First up is Yoshihiro Nakamura's Fish Story, the tale of a punk song, a comet, and four intersecting stories that ultimately result in mankind's salvation. Fish Story is a film that is intentionally hard to pigeonhole, and this is the type of cinema that the Japanese may not have a complete monopoly on, but they certainly have a better handle than anyone on how to make this kind of mash-up film work. Adam Torel explains how he feels about Fish Story:
Fish Story is the type of film which Hollywood wishes they could make, but only the Japanese could handle well. A film which has 4 events taking place over 4 decades all using different genres of film to handle each event is wonderful in its own right, but the fact that the first event kicks off with a kick ass punk song and the last as the end of the world is something which has to be seen to be believed. It's a real word of mouth film, that continues to sell better every month as more people see it and tell their friends. To be honest I haven't heard a bad thing about it anywhere. It's almost universally liked and once you watch it then it's easy to understand why.Third Window's DVD presentation of the film includes a 35 minute behind the scenes featurette, a live performance from the band in the film, and a trailer. As of yet, this is the only English friendly version of this film in the world.
Another film that was a hit at film festivals in 2009, and a hit among ScreenAnarchy reviewers was Yosuke Fujita's Fine, Totally Fine. The story of a guy whose dream in life is to create the world's scariest haunted house, and the people that surround him; Fine, Totally Fine is a film that, according to Torel, didn't make much of a splash in Japan, but has gone on to be a successful release for Third Window, nonetheless:
Fine, Totally Fine is a film which barely registered a note in Japan, but played to appreciative crowds at many quality Japanese film festivals such as Nippon Connection and other similar ones. The film's tone and mood is nothing new, it's very similar to a Jim Jarmusch film or some other American indie slice-of-life comedies, but it's the characters and actors who played those roles which attracted me the most and I believe are what made this film so surprisingly popular in the UK (sold more than 2,000 copies which isn't a half bad figure in a small territory for such a film). I'm a huge fan of all three actors and the characters they play and the way they go about throughout the story provides some wonderful laughs as well as a touching story and I think it's the blend of the two tones which has made it such a breakout hit in the UK.Third Window, again, has the only English friendly release of this film, featuring some background interviews with star and cult hero Yoshiyoshi Arakawa and Yoshinori Okada. Not to mention that it is dirt cheap over at Amazon UK!
Another film which played successful screenings in film festivals but never made it to home video in North America is Yoshida Daihachi's Funuke: Show Some Love You Losers! This film is another case, not unlike Fish Story, though probably more akin to Nakashima's Memories of Matsuko, where the wildly disparate tones and the candy colored exteriors can be polarizing for some audiences. If one can give oneself over to the ride and attempt to take the film in the spirit in which it is meant, however, it is a very rewarding and entertaining experience. The film follows a woman who comes home after a family tragedy, only to become a part of a dysfunction that has been brewing for years. It was a perfect choice for Third Window
I first saw Funuke I was a market screening at the Pusan Film Festival. What I loved about the screening is that the film seemed to confuse the audience who didn't seem to know how to get to grips with the tone of the film. Some people in the audience, like myself, were laughing out loud during the darkly comic scenes of domestic violence or incest, but most just seemed to feel awkward when watching the film. This reaction is what I loved about the film. Not just the pitch black comedic tone Daihachi Yoshida uses to handle such an odd story, but the ingenious casting of ex-gravure idol Eriko Sato. Her playing the role of a countryside girl whose failed attempts to make it onto the big screen as an actress are due to her only assets being her physical ones (knowing about her real life story adds a whole new dimension to the film), made Funuke a really different type of film that manages to stick out as something very unique. I personally think it's quite underrated.The final film in this department is probably the most serious of the bunch; Kakera: A Piece of Our Life. Saying that this is the most serious in this case mainly means that it is simply the least zany of the films in today's column. The easy thing, and perhaps the best way to market this film to horny dweebs, is that it is a lesbian love story, however that is a very inept description that really saps all of the power from what you actually get with Kakera. A story of real women, real love, real problems, and real challenges. This is all delivered through the fresh lens of first time director Momoko Ando, who really delivers with her debut feature. In his continuing personal mission, Third Window's Adam Torel used this film as an opportunity to try something different, not only from his own style, but also from any other label with this kind of focus:
Kakera was something that I wanted to try something a little different with in terms of distribution. I wanted to work closer with a director who was new and saw a lot of promise with in order to build a business relationship such as with the model we've practiced so far (working with directors such as Miki Satoshi, Nakashima, etc). With the other directors they were more established and we had started releasing their titles once they had a decent body of work already, but Momoko Ando was a first timer, so we wanted to help promote her internationally at the same time as she was being promoted in Japan. We worked in tandem with the Japanese distribution company in terms of publicity and even released the film on the same date in both the UK and Japan for maximum publicity. The film itself is a very accomplished work from a first-time young director working with a great upcoming talent in Hikari Mitsushima, so it was a real joy working so closely with both the director and the Japanese distribution and publicity team in helping promote such a new and exciting talent.This DVD features a great interview with Midnight Eye's Jasper Sharp and director Momoko Ando and footage from Third Window's London premiere of Kakera with a director Q & A following that.
These are all very worthwhile titles. I have yet to come across a title in Third Window's catalog that doesn't hold some interest for me, even if only as a curiosity. That is one of the strengths of this company. Adam Torel's focus and determination not to become a clearinghouse for all things Asian, regardless of quality, is admirable. I'm sure this business strategy has cost him money, but it has also made Third Window Films a company which deserves respect. Rarely do we find such carefully curated catalogs in home video.
Tomorrow, I have an announcement from Third Window regarding another awesome sounding acquisition and following that we'll recap and look into the future with Third Window Films to try and round up all of the exciting things we have to look forward to in 2011!