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Join the Film Committee …
Join us on Tuesday, October 3 at 6 pm for a special screening of Hideo Anno’s new film, Passing Fancy. If the title sounds familiar, that’s because the film is an adaptation of Yasujiro Ozu’s 1933 silent opus Dekigoro (Passing Fancy), the first episode in an exciting new series produced by the WOWOW Channel and Shochiku to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Ozu’s birth (as well as the 60th anniversary of his death) in December 2023. The series spotlights the revered auteur’s early silent films by creating modern adaptations with dialogue and in color, giving viewers a chance to enjoy Ozu’s less-known humorous tales in an updated idiom, demonstrating that the stories remain fresh and universal. In Jojo’s update of Passing Fancy, Kei Tanaka plays Kihachi, a single father and free spirit who seems to be more interested in drinking and gambling than in his smart son Tomio (Yurito Mori), who aces all his exams and gets bullied by jealous classmates. Kihachi's friend and fellow factory worker Jiro (Keisuke Watanabe) helps out with Tomio, but the boy is otherwise on his own. One night, Kihachi and Jiro come across Harue (Sea Shiraishi), an attractive young woman who’s looking for a job. Unwittingly, she soon drives a wedge between the two men. Jojo has been named TIFF’s Nippon Cinema Now Director in Focus this year, and four of his recent films will be showcased during the festival. He will be on hand for the Q&A session. (Passing Fancy, Japan, 2023, 46 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles).
Karen Severns is chair of the FCCJ Film Committee
