Trailer Delusion Kawaraban Vol. 41-50

I will be compiling the mini-column titled "Trailer Delusion Kawaraban," which I have been serializing in "Weekly Post" since June 2017, on note. If there are any works that catch your interest, I would be happy if you could watch them via streaming or other means.

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 41 (May 7, 2018)

The protagonist of "The Blood of Wolves" (May 12) is Ogami (Koji Yakusho), a veteran detective who looks exactly like a yakuza. Hioka (Tori Matsuzaka), a young career-track detective who is the polar opposite of Ogami, tries to stop him from using violence against suspects at the station, but is instead blown away and told not to get in the way. How unreasonable.
In the trailer, Ogami snaps at Hioka, saying, "Nothing changes just by keeping the yakuza in check with the law. Our job is to keep them alive but not thriving, to keep them on a leash!" and Yosuke Eguchi, playing a young yakuza boss, says, "The yakuza live by their faces." Police organization vs. yakuza. The flying Hiroshima dialect and violent depictions are reminiscent of the old "Battles Without Honor and Humanity." At this point, you can't even tell who is the police and who is the yakuza.
From here on is my delusion. With the conclusion of director Takeshi Kitano's "Outrage" series, I think there are many movie lovers in the world who are starving for yakuza and violence films. That is precisely why this film is likely to be enthusiastically received by that demographic. Looking at the trailer, Ogami doesn't seem like he's going to die easily. Surely, a sequel titled "The Blood of Wolves: Beyond" will be produced, in which the yakuza remnants and other gangs from different regions who received the sake cup take revenge on him after he survives the death match. Maybe Otomo (Beat Takeshi) will even show up there.

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 42 (May 14, 2018)

In "The Flea-Picking Samurai" (May 18), a serious elite samurai, Kanonoshin Kobayashi (Hiroshi Abe), incurs the wrath of his lord, is demoted, and begins a secret business. Told by his lord, "Go live a miserable life as a 'flea-picker' for cats!", Kanonoshin ends up working at a flea-picking shop. While the public face of the job is earning pocket money by picking fleas off customers' pet cats, it is actually a front for male prostitution, delivering love to women. Although Kanonoshin felt he was doing it because it was his lord's order, his first customer was a woman (Shinobu Terajima) who looked exactly like his late wife. They spent time together and seemed satisfied, but she cursed him, saying, "You're clumsy!" Dejected, Kanonoshin meets an Edo dandy (Etsushi Toyokawa) and you can see in the trailer that he asks for guidance, saying, "Won't you teach me how to please a woman!" However, it seems the story heads toward a world where flea-picking is prohibited.
This is my delusion, but Kanonoshin risks his life to appeal to the lord, and the flea-picking ban is somehow lifted. And it turns out the lord, who was actually the "clumsy" one, gets lessons from Kanonoshin on how to please women. In the end, the power dynamic is reversed! If the lord is someone who speaks almost entirely in sexual harassment remarks, like the suspicions surrounding some administrative vice-minister, then that might not happen. This movie looks like a funny comedy, but the real world is not funny at all!

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 43 (May 21, 2018)

A love story between 17-year-old, overly straightforward high school girl Akira Tachibana (Nana Komatsu) and a 45-year-old, lackluster family restaurant manager (Yo Oizumi), "After the Rain" (May 25). Akira was a short-distance runner, but it seems she quit the track team due to an injury and is working part-time at the family restaurant.
Akira is being waited on by her friends and rivals, who say, "We are always waiting for you, Akira" and "Why aren't you running?" The manager, on the other hand, is described by the part-timers at the restaurant as, "Ugh, because he's gross. He's a divorced father who will be a manager for the rest of his life." They are a contrasting pair. However, when Akira suddenly says, "I'm in love with you, Manager!", the manager almost causes a car accident. Well, that's what happens when a cute high school girl confesses to you, right?
From here on is my delusion, but the age gap between the two reminded me of George Takahashi and Mika Mifune of THE Toraburyu. They married when Takahashi was 40 and Mifune was 16. Thinking of it that way, the manager and Akira isn't an impossible story. Akira and the manager start dating, but Akira dumps the manager when she becomes a college student. I got an image of the manager chasing after Akira in his car as she starts running down a road after the rain. Men are often the ones who hold onto lingering feelings...

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 44 (May 28, 2018)

A film woven by an Ika-Ten band and a self-proclaimed idol, "Uma no Hone" (June 2). 52-year-old Kumada (Koji Kiryu), a former vocalist for Uma no Hone, gets fired from his job and ends up living in a cheap share house. Yuka (Fujiko Kojima), a 21-year-old underground idol living there, aspired to be a singer-songwriter. Kumada lies to her, telling her he is a music school instructor.
In the trailer, you can see Kumada, who was told by Yuka, "You've been running away for thirty years, isn't that the same thing again! I won't run anymore," telling a salaryman who seems to have been a member, "Won't you do it one more time, Uma no Hone?" The encounter between the two contrasting figures, a "man living in the past" and a "woman living in the future," seems to pull the man back to the present.
From here on is my delusion, but at the beginning of the trailer, it says, "The legendary music program 'Ika-Ten' that became a buzzword in 1989." This program, which started right after the era changed to "Heisei," was only broadcast for one year, but it sent many bands out into the world. And the last few years before "Heisei" ended were the era of idols. In other words, this film can be said to be a somewhat critical work that connects the culture that became a boom at the beginning and end of "Heisei." By doing so, the sound that rings out might be a cheering song for us, the contemporaries moving toward the new era name!

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 45 (June 4, 2018)

Director Richard Linklater's "Last Flag Flying" (June 8). The catchphrase is "Stand By Me at 50." Doc lost his wife a year ago and his son in the war two days ago. Sal is a bar owner who drowns in alcohol. Mueller is a rough guy who became a pastor. They were Vietnam war buddies who shared their suffering. With Doc visiting the two for the first time in a while, they all decide to attend the military funeral for Doc's son and bring the body home by car. It seems to be a work where the time spent with friends for the first time in 30 years fills their respective empty hearts. Just watching the trailer makes me want to cry.
From here on is my delusion, but these Vietnam veterans lost many comrades in the war. As depicted in the film "The Post," the U.S. military continued the war while hiding from the public that they could not win even if they continued it any longer. In the Iraq War, the weapons of mass destruction that were the justification were never found, and the daily reports of the Self-Defense Forces' dispatch to Iraq recorded "combat."
The state lies without hesitation, and it is always the soldiers on the battlefield and the people in the war zones who die. Ah, this is no longer a delusion. Doesn't it get tiring to keep piling lie upon lie when it will eventually be exposed? It's tough being a politician, isn't it?
The phrase "Do you have a friend you can show your tears to?" that plays at the end of the trailer really hits home.

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 46 (June 11, 2018)

In "Brigsby Bear" (June 23), James, who lived in a shelter with his "parents" who were actually kidnappers, learns about the outside world. James's only friend was the protagonist of an educational program, Brigsby Bear. He is rescued by the police at age 25 and begins living with his real parents. When asked by his father, "What do you want to do?", he replies, "I want to see a new Brigsby," but in the trailer, a woman tells him, "Forget about Brigsby and grow up." Even so, it seems he begins filming a new Brigsby Bear with the help of his friends and parents.
From here on is my delusion, but James cannot let go of Brigsby, his "Linus blanket." It was his only friend and his connection to the outside when he was isolated. However, having left the shelter, he shouldn't just throw away his "Linus blanket" to grow up, but rather, through Brigsby, he should be able to encounter the unknown world and become an adult capable of building relationships between himself and others.
Growing up means taking responsibility for your own actions and words. The root of the various problems happening now might be that there are no adults taking responsibility. Those at the top don't take responsibility, shifting the blame to those below, saying they did it on their own, and pretending not to know. It's no different from during the war.

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 47 (June 18, 2018)

The Earth has been devastated by nuclear contamination. "Z for Zachariah" (June 23) is set in the only remaining miracle valley. Ann, a white woman who survived, meets a black man who says, "I can use the waterfall to power a waterwheel and run a generator." However, Ann, who is devout, is negative about his proposal to build it by tearing down a church, saying, "I am alive thanks to God." As their life together begins, another white man appears. The relationship is between two white people who believe in God and one black man who does not. The theme of which man will become the new Adam with Ann seems to be lurking beneath the surface.
This is just my delusion, but the depiction of the town devastated by nuclear contamination and turned into ruins at the beginning of the trailer reminds me of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Despite that, the fact that there are people trying to sell nuclear power plants overseas makes reality itself a dystopia.
The theme of this movie is probably racial issues and faith. Isn't this something that is always being thrust upon us, whether people are disappearing from the world or not? Perhaps the ending is that Ann gets fed up with the two men competing to possess her and shoots them both! And then she tears down the church, ends the world that was left to her, and decides to become God herself!

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 48 (June 25, 2018)

"Punk Samurai Slash Down" (June 30) features the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." blaring in the background. The original work is by Akutagawa Prize-winning author Ko Machida. The screenplay is by Kankuro Kudo, who also worked on the morning drama "Amachan." The director is Gakuryu Ishii (renamed from Sogo Ishii in 2010), known for "Crazy Family" and other works—a powerhouse lineup.
Go Ayano plays the protagonist samurai who says, "Because I am a superhuman swordsman," and a grand battle for survival begins, featuring a gorgeous cast of 12 eccentric characters including him.
Apparently, not only humans but a massive army of monkeys will also join the fray, and you can see the monkey leader in the trailer saying, "Let's destroy the current reality and build a new world."
This is just my delusion, but could this flow lead to an ending like "Planet of the Apes"? Also, among the 12 gorgeous cast members, Keiko Kitagawa is the only woman. Since you can see a scene in the trailer where Ayano tells her, "I will definitely come to pick you up when the war is over," and she replies with a smile, "I don't want that," could this be a pattern where the final boss is actually Keiko Kitagawa! It would be fun if her husband DAIGO appeared after you defeated her.
The true final boss fighting the punk samurai Go Ayano might be the guitar samurai himself, Tomoyasu Hotei, who has returned from London and has deep ties to the original author, Ko Machida!!

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 49 (July 2, 2018)

"Battle of the Sexes" (July 6) depicts the battle that changed the era between Billie Jean King, the world's number one female tennis player, and Bobby Riggs, a former world number one male player. This work is based on a true story, and in the trailer, you can see exchanges like "Men get eight times the prize money of women," "It's a biological difference," and Bobby's remark, "I'm fine with women on the court. Otherwise, there's no one to pick up the balls."
The "Me Too" movement is currently moving society in a big way around the world, and many scenes in the movie show how blatant sexism was in America in the past. The scene where Billie says, "If I lose to Bobby, I can't stop him. I'll do my best. That way, I can change the world," is moving even just in the trailer.
This is just reality, but there are people who refuse to acknowledge the rights, principles, or claims of others. Also, a video of a man bumping into only women at a train station was in the news. People who are particularly proud of being male or being Japanese look down on women and other countries, and remain shameless even while breaking the law. I think what was truly lost in these "lost 30 years" was human dignity and sociality. Isn't it about time we changed? You'll just be left behind by the world.

"Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" Vol. 50 (July 9, 2018)

Director Gakuryu Ishii's work "Still Life of Memories" (July 21) features a woman (Natsuko Aso) exposing her lower body to a photographer (Masanobu Ando) and saying, "Please photograph this." In the trailer, black-and-white photos of flowers are shown, and the words "I want to become your photograph" float by in pink letters. Also, the sound of a camera shutter and flowers and fruit pulp that evoke female genitalia are impressive.
Ando holds his camera behind the smooth curves of the naked woman and moves his hands as if to spread her genitals, but it seems to be a film work with elegance rather than obscenity.
This is just my delusion, but there are scenes in the trailer where someone is applying lipstick to a deceased woman, and scenes that look like ashes are being scattered from a boat. It must be a work that depicts Eros and Thanatos (the death drive). Perhaps the female genitalia is the only place that gives birth to everything, and life, death, sex, and everything else might be contained within it.
The line "A good photographer can become a good sniper" is from the manga "Dien Bien Phu," which depicts the Vietnam War, but what does a photographer who keeps photographing female genitalia kill by making that moment eternal? What is there—or rather, what has been trapped—might be something we can no longer touch.

The latest "Monthly Trailer Delusion Kawaraban" is published in the "BOOKSTAND Film Department!" above at the end of every month.

Diaries from six months ago are also uploaded to the magazine above.