A slice of Japan

The three-day film festival showcases contemporary films from Japan

A scene from Happy Flight. Photo: Special Arrangement

For those fascinated by the land of the rising sun and Samurais, here is a chance to get closer through Japanese cinema. Curtains went up on the three-day festival of contemporary films from Japan with the screening of Happy Flight by Shinobu Yaguchi on Friday.

Organised by the Consulate-General of Japan at Chennai, The Madura College, Yadharthaa and Federation of Film Societies of India, four more films will be screened over the next two days at the Victoria Edward Hall.

The inaugural film

Happy Flight told the story about the trials and tribulations of pilots and flight attendants when the aircraft develops snag and also how they endure severe weather conditions. The director Shinobu Yaguchi has another entry in the festival, called

Robo-G, a science-fiction comedy released in 2012. It is story of an electronics company employee Kobayashi who is ordered to develop a bipedal robot but fails. He then comes up with the idea of a human in the suit of a robot and finds an elderly man Suzuki to act as a robot. Glorifying human abilities, the engaging film to be screened today at 7 p.m. is all about making a robot of a man.

From logical and scientific world, the festival shifts to emotions and relationships with

Wanko, a heart-warming true story about a boy and his dog stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. The story is about a family torn apart by natural disaster. The family and the dog get separated during an evacuation drive following a volcano eruption. Directed by Isamu Nakae, the 123-minute film revolves around friendships and the indelible bond between a dog, a boy and his family.

On Sunday two films will be screened. Quartet , directed by Junichi Mimura is based on a novel by Tadashi Onitsuka. The 118-minute film is about a high school boy who dreams of becoming a concert violinist. He forms a quartet with his family members with a hope that the music might unite the family. “The film was shot during the Great East Japan Earthquake and more than 700 civilian volunteers supported for the completion of the film in hope of quick recovery,” says R.S. Rajan, vice president, Federation of Film Societies of India .

The second film of the day is

Ballad . The 132-minute movie is directed by Takashi Yamazaki and inspired by an award-winning 2002 animated movie based on Yoshito Usui’s

Crayon Shin-chan manga . The plot revolves around a boy who is sent back in time to the Sengoku period that is recorded in history for social upheaval, political intrigue and military conflict between warring states. The boy saves a general, who falls in love with a princess who is expected to marry a powerful feudal ruler.

“Japan has many notable contributions to cinema in its 100 years of existence,” says Rajan, citing examples such as Rashomon , Ikiru , Tokyo Story , Seven Samurai , Godzilla , Battle Royale. “Well known directors like Akira Kurasowa, Hayao Miyazaki, Yasujiro Ozu and Takashi Milke are still remembered for their contribution to Japanese films,” he says.

“Japanese were also pioneers in animation films and some of the popular ones include Paprika , The Wind Rises , Spirited Awa y, Grave of the Fireflies.

Rajan is happy about bringing a Japanese film festival for the first time to Madurai. He hopes it will help in introducing the film buffs in this part of the world to Japanese culture and their art of film making.