The Snow White Murder Case

The Snow White Murder Case (白ゆき姫殺人事件) is the next movie from director Yoshihiro Nakamura (中村義洋). Nakamura has had recent success with Ahiru and Kamo's Coin Locker (アヒルと鴨のコインロッカー) in 2006, and Golden Slumber (ゴールデンスランバー) in 2010.

The film stars Mao Inoue (井上真央) a young prolific actress who won the 2011 Japanese Academy Award's Best Supporting Actress for her role in Rebirth (八日目の蝉) in 2011, and is currently appearing in cinemas in Eien no Zero (永遠の０). She appears along side Go Ayano (綾野剛).

The story revolves around a mysterious murder of an attractive office worker, and the effect of vicious Internet rumours and gossip, interference by mass media and paparazzi, on a suspected co-worker.

The Snow White Murder Case is adapted from the novel of the same name by Kanae Minato (湊かなえ) who also wrote the novel behind the award winning 2010 film Confessions (告白). Similar to Confessions, The Snow White Murder Case tells the same story from the point of view of several intersecting characters. I'd assume that the same successful format will be kept for the movie.

The Snow White Murder Case will be in cinemas on March 29th.

Website: http://www.shirayuki-movie.jp/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shirayuki_movie

Eien no Zero

Eien no Zero (永遠の０) is the third movie to come from the work of Naoki Hyakuta, and the second this year after Monster was released in April. Eien no Zero was Hyakuta's 2006 debut best seller novel, which was also released in a 5 part manga series in 2010.

The story concerns a brother and sister who discover that their real grandfather was an ace pilot during the world war 2 who volunteered for the kamikaze squad. The film deals with some rather sensitive topics of wartime Japan, especially with the recently heightened tensions between Korea and China, and Prime Minister Abe's push to strengthen the Japanese military. The plot of the novel raises the question of whether the Kamikaze pilots are brave war heroes or terrorists, and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out on the screen.

From Ghibli's heart wrenching Grave of the Fireflies to Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, which gave me my first perspective of war from the non-American/Australian side, I'm hoping Eien no Zero provides a valuable perspective on the war, and those who fought it.

The "Zero" in the title is a reference to the A6M Zero used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War. Chasing on from Ghibli's latest anime, Kaze Tachinu (風立ちぬ), there is plenty on offer in Japanese cinema this year for fans of World War 2 era Japanese airplanes.

Directed by Takashi Yamasaki (山崎貴) who has found recent success with the Showa era film series, Always 3 Chome. Starring Junichi Okada (岡田准一) and Mao Inoue (井上真央) as war torn lovers in the flashback part of the film and Haruma Miura (三浦春馬) and Kazue Fukuishi (吹石一恵) as the present day grandchildren trying to uncover their families hidden past.

The movie will be released on December 21st in Japan. Check out the film's website here: http://www.eienno-zero.jp/, or follow the news on twitter: https://twitter.com/eienno0_movie

Youkame no Semi

Youkame no Semi (八日目の蝉 or 8 Day Old Cicada), is a novel written by Mitsuyo Kakuta (角田光代) originally published in 2007. In 2010 it was adapted into a 6 part TV Drama and then a movie adaptation directed by Izuru Narushima (成島出) was released in 2011. I'm only familiar with the movie adaptation, but hope to get around to reading the book someday.

It dominated at the 35th Japanese Academy Awards, winning 10 awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Izuru Narushima), Best Sceenplay, Best Actress (Mao Inoue), Best Supporting Actress (Hiromi Nagasaku), Newcomer Award (Nokomi Watanabe), Best Music, Best Cinematography and Best Lighting.

The story revolves around a young girl, Erina who is kidnapped at birth and raised by her kidnapper under a new name, Kaoru, until the age of 4. Young Kaoru, assuming her kidnapper is her mother, faces a rather shocking change of life when she is reintroduced to her biological parents. Feeling like she is being raised by strangers, it creates family tension that never quite heals.

The role of Erina/Kaoru is played by Mao Inoue (井上真央), who I've seen in the movei adaptation of My Darling is a Foreigner, and is also due to star in adaptaion of Hyakuta Naoki's (百田尚樹) Eien no Zero (永遠の０).

One of the main themes dealt with in this story is effect of the rather pervasive sects and cults of Japan's "New Religions" or Shinshukyo (新宗教),  and their effect on Japanese society. This was also a topic discussed in Murakami's 1Q84, but I don't think it highlighted the real problems these cults produce due to the science fiction nature of 1Q84. Youkame no Semi shows a more realistic portrayal of everyday within one of these groups which are more prominent in the corners of Japanese society than many people realize. I receive spam/pamphlets/newsletters in my mailbox from several groups every couple of months.