Thursday, July 14 07pm
Japan Society
333 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017
Introduction and Q&A with director Shuichi Okita and star Atsuko Maeda, followed by OPENING NIGHT Party with a live music performance by Benny Oyama!
After years of trying to make it in Tokyo as a punk singer, deadbeat Eikichi (Ryuhei Matsuda) decides to go back to his island home in Hiroshima along with his wide-eyed, clumsy girlfriend Yuka (Atsuko Maeda) to share the news that she is pregnant. Though Eikichi’s old-school father (Akira Emoto) initially reacts badly, he soon calls the entire town over to celebrate his grandchild—only to collapse in pain during the party. Along with his family, Eikichi tries his best to make his bedridden father happy, with hilarious results. With a nod to Carmen Comes Home (1951), director Shuichi Okita (The Woodsman and the Rain, JAPAN CUTS 2012) masterfully cuts a slice of life out of this perfect intersection of comedy and drama that leaves the heart as breezy and warm as the island air.
2016. 125 min. DCP, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Shuichi Okita. With Ryuhei Matsuda, Atsuko Maeda, Akira Emoto, Masako Motai, Yudai Chiba.
Tickets and information at: http://www.japansociety.org