
Tsutomu Niwa
2021いちばん美しい夏
John Williams
Maho, Tsutomu Niwa
Naomi, a seventeen year-old city brat from Nagoya, finds her world turned upside down after the breakup of her parents' marriage. Packed off to the country, she reluctantly works at her aunt's inn until being asked to care for Mrs. Koide, an aging relative with Alzheimer's disease. At first, Naomi dislikes looking after the old woman, but over the course of the summer, the two develop an extraordinary friendship that transcends age and experience. The debut feature from international filmmaker John Williams (Midnight Spin), Firefly Dreams stars veteran Japanese actress Yoshie Minami (Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru) and newcomer Maho Ukai in a critically acclaimed performance.
Firefly Dreams
さよならみどりちゃん
Tomoyuki Furumaya
Sayuri Oyamada, Hidetoshi Nishijima
Naive office girl Yuko supports her blithe big city lifestyle with a part-time job at a neighborhood cafe. Attracted to her manager there, the shallow but charming Yutaka, she willingly succumbs to his lascivious advances only to discover afterward that he already has a girlfriend by the name of Midori. Even so, Yuko's feelings for Yutaka continue to grow regardless of his aloofness. Before long she finds herself reluctantly cajoled into working as a hostess in a small karaoke bar. Fatalistically accepting his dalliances with flames old and new, she perseveres not so much in hope of a more substantial relationship, but rather out of fear of losing him. There are other men out there waiting for her -- kinder, more considerate and eagerly available. But for Yuko, there is only the non-committal, yet torridly magnetic Yutaka. Why him? Not even Yuko seems to know the answer.
Sayonara Midori-chan