Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 18:45 - 21:30
Three desperate brothers grapple with the law, the land and each other as their fortunes sink
Sneak Preview Screening: "Vigilante"
followed by a Q&A with director Yu Irie
Tuesday, November 14 at 18:45 pm*
*Please note early start time.
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan, 2017 125 minutes
Writer-director: Yu Irie
Producers: Gen Sato, Yuji Hiratai
Starring: Nao Omori, Kosuke Suzuki, Kenta Kiritani, Mariko Shinoda, Kyusaku Shimada,
Yuki Mamiya, Kaito Yoshimura, Hannya, Tadashi Sakata, Izumi Okamura, Shun Sugata
Film courtesy of Tokyo Theatres
Sometimes, home is decidedly not where the heart is. One can only imagine how young hitmaker Yu Irie ("Memoirs of a Murderer") really feels about his.
Penning his first original screenplay since the "8,000 Miles" (SR Saitama no Rapper) trilogy that first brought him international attention, Irie returns to his own roots for this pet project - and finds them rotten. The pitch-black world of "Vigilante" is one in which ethics are torn asunder, the ugliness of humanity is exposed and there is no turning back. In today's risk-averse Japan, Irie fully intends to shake audiences awake with his often shocking vision, to find the slivers of light in the darkness.
"Vigilante" was filmed on location in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, the director's hometown (and the birthplace of the "8,000 Miles" franchise), in the dead of winter and mostly at night. The performances by its three major stars have been stripped of any artifice, and the backdrop allows Irie to highlight such hot-button social issues as child abuse, drug addiction, sexual aggression, crimes against foreigners, crimes by foreigners, and the inexorable decline of Japan's countryside.
On the day their mother dies, three young brothers attempt to kill their tyrannical father, Takeo (Sugata), an important figure in the local community. The eldest, Ichiro, runs away after the incident, and does not return until Takeo has died, 30 years later. In adulthood, middle brother Jiro (Suzuki, TV's "Dr. X") has become a city council member, while Saburo (Kiritani, "Close-Knit") makes ends meet by managing a "deriheru" (delivery health) call-girl business for a volatile gangster (rapper Hannya).
After Takeo's funeral, Ichiro (Omori, "Outrage Coda") suddenly reappears. He's brought with him a notarized will, and declares that he will take possession of their father's legacy. But Jiro needs to retain a large tract of nearby land for a megamall construction project that will ensure his political future. Ever the obedient civil servant, he must now choose between his family and his career prospects. As the brothers indulge in an increasingly violent tug-of-war, all hell breaks loose around them. A community of foreign workers clashes with an overzealous neighborhood watch group. Powerful politicians collude with organized criminals. Soon, tensions in the entire town begin to boil over.
Join us for this sneak preview of "Vigilante" ahead of its Japanese release on December 9.
For more (in Japanese): https://vigilante-movie.com/index.php
Director YU IRIE made his feature directorial debut in 2006 with "Japonica Virus." His sophomore effort "8,000 Miles" (2009), which depicted the bittersweet struggles of rappers living in rural Saitama, won the Grand Prize at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival and was screened at numerous festivals around the world to great acclaim. Its success brought him a Best Newcomer Award from the Directors Guild of Japan. Two sequels followed, as well as a late-night television series broadcast in 2017. Irie soon began helming large studio productions with big-name stars, including "Hibi Rock: Puke Afro and the Pop Star" (2014), "Joker Game" (2015), "The Sun" (2016) and earlier this year, "Memoirs of a Murderer," which spent three weeks in the No. 1 spot at the box office.
Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk (3211-3161) or register below. You may attend the Q&A session without attending the screening, but you will not have seating priority. Please reserve in advance, still & TV cameras inclusive. All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.
- Karen Severns, Film Committee
