TIFF Days - Echo of Silence / Tezuka Osamu / The Shonen Merikensack

It was long but enjoyable first day at TIFF. After an early morning orientation session I caught a screening of competition title Echo of Silence (Kotoba no nai Fuyu,『コトバのない冬』), the directing debut of actor Watabe Atsuro, who plays a key supporting role. It was a very modest but well-acted relationship drama set in the snowy environs of a small town in Hokkaido (not far from Yubari). Star Takaoka Saki (高岡早紀) gives a good performance as a thirty-something older sister who's finally making moves to leave the nest.

After a quick lunch I caught a collection of Tezuka Osamu animation screening in the animecs Tokyo program at Cinemart Roppongi, celebrating the 80th year of the master's birth. The four titles included newly struck prints of Tales of a Street Corner (Aru Machikado no Monogatari,『ある街角の物語』) and Legend of the Forest Part 1 (Mori no Densetsu Part 1,『森の伝説 PART-1』). Legend was originally meant to be a quartet of films but sadly was never completed. However, added to the end of Part 1 was the climactic nature vs. machine battle of Part 4. One of Tezuka's longtime staff members, Suzuki Shin'ichi (who also runs the Suginami Animation Museum), was on hand to talk about working with Tezuka and mentioned his love of Disney and classic WB animation. The range of styles Tezuka could work in was astounding. I happen to be in the middle of Tezuka's manga Apollo no Uta, which is brilliant.

Later on was the green carpet procession. I've sweated it out in the journalist pit in past editions so I decided to hang out on the upper levels above the Roppongi Hills Arena and watch it on the big video screen. First thing that comes to mind is Miyazaki Aoi in her sparkling miniskirt with punkette leather jacket and hair (see video here). Tony Leung, Kaneshiro Takeshi and jury head Jon Voight (who worships Kurosawa and other Japanese filmmakers) looked good and proceeded well. Prime Minister Aso also caused a stir when he showed up -- unlike most Japanese PMs, he seems to have a pulse. Links to more carpet footage here (Japanese only).

Finishing off the evening in filthy and furious style was Kudô Kankurô's The Shonen Merikensack (『少年メリケンサック』) -- see the poster pictured above, snapped in the subway passage leading to Roppongi Hills. It's late and I'm too zonked to review the film, but punk songs are short and hit hard, so let me recap it that way: cow shit, guitar violence, porn mags, fart fines, punk riots, 70s boy bands, brother fights, gay record moguls, Aikawa Show kaitenzushi, anime sequences, beef bowl boyfriend, hemmeroidal drummer, bosozoku, mute singer, puke, gob, matsuri punk, the Sid Vicious of Koenji (love that), and as much Aoi-chan as you can take.