Day: July 21, 2012

By Joe Bendel. It is not much of a business, but at least the inventory is cheap. In fact, Sayoko attracts stray cats like a magnet. Profits really are not the point anyway. She is out to fill the holes in people’s hearts, perhaps even including her own in Naoko Ogigami’s Rent-a-Cat (trailer here), which screens as part of the 2012 edition of Japan Cuts: the New York Festival of Japanese Cinema.

In a sleepy corner of Tokyo, Sayoko lives in the picturesque Minka-esque house she once shared with her beloved late grandmother, along with a dozen or so cats. The woman has become a crazy cat lady at a young age, but there is a method to her madness. Most days, she pulls her cart through the neighborhood, hawking cats for rent. Of course, she will not rent to just anyone. A home inspection is required.

Intentionally episodic, we watch Sayoko repeat the cat rental ritual with several customers, each with a hole to fill in their lives. For an elderly widow reluctant to buy a new cat knowing her time is short, Sayoko’s service is a godsend. However, some clients take a bit of convincing, like the desperately unfulfilled car rental agency manager. Yet the most intriguing potential client-story arc involves Yoshizawa, the former delinquent middle school classmate Sayoko initially wants nothing to do with.

Rent-a-Cat is a quiet film, chocked full of feline adorableness. It wears its sentimental heart on its sleeve, deriving gentle laughs from its characters quirks (to use a loaded word). However, it is more bittersweet than compulsively cute, particularly during Sayoko’s smartly ambiguous encounter with Yoshizawa.

As Sayoko, Mikako Ichikawa blends goofy awkwardness and sincere sensitivity quite touchingly. Indeed, it is a very humane performance, displaying real on-screen chemistry with her animal co-stars and Kei Tanaka’s Yoshizawa.

There might not be a lot of surprises in the unhurried Rent-a-Cat, but Ogigami infuses the proceedings with a wistful atmosphere that is quite beguiling. Essentially, it is an animal lovers’ indie that well reflects traditional Japanese aesthetics of elegant simplicity. An effective mood piece featuring several nice turns from its small human ensemble, Rent-a-Cat is recommended surprisingly highly for those who suspect they might appreciate its discreet charms. It screens this coming Wednesday (7/25) at the Japan Society, as this year’s Japan Cuts continues.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on July 21st, 2012 at 10:42am.

By Joe Bendel. If you’re wondering where Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones’ fifty-plus mojo went, it’s been in Japan with Kôji Yakusho. While American audiences might know him best as the salaryman who cuts a rug in Shall We Dance?, nobody working in film today is more credible as a middle-aged man you do not want to mess with. His hardnosed everyman charm is also perfectly suited to the gently humanistic comedy of Shȗichi Okita’s The Woodsman and the Rain (trailer here), which screens as the centerpiece of this year’s Japan Cuts and a key selection of their Focus on Kôji Yakusho retrospective sidebar.

If you have seen Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins, you know what a dynamic presence Yakusho can be in an action-driven film. If you haven’t, the Japan Society will give you an opportunity this Saturday.  It’s kind of awesome, but Woodsman is too, in a very different way. Here Yakusho plays a sixty year-old lumberjack and you would not want to be a tree in his sites. He is not a superhero, though. Having survived a health scare, Yatsuhiko Kishi (Yatsu-san) can no longer eat sweets. The widower’s relationship with his slacker son Koichi is strained at best. However, he can now predict precipitation with uncanny accuracy. Given the title, this ability will obviously come into play at some point, but wisely nobody in the film belabors it.

Kishi is pretty set in his routine, until a film crew comes to town. Much to his own surprise, he finds himself shuttling about a nervous assistant director and a socially awkward twenty-something in search of locations for their zombie film. That quiet kid turns out to be Koichi Tanabe, the first time director with massive confidence issues. Yes, he has the same first name as Kishi’s son, but Okita never overplays that card either.

Before you know it, Kishi is deeply involved in the shooting of Tanabe’s dubious b-movie. Many of these scenes are essentially played for laughs, but in an earthy, understated way. Still, for genre film fans, how can you resist a film about lumberjacks and movie-zombies?

Woodsman is a perfect film to anchor the Yakusho showcase. His performance is rich, nuanced, and deeply felt. He is a good sport, willing to look slightly ridiculous at times, yet he always maintains his dignified bearing. As the Koichis, both Shun Oguri and Kengo Kora grow on viewers, subtly but convincingly showing their characters grow up as the film progresses.

Not exactly bittersweet, but certainly not compulsively cheerful either, Woodsman is ultimately wholly satisfying, in a rugged, down-to-earth way. It is a great example of Yakusho’s powerful screen presence, as well as a wistfully wise bit of storytelling. Very highly recommended, The Woodsman and the Rain screens this Saturday at the Japan Society as this year’s Japan Cuts centerpiece (featuring an intro and Q&A with the man himself), but good luck getting in. It is already sold out, so if you do not have your ticket booked, you’re flying stand-by. Also very highly recommended, tickets for 13 Assassins and Shall We Dance? are currently available on Saturday (7/21).

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 21st, 2012 at 10:41am.