this year’s recipient of NYAFF’s Rising Star Asia Award!!
July 14 followed by the STRIKING LOVE party. The party features a live performance by COBU.

Hitoshi Ohne’s romantic comedy, based on a hugely popular manga and TV series, became a massive hit in Japan and was selected for the Top Films of 2011 by The Japan Times, Kinema Jumpo and Eiga Geijutsu. Love Strikes! is the hopelessly endearing tale of Yukiyo Fujimoto (Mirai Moriyama), a diffident, nowhere guy who suddenly becomes the ultimate hot chick magnet. Yukiyo lands a job at a webzine devoted to pop culture, but his forced celibacy is the butt of all his colleagues’ jokes. Yukiyo gives full vent to his self-pity via Twitter feed, and hooks up with a fellow user who seems to share his tastes in pop subculture. They arrange to meet but instead, shockingly cute Miyuki (Masami Nagasawa, who took home the 2012 Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her part) shows up. Then, as Yukiyo’s “moteki”–a Japanese slang term referring to a period of unexplained romantic popularity with the opposite sex–begins to hit full swing, Miyuki might not be as unattainable as he thought. He meets and makes quick progress with the reserved Rumiko (Kumiko Aso); ditzy bar hostess Ai (Riisa Naka); and feisty coworker Motoko (Yoko Maki)…

Japan. 2011. 118 min., 35mm, in Japanese with live English subtitles. Directed by Hitoshi Ohne. With Mirai Moriyama, Masami Nagasawa, Kumiko Aso, Riisa Naka.