Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025
Am I Right? Justice, Justification and Judgement in Japanese Cinema
The UK’s biggest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP), is back for its latest and greatest instalment!
In a world where injustice runs rampant, cinematic expressions of justice seem inexhaustible: time and time again, heroic protagonists fend off malicious antagonists or enact their revenge, the constant injustices they face mirroring audiences’ own. Japan is no exception to this, and the JFTFP25 promises to showcase how Japanese filmmakers use the language of cinema to explore the concepts of criminal, social, and moral justice, along with the ways people respond to external judgement. Featuring everything from thought-provoking hidden gems to laugh-a-minute entertainment, UK audiences are invited to join us in questioning the very concepts of justice, justification, and judgement against today’s backdrop of ever-changing values and perspectives.
Screening as part of, The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025:
CARMEN COMES HOME, Sunday 9th February
Just after the Second World War, the arrival of a city girl and her friend attracts curiosity from the residents of a rural mountain village. The girl’s name is Okin, and although she once called this very village home, she now claims to have become an artistic dancer in Tokyo under the stage name of Carmen.
The principal of the village school, a self-professed champion of the arts, is overjoyed to learn that his tiny village has produced such an esteemed artist, but when he witnesses Carmen and her friend’s dress sense and behaviour, he and the other villagers are confused and even upset. One day, determined to decorate her hometown with the brocade she prides herself on, Carmen agrees to showcase her dancing skills for the villagers…
An iconic light-hearted comedy, Carmen Comes Home remains one of master filmmaker KINOSHITA Keisuke’s most beloved films, exploring the shifts and disparities in post-war Japanese moral standards. It also bears great historic significance as the first-ever Japanese feature film produced in full colour.
PENALTY LOOP, Sunday 16th February
When IWAMORI Jun’s (WAKABA Ryuya) girlfriend is murdered, he takes it upon himself to get revenge. With careful planning and calculated precision, he murders the perpetrator, MIZOGUCHI (ISEYA Yusuke), throws the body in a lake, and goes home satisfied. Until he wakes up the next morning… and finds himself back at the start of the last 24 hours. His girlfriend’s killer is alive again.
Once more, Jun kills MIZOGUCHI, but the next morning is the same. And the next. No matter how many times Jun exacts his murderous revenge, he’s stuck in a loop living the same day forever. And as he grapples with his hunger for justice, his twisted cat-and-mouse chase with MIZOGUCHI grows ever more absurd, and a bizarre relationship forms between the two of them.
Director ARAKI Shinji blends gripping mystery, bloody revenge, dark comedy and sharp psychological drama in this unpredictable, wildly original take on a familiar time loop premise.
GHOST CAT ANZU, Sunday 23rd February
1-year-old Karin (voiced by GOTO Noa) isn’t happy when her good-for-nothing father drops her off at her grandfather’s temple to stay while he runs away from the loan sharks on his tail, nor is she excited when she meets Anzu (voiced by MORIYAMA Mirai): her grandfather’s 37-year-old, six foot tall, bipedal, talking cat. Anzu is a bakeneko, or a ghost cat. He works part-time as a chiropractor, rides a moped and likes going down to the pachinko parlour.
At first, Anzu is reluctant to look after Karin. But seeing her desperate wish to be with her deceased mother once again on the anniversary of her death, he joins her. Together, this unusual pair set off on an extraordinary, magical journey, where they even find themselves on the path down to the underworld itself!
Directed by KUNO Yoko, this quirky French-Japanese co-production is a visually stunning joy to watch that brings the world of yokai (ghosts) to vibrant, charming life.
BUSHIDO, Saturday 1st March
YANAGIDA Kakunoshin (KUSANAGI Tsuyoshi) was accused of a crime he did not commit. Having lost his wife and been chased out of his hometown of Hikone, he now lives with his daughter Okinu (KIYOHARA Kaya) as a ronin (unemployed samurai) in a basic tenement house in Edo (now Tokyo). Despite this, Kakunoshin, who is also a highly skilled go player, remains a respectable man, his sincerity reflected not only in his daily life but also in his games of go.
One day, Kakunoshin’s colleagues alert him to the truth behind the false accusation that destroyed his former life and forced his current tragic circumstances upon him. Together, he and his daughter resolve to restore their honour by taking revenge, however many miles and sacrifices it may take.
Directed by JFTFP regular SHIRAISHI Kazuya (Lesson in Murder, JFTFP23; Birds Without Names, JFTFP18), known for his powerful, heavy-hitting approaches to his work, this period drama shines a contemporary light on the genre’s very traditional subject matters. With viciously emotional conflicts of honour and revenge presented both on and off the go board, Bushido is an unmissable new twist on a time-tested genre.
