Toad’s Oil (ガマの油, 2009)

When visiting friends of ours in Hamanaka (Hokkaidō) many years ago, I was fascinated by obāchan’s morning and evening ritual of praying at the butsudan (仏壇) in the corner of the family’s Japanese style room. A butsudan is a Buddhist shrine found in both temples and homes and is used for praying to Buddha and to one’s deceased family members. The butsudan is often decorated with photographs of the...

Glasses (めがね, 2007)

An island community like no other Taeko has ever experienced.The Frühstücksfilm (Breakfast Film) is a popular annual event at Nippon Connection. The screening takes place on the final morning of the festival . In addition to the screening of a film sponsored by the Japan Foundation of Cologne (Japanischen Kulturinstitut Köln), guests are treated to an elegant buffet brunch. Past years have featured...

The Ramen Girl (ラーメンガール, 2008)

 Lost in Translation: Traditional Chef Master?  It's a Mom & Pop ramen shop!An amusing discussion took place on Facebook this week about whether or not The Ramen Girl (Robert Alan Ackerman, 2008) was a “surprisingly good film” or the exact opposite. As I did’t feel comfortable totally discrediting a film for which I had only seen the trailer, I decided to watch it  I had great...

Sona, the Other Myself (ソナ、もうひとりの私, 2009)

Tonight at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto, audiences will get a chance to see the North American debut of Yonghi Yang’s latest documentary Sona, the Other Myself. According to the Hot Docs website, her earlier film Dear Pyongyang “deeply moved audiences at Hot Docs three years ago, but eventually led to the filmmaker being banned from North Korea.”Sona, the Other Myself (Sona, mou hitori no...