NYAFF'09 Films
THE MAGIC HOUR (JAPAN, 2008)
NEW YORK PREMIERE
137 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
Directed by: Koki Mitani
Starring: Koichi Sato, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Eri Fukatsu, Haruka Ayase, Toshiyuki Nishida, Susumu Terajima
Showtimes:
Wed July 1, 9:00pm at Japan Society [Buy Tickets].
Sun July 5, 12:00pm at Japan Society [Buy Tickets].
Note: "Buy Tickets" links will take you to the IFC Center website (for shows at IFC Center) and to Japan Society website (for shows at Japan Society). Tickets for each venue must be purchased separately.
"It's like something out of a movie," Haruka Ayase marvels as she looks at her artificial hometown. "Doesn't it remind you of a film set?" And THE MAGIC HOUR, a heart-on-its-sleeve ode to movies and moviemaking, only gets more self-reflexive from there. Two parts screwball comedy and one part reality-shattering satire, Koki Mitani's latest celebration of the filmed unreal was a domestic blockbuster in Japan, sending typically somber audiences to their feet clapping and cheering, and it looks poised to conquer New York City next.
We fade in on "Sukago," an ersatz town made of cinema, full of zoot suits, matte painting sunsets and hot jazz. Within this soundstage metropolis, meek club manager Bingo (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is in deep with local Boss Tessio (Toshiyuki Nishida) after getting caught with his girl. To appease him, Bingo promises to deliver famed hitman, Della Togashi - who no one has ever seen – in order to beef up their side in a gang war. Improvising wildly, Bingo ventures into the real world to hire third-rate ham Taiki Murata (Koichi Sato, SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO). Murata's skills are questionable at best, but his hot-blooded passion for "the craft" knows no bounds. When Bingo promises him "the role of a lifetime" in a no-budget indie, Murata jumps at the chance to live out his gangster movie dreams as Togashi - even if he can't quite tell where the cameras are shooting from. Assuming that the baffled real-life gangsters are just being Method, Murata dives into his character and stays there around the clock, unaware that his adventures with Boss Tessio's gang are all too real.
THE MAGIC HOUR is relentless, absurd slapstick with no trace of self-consciousness and balls of steel: it's funny, and you're going to love it because it says so. It’s also a testament to craft, with impeccable technical credits - Sukago is an entire town built on five enormous soundstages, lending everything a lush, make believe edge. Despite dripping with sentiment, THE MAGIC HOUR manages to make that cool again, too: we dare you to stay dry-eyed when Murata finally gets a look at his "masterpiece," or stop yourself from cheering as he becomes celluloid incarnate, using the full arsenal of movie magic to destroy his shadow self in the cinematic "magic hour," that brief shining moment between day and night, where for a few still, silent minutes everything looks perfect.
Co-presented by JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film
THE MAGIC HOUR (JAPAN, 2008)
NEW YORK PREMIERE
137 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
Directed by: Koki Mitani
Starring: Koichi Sato, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Eri Fukatsu, Haruka Ayase, Toshiyuki Nishida, Susumu Terajima
Showtimes:
Wed July 1, 9:00pm at Japan Society [Buy Tickets].
Sun July 5, 12:00pm at Japan Society [Buy Tickets].
Note: "Buy Tickets" links will take you to the IFC Center website (for shows at IFC Center) and to Japan Society website (for shows at Japan Society). Tickets for each venue must be purchased separately.
"It's like something out of a movie," Haruka Ayase marvels as she looks at her artificial hometown. "Doesn't it remind you of a film set?" And THE MAGIC HOUR, a heart-on-its-sleeve ode to movies and moviemaking, only gets more self-reflexive from there. Two parts screwball comedy and one part reality-shattering satire, Koki Mitani's latest celebration of the filmed unreal was a domestic blockbuster in Japan, sending typically somber audiences to their feet clapping and cheering, and it looks poised to conquer New York City next.
We fade in on "Sukago," an ersatz town made of cinema, full of zoot suits, matte painting sunsets and hot jazz. Within this soundstage metropolis, meek club manager Bingo (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is in deep with local Boss Tessio (Toshiyuki Nishida) after getting caught with his girl. To appease him, Bingo promises to deliver famed hitman, Della Togashi - who no one has ever seen – in order to beef up their side in a gang war. Improvising wildly, Bingo ventures into the real world to hire third-rate ham Taiki Murata (Koichi Sato, SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO). Murata's skills are questionable at best, but his hot-blooded passion for "the craft" knows no bounds. When Bingo promises him "the role of a lifetime" in a no-budget indie, Murata jumps at the chance to live out his gangster movie dreams as Togashi - even if he can't quite tell where the cameras are shooting from. Assuming that the baffled real-life gangsters are just being Method, Murata dives into his character and stays there around the clock, unaware that his adventures with Boss Tessio's gang are all too real.
THE MAGIC HOUR is relentless, absurd slapstick with no trace of self-consciousness and balls of steel: it's funny, and you're going to love it because it says so. It’s also a testament to craft, with impeccable technical credits - Sukago is an entire town built on five enormous soundstages, lending everything a lush, make believe edge. Despite dripping with sentiment, THE MAGIC HOUR manages to make that cool again, too: we dare you to stay dry-eyed when Murata finally gets a look at his "masterpiece," or stop yourself from cheering as he becomes celluloid incarnate, using the full arsenal of movie magic to destroy his shadow self in the cinematic "magic hour," that brief shining moment between day and night, where for a few still, silent minutes everything looks perfect.
Co-presented by JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film
