Asian Drama

Yuji has a fear of water and is unable to swim. One day, circumstances lead Yuji to attend a swimming class taught by Shizuka. Yuji takes lessons at Shizuka's swimming class. Shizuka cheers Yuji to learn swimming, but it's not easy for him to overcome his fear of water.

As with the rest of his oeuvre, duplication and mirroring of female characters once again informs Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s latest work, Guzen to sozo. It would not be out of place to make a literary analogy and, if one were to regard his two previous films (Happy Hour and Asako I & II) as novels, this new work could be described as a collection of short stories. The film’s recurring rhythm amplifies this effect. The three episodes, which each revolve around a woman, are in turn divided into three movements, like a piece of music. They tell stories of an unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap, and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding. The fragmentation serves to emphasize rather than undermine the exquisitely organic storytelling and mise en scène. Although most of the action takes place in a single space and involves just two actors, not once does it feel like filmed theatre. The secret lies not only in the writing, but also in the notion of a more complex temporality in each episode that flirts with science fiction in the final instalment. The moments we witness are crystallized into touching universal destinies marked by choices, regrets, deception and coincidences. They are the film’s true protagonists.

17-year-old Aoi came to Yui Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic as a part-time nurse apprentice in Summer 1997. Right after her entry, she is shocked after witnessing an abortion surgery. However, she also met staff members like Yui, the head of the clinic who is careful about everything, Sayako, a reliable and experienced nurse, and Sakaki, the gentle head nurse, who face each pregnant patient and support them after surgeries. Fumika, Aoi's mother, is worried about her clumsy nature and poor communication skills, but Aoi's unique compassion and kindness draws patients' hearts. "I wonder what's life..." Aoi matures while looking at the newborn babies' overwhelming life and asking herself that question.

20-year-old Hokuto is being detained as a murderer and tells his court-appointed lawyer Takai Soichi to get him the death penalty. Hokuto was actually severely abused by his parents in his childhood and starved of love. He met Kondo Ayako who became his foster mother through child welfare services and learned love for the first time. Released from the darkness of his mind, he started to feel like a new person but he is made sport by bizarre fate and becomes a murderer.

A continuation of Majisuka Gakuen 4, and will supposedly be a “large scale” story involving the Yakuza, Mafia, and the police.

In the fictional town of Mahoro on the outskirts of Tokyo is Tada Benriken, a small business which does odd jobs. Its owner is the solemn and level-headed Tada Keisuke (Eita), and his unexpected guest, the easygoing but vague Gyoten Haruhiko (Matsuda Ryuhei), a former junior high school classmate who showed up one day and started to sponge on him. The two of them get on like oil and water, and yet are somehow inseparable. They receive queer, dubious incoming odd job requests which they accept, and what comes into view are the friendship between them as well as the backgrounds of their clients.