Third Window Films Discussion Thread

[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Some of the issues in putting out Suicide Club are a little more complex due to this. For example, I had a designer setup for new artwork and he canceled on me when the news came out.
I also had a new commentary decided on and I don't think the people who were going to do it now will want to continue with it.
I'd also planned an upcoming interview with Sono, but he may not want to do it and/or a brand new interview right after these allegations wouldn't sit right either.
Considering there are no original extras to be used on the release, everything needing to be made for the release would be new, and all post-allegations, so it makes things just more morally complicated.

Would Sono be getting royalties every time a copy is sold?

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by Magyalmar

It's a shame that we have to remind it all the time on the Internet but there is such a thing as presumption of innocence.

The Japanese film industry and especially the majority of people connected to Sion Sono and Sushi Typhoon are pretty bad. All are 100x worse than Sion Sono himself, but Sono is a part of a group of very bad people in a very toxic environment in a country which is very very behind the times in regards to gender equality and sexual harassment in the workplace is still pretty rife especially in regards to people who are from a certain generation (i.e. Sono's generation).

When we made LOWLIFE LOVE, it was a very black comedy but sort of a documentary about the Japanese independent film scene (ironically the film starred Kinoshita Houka who I didn't know was like that), but actually many parts of the Japanese independent scene are much worse than Lowlife Love. People like Hideo Sakaki have been known for years as sexual predators and the only thing that surprised me is how few people stepped up to accuse them.
In Sono's case, while I personally don't at all think that he's anywhere near the levels of Hideo Sakaki and especially people around him like Haruo Umekawa (he's the real Weinstein of this situation) for sure there has been sexual impropriety in the fact that he has slept with many of the actresses he's worked with (which is a fact considering he ended up marrying one and was dating Hikari Mitsushima too) and he's from a generation and country where sexual advances to women in working situations was not seen as bad as it is today. Though there's no way you could say he hasn't, in all his career, done things wrong looking at them from the eyes of a Western and younger generation, but at the same time (while not excusing his actions) I don't believe he's nearly as bad as what he's being talked about now. I also think that many of the things that he's being accused of also came from his past and in a even more different time and an even more twisted setup within the film industry. I do believe though that the others accused are for sure bad and worse than the news is being written about, but Sono is a bit more complicated I believe.
Not excusing it at all, but it's all very complicated when trying to compare to the West, and if Sono did things wrong then that's on him and while Japan was never like the West, it needs to modernize and if this helps it then that's a good thing. Ironically, this whole things came up because an American/Japanese actor came to Japan to take part in Sono's workshop and was so surprised by the culture shock that he made all the accusations which led to the MeToo movement now. If this American had not done it then nothing would have changed, so good on him for bringing this old country to light.
And while not defending him at all, I do personally believe he's getting attacked more than many others because he's the biggest name out there.
Knowing the Japanese indie film world and Japan as a culture, if this is happening to Sono, then a MASSIVE amount of filmmakers should be 'canceled' as well.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by yoloswegmaster420

Would Sono be getting royalties every time a copy is sold?

Sono wouldn't get royalties even if this hadn't come out.

One of the hopefully good things which would come from this is that maybe it will try to bring some Western ideas into the Japanese indie film scene, such as properly treating staff well and paying them properly.
In Japan, directors get paid barely nothing for their work and barely any royalties. They only get 1.75% of royalties from dvds sold in Japan (nothing from theatrical, which is where the money lies) and nothing from anything done overseas. But, the royalties would go to the producers and/or production companies involved in these films, and as I mentioned, the people 'around' Sono (such as Haruo Umekawa, the producer of many Sono films) are much much worse than Sion Sono, so there would be support of these acts in one way or another.

[gap]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Some of the issues in putting out Suicide Club are a little more complex due to this. For example, I had a designer setup for new artwork and he canceled on me when the news came out.
I also had a new commentary decided on and I don't think the people who were going to do it now will want to continue with it.
I'd also planned an upcoming interview with Sono, but he may not want to do it and/or a brand new interview right after these allegations wouldn't sit right either.
Considering there are no original extras to be used on the release, everything needing to be made for the release would be new, and all post-allegations, so it makes things just more morally complicated.

I'm just one customer, but I will buy Suicide Club even if it is a barebones release.

[whedon]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

The Japanese film industry and especially the majority of people connected to Sion Sono and Sushi Typhoon are pretty bad. All are 100x worse than Sion Sono himself, but Sono is a part of a group of very bad people in a very toxic environment in a country which is very very behind the times in regards to gender equality and sexual harassment in the workplace is still pretty rife especially in regards to people who are from a certain generation (i.e. Sono's generation).

When we made LOWLIFE LOVE, it was a very black comedy but sort of a documentary about the Japanese independent film scene (ironically the film starred Kinoshita Houka who I didn't know was like that), but actually many parts of the Japanese independent scene are much worse than Lowlife Love. People like Tak Sakaguchi and Hideo Sakaki have been known for years as sexual predators and the only thing that surprised me is how few people stepped up to accuse them.
In Sono's case, while I personally don't at all think that he's anywhere near the levels of Tak, Hideo Sakaki and especially people around him like Haruo Umekawa (he's the real Weinstein of this situation) for sure there has been sexual impropriety in the fact that he has slept with many of the actresses he's worked with (which is a fact considering he ended up marrying one and was dating Hikari Mitsushima too) and he's from a generation and country where sexual advances to women in working situations was not seen as bad as it is today. Though there's no way you could say he hasn't, in all his career, done things wrong looking at them from the eyes of a Western and younger generation, but at the same time (while not excusing his actions) I don't believe he's nearly as bad as what he's being talked about now. I also think that many of the things that he's being accused of also came from his past and in a even more different time and an even more twisted setup within the film industry. I do believe though that the others accused are for sure bad and worse than the news is being written about, but Sono is a bit more complicated I believe.
Not excusing it at all, but it's all very complicated when trying to compare to the West, and if Sono did things wrong then that's on him and while Japan was never like the West, it needs to modernize and if this helps it then that's a good thing. Ironically, this whole things came up because an American/Japanese actor came to Japan to take part in Sono's workshop and was so surprised by the culture shock that he made all the accusations which led to the MeToo movement now. If this American had not done it then nothing would have changed, so good on him for bringing this old country to light.
And while not defending him at all, I do personally believe he's getting attacked more than many others because he's the biggest name out there.
Knowing the Japanese indie film world and Japan as a culture, if this is happening to Sono, then a MASSIVE amount of filmmakers should be 'canceled' as well.

People don't understand just how toxic Japanese culture can be especially for women. What Sono did to us is shocking but for Japan is just part of doing business over there. Things do seem to be changing but slowly and trying to impose Western values and ideology on Japanese culture is never going to work until there are serious cultural changes there which seem to be starting as a result of this. There have been Japanese artists accused of crimes that would see them get prison time over here pay a nominal fine and then be back working after a few months and having their work picked up/adapted by Netflix.

What are the allegations against Tak Sakaguchi? The only thing I've seen so far is that he brought a girl to Sono and I only know that because he released a video about it. Is he trying to get out in front of something more serious?

When I saw people talking about Sushi Typhoon I hoped Miike was not involved and so far have seen nothing about him. Would hate to see someone like Miike be involved in all this.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by whedon

People don't understand just how toxic Japanese culture can be especially for women. What Sono did to us is shocking but for Japan is just part of doing business over there. Things do seem to be changing but slowly and trying to impose Western values and ideology on Japanese culture is never going to work until there are serious cultural changes there which seem to be starting as a result of this. There have been Japanese artists accused of crimes that would see them get prison time over here pay a nominal fine and then be back working after a few months and having their work picked up/adapted by Netflix.

What are the allegations against Tak Sakaguchi? The only thing I've seen so far is that he brought a girl to Sono and I only know that because he released a video about it. Is he trying to get out in front of something more serious?

When I saw people talking about Sushi Typhoon I hoped Miike was not involved and so far have seen nothing about him. Would hate to see someone like Miike be involved in all this.

There are no real allegations about Tak, but there also have yet to be more allegations about others, and if MeToo is really kicking off (there was a false dawn a few years back) then I'm sure Tak and many others will get caught up in it.
Tak is quite legendary bad in the industry. I remember when he came to the UK his manager would not let him out of her site as she knew he would get caught up with something bad, and he's known for doing very bad things (in a sexual context). Though maybe more people are scared of him and less willing to come out.
But he released that video I think to try and deflect attention, saying he was just a small pawn in the game and by apologizing for that he probably thinks his situation is done and dusted.

Miike wasn't really a part of Sushi Typhoon. I don't remember him directing a film for them, or being closely connected to Nikkatsu. It was more the directors and producers connected to the actual films they were making, but since a lot of them came from the adult video industry it's not surprising either.

but yeah, Japan and especially the entertainment industry, is super out of date. Considering the owner of the biggest talent company (and therefore one of the most powerful names in Japan) was a pretty well-known child rapist who never got into trouble, you can imagine how toxic it all is.

[Ranger517]

Kentaro Kishi that's part of the Sushi Typhoon crew is an absolute creep for sure. I don't know if I can post the link to the video but if you google Sushi Typhoon Invades Tokyo on Vimeo you'll find the video. Basically it's a 20 minute video of the Sushi Typhoon Domestic Launch that took place around 2011 in Ginza-Tokyo. If you skip through the video at the 08:45 mark, Tomoko Hayakawa interviews Kentaro Kishi and the whole interview is super uncomfortable.

Throughout the interview Kentaro Kishi's eccentric behavior towards Ms Hayakawa is unbearable to watch. He proceeds to grab her in a predatory manner and gets all up in her face. You can clearly tell in the video she feels uneasy by his actions. After that, it gets even more gross when he eats a lit cigarette on camera.

[whedon]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

There are no real allegations about Tak, but there also have yet to be more allegations about others, and if MeToo is really kicking off (there was a false dawn a few years back) then I'm sure Tak and many others will get caught up in it.
Tak is quite legendary bad in the industry. I remember when he came to the UK his manager would not let him out of her site as she knew he would get caught up with something bad, and he's known for doing very bad things (in a sexual context). Though maybe more people are scared of him and less willing to come out.
But he released that video I think to try and deflect attention, saying he was just a small pawn in the game and by apologizing for that he probably thinks his situation is done and dusted.

Miike wasn't really a part of Sushi Typhoon. I don't remember him directing a film for them, or being closely connected to Nikkatsu. It was more the directors and producers connected to the actual films they were making, but since a lot of them came from the adult video industry it's not surprising either.

but yeah, Japan and especially the entertainment industry, is super out of date. Considering the owner of the biggest talent company (and therefore one of the most powerful names in Japan) was a pretty well-known child rapist who never got into trouble, you can imagine how toxic it all is.

I was only checking Takashi Miike as they kept saying he was involved in Sushi Typhoon but I assume a more of a hands off kind of role, I think they referred to him as their head chef or something like that but then I never saw him work with them in any way.

Interesting to hear that Tak stuff, I had a bit of respect for him coming out with the apology as it legitimised the womens complaints but I said to my wife when it popped up was he trying to get ahead of something which seems to very well be the case based on what you've said.

It's both a shame and also great that all this is happening over there, it's way overdue and honestly considering some of the horror stories I've heard about the adult industry over there I'm not surprised that people involved in productions doing more mainstream fare kept up old habits.

Much as I like The Naked Director it's easy to forget that this is a very romanticised view of what is still a pretty sleazy and exploitative industry with some very questionable practices. My wife gave it up mid-way through series 1 as she wished it was more about the woman and not building a hero-worship figure out of Muranishi and the other men.

I was really enjoying watching the ST guys move away from the more extreme fare with Iguchi doing Flowers of Evil, Yamaguchi doing High & Low and even Nishimura with things like Tokyo Dragon Chef.

[whedon]

To get back more on topic, I finally watched Melancholic and whilst it is very much a calling card film, it's also a low-budget, big idea drama from a first-time director that manages to be far more assured, thrilling and unsettling than many seasoned filmmakers could manage.

It's a simple and evocative exploration of sadness and expectation, how the pressure to succeed often has the opposite effect. There are a couple of unexpected twists along the way, some work, some less so but the film handles them well resulting in a film that announces an interesting new talent and leaves you eager to see what all do next.

As much as I love the big stuff you put out I love the smaller indie films. It's so refreshing to find a new voice and things like Melancholic and the New Directors release are fantastic.



Would there be any chance of seeing some Keisuke Yoshida releases, Himeanole, Intolerance and even Blue which was one of those rare films that really surprised me last year.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by Ranger517

Kentaro Kishi that's part of the Sushi Typhoon crew is an absolute creep for sure. I don't know if I can post the link to the video but if you google Sushi Typhoon Invades Tokyo on Vimeo you'll find the video. Basically it's a 20 minute video of the Sushi Typhoon Domestic Launch that took place around 2011 in Ginza-Tokyo. If you skip through the video at the 08:45 mark, Tomoko Hayakawa interviews Kentaro Kishi and the whole interview is super uncomfortable.

Throughout the interview Kentaro Kishi's eccentric behavior towards Ms Hayakawa is unbearable to watch. He proceeds to grab her in a predatory manner and gets all up in her face. You can clearly tell in the video she feels uneasy by his actions. After that, it gets even more gross when he eats a lit cigarette on camera.

actually, Kentaro is just acting there as the character from the film. He's not at all like that in normal life, so there's a bit of context required (you can see him apologize after saying that Norman asked him to do that)

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by whedon

To get back more on topic, I finally watched Melancholic and whilst it is very much a calling card film, it's also a low-budget, big idea drama from a first-time director that manages to be far more assured, thrilling and unsettling than many seasoned filmmakers could manage.

It's a simple and evocative exploration of sadness and expectation, how the pressure to succeed often has the opposite effect. There are a couple of unexpected twists along the way, some work, some less so but the film handles them well resulting in a film that announces an interesting new talent and leaves you eager to see what all do next.

As much as I love the big stuff you put out I love the smaller indie films. It's so refreshing to find a new voice and things like Melancholic and the New Directors release are fantastic.



Would there be any chance of seeing some Keisuke Yoshida releases, Himeanole, Intolerance and even Blue which was one of those rare films that really surprised me last year.

Loved Intolerance, was my favourite Japanese film of last year.
I tried to play it at a film festival in London (LEAFF) and the Japanese company quoted me $1400 to play it 1 time. And this was with restrictions of seats in the cinema too.
Acquiring it would also be crazy expensive, and in both cases we're talking about a film with quite a limited reach, which is made even more limited by the Japanese sales agents.
If Drive My Car (or other Hamaguchi films), or Kore-eda, Kawase, Fukada or any other Japanese films which made it big overseas had been handled by Japanese sales companies there's no way at all they'd be as famous as they are...

[Ranger517]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

actually, Kentaro is just acting there as the character from the film. He's not at all like that in normal life, so there's a bit of context required (you can see him apologize after saying that Norman asked him to do that)

Well I would certainly hope no one acts like that in normal life but with or without context it's a bit over the top for an interview.

[whedon]

Originally Posted by Ranger517

Kentaro Kishi that's part of the Sushi Typhoon crew is an absolute creep for sure. I don't know if I can post the link to the video but if you google Sushi Typhoon Invades Tokyo on Vimeo you'll find the video. Basically it's a 20 minute video of the Sushi Typhoon Domestic Launch that took place around 2011 in Ginza-Tokyo. If you skip through the video at the 08:45 mark, Tomoko Hayakawa interviews Kentaro Kishi and the whole interview is super uncomfortable.

Throughout the interview Kentaro Kishi's eccentric behavior towards Ms Hayakawa is unbearable to watch. He proceeds to grab her in a predatory manner and gets all up in her face. You can clearly tell in the video she feels uneasy by his actions. After that, it gets even more gross when he eats a lit cigarette on camera.

I'd take a lot of those interviews with a pinch of salt, a lot of the early marketing for Sushi Typhoon was very over the top and sexual in nature. Watching it now and it seems to be not an interview with the actor but the character he plays in the film. I could be totally wrong but comments from TWF above seems to state this too.

[whedon]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Loved Intolerance, was my favourite Japanese film of last year.
I tried to play it at a film festival in London (LEAFF) and the Japanese company quoted me $1400 to play it 1 time. And this was with restrictions of seats in the cinema too.
Acquiring it would also be crazy expensive, and in both cases we're talking about a film with quite a limited reach, which is made even more limited by the Japanese sales agents.
If Drive My Car (or other Hamaguchi films), or Kore-eda, Kawase, Fukada or any other Japanese films which made it big overseas had been handled by Japanese sales companies there's no way at all they'd be as famous as they are...

I was surprised by how few screenings there were of Intolerance last year. I watched Blue as part of the Udine Far East Film Festival, bought the 4 films bundle piece and had picked out 7 films and was looking for a final one and thought Blue looked interesting. I was disappointed by the last boxing film I'd watched that week One Second Champion and went into Blue with low expectations but it really impressed me and Yoshida went straight onto my must watch list.

It's a shame so many Japanese studios and agents are so restrictive in pricing for screenings and rights. There's a wealth of great cinema over that and the only way to see so much of it is if it plays a festival or piracy.

My big hope from the success of Drive My Car is that we see more American studios working with Japanese ones and we see a little easing of prices and issues around licensing.

Years ago I used to write for various publications and was asked to cover Nintendo stuff and reached out to the press office and was told that if I wished to cover Nintendo I would need to travel to their headquarters and meet with them. One of the emails I got talked about how they needed to look me in the eye to ensure I was honorable. Ended up going through their US office which just responded back, sure you're on the list now have a great day.

[jackranderson]

Originally Posted by dr727

I do agree that it’s possible to separate art from the artist [see Besson yes, and a large swath of male artists in the Louvre]. I also believe/support the victims—predatory use of power, particularly sexual, is unforgivable (no matter how normalized it is in Japan or anywhere else).

100% this and I have to say this Sion Sono news is very disappointing, especially when considering some of his works such as Antiporno which very clearly expose sexual exploitation.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by whedon

I was surprised by how few screenings there were of Intolerance last year. I watched Blue as part of the Udine Far East Film Festival, bought the 4 films bundle piece and had picked out 7 films and was looking for a final one and thought Blue looked interesting. I was disappointed by the last boxing film I'd watched that week One Second Champion and went into Blue with low expectations but it really impressed me and Yoshida went straight onto my must watch list.

It's a shame so many Japanese studios and agents are so restrictive in pricing for screenings and rights. There's a wealth of great cinema over that and the only way to see so much of it is if it plays a festival or piracy.

My big hope from the success of Drive My Car is that we see more American studios working with Japanese ones and we see a little easing of prices and issues around licensing.

Years ago I used to write for various publications and was asked to cover Nintendo stuff and reached out to the press office and was told that if I wished to cover Nintendo I would need to travel to their headquarters and meet with them. One of the emails I got talked about how they needed to look me in the eye to ensure I was honorable. Ended up going through their US office which just responded back, sure you're on the list now have a great day.

Yoshida's earlier films are good too, like Cafe Isobe, Sankaku and Workhorse and the Bigmouth.
He was actually Shinya Tsukamoto's assistant director and it's great he has his own style too and is also able to handle a variety of genres

[Ranger517]

Speaking of more recent Japanese films, Miwa Nishikawa's Under the Open Sky was pretty excellent. I would love to see a cool release of that film.

[Yami]

Aoyama's final film, Living in the Sky, would be cool to see as well

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by Ranger517

Speaking of more recent Japanese films, Miwa Nishikawa's Under the Open Sky was pretty excellent. I would love to see a cool release of that film.

That's handled by GAGA who are very hard to work with, so I wouldn't hold your breath!

[whedon]

Originally Posted by Ranger517

Speaking of more recent Japanese films, Miwa Nishikawa's Under the Open Sky was pretty excellent. I would love to see a cool release of that film.

That is currently playing as part of the Japanese Film Festival in Ireland and possibly the UK. I quite like it when I saw it last year, it's a small film which doesn't do anything new but Yakusho is great in it and it is the kind of low key drama that could do quite well.

If you like it then Takahisa Zeze's The Promised Land may be worth a watch and Kazuya Shiraishi's Sea of Revival covers similar ground.

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Yoshida's earlier films are good too, like Cafe Isobe, Sankaku and Workhorse and the Bigmouth.
He was actually Shinya Tsukamoto's assistant director and it's great he has his own style too and is also able to handle a variety of genres

I do want to see all of them but getting DVDs never mind Blu-Rays of them is hard. I know I can pirate them but I'd much prefer to support a filmmaker like Yoshida as best I can. Nothing more depressing than finding a film maker you love and then going to Letterboxd or other to see where their films are and seeing WHERE TO WATCH: No availability.

My big hope from Covid is that festivals embrace online, I was spoilt last summer thanks to my VPN and online festivals, most had stuff available worldwide but a few were region restricted and I managed to see a number of films I would never otherwise have got to. Having become a dad recently and not going to the cinema for fear of getting Covid so missing the Japanese Film Festival on atm, but online festival screenings have made a huge difference. Getting to watch something like Soi Cheang's Limbo from the comfort of my own home was nice and I now this year I get to watch some of them while a tiny human sleeps in my arms.

I know Netflix is getting better for foreign stuff but when they can't even be arsed to put the film poster or title on the image for foreign films it shows how little they care. Hand Rolled Cigarette which I really liked and is one of the few modern Chinese films to not just be propaganda has been on Netflix over here for months and it's still just a still of Gordon Lam without even the title.