Japan Society announce Obayashi ’80s: The Onomichi Trilogy & Kadokawa Years<\/i><\/b>, running\u00a0February 7-14, 2025<\/b>. The teenage symphonies of\u00a0Nobuhiko Obayashi<\/b>\u00a0(1938-2020) are wound in a melancholy nostalgia for a period indelibly lost to time, neatly occupying the inexpressible gap between adolescence and adulthood. Woven through visually expressive fantasias with striking formal experimentation and pop-art boldness, Obayashi\u2019s idiosyncratic cinematic language would produce some of Japan\u2019s most beloved\u00a0seishun eiga<\/i>\u00a0(youth films) throughout the 1980s, captivating generations of filmgoers with his earnest portrayals of young love and the vanished worldviews of youth, further bolstered by Kadokawa\u2019s innovative tactics of popularizing dreamy pop idols like\u00a0Hiroko Yakushimaru<\/b>\u00a0(Sailor Suit and Machine Gun<\/i><\/b>) and\u00a0Tomoyo Harada<\/b>. Having premiered Obayashi\u2019s films over the course of its film department\u2019s existence\u2014including the largest-ever North American Obayashi retrospective in 2015 with the filmmaker in attendance\u2014Japan Society offers a special focus on his rarely-seen yet beloved\u00a0Onomichi trilogy<\/b>\u00a0(1982-1985) and Kadokawa work.<\/p>\n
With Obayashi\u2019s career overshadowed abroad by the oddball eccentricity of his electric 1977 debut\u00a0House<\/i>, the 1980s would come to epitomize the height of his popularity, symbolized by his endearing Onomichi trilogy\u2014set in the filmmaker\u2019s hometown of Onomichi, the site of Yasujiro Ozu\u2019s\u00a0Tokyo Story<\/i>. Devoted to the winding paths of his youth, Obayashi\u2019s hometown trilogy\u2014body-swap ATG feature\u00a0I Are You, You Am Me<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(1982), timeslip romance\u00a0The Little Girl Who Conquered Time<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(1983) and 1985\u2019s conclusion\u00a0Lonely Heart<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(a favorite of Akira Kurosawa\u2019s) \u2014present so-called \u201cwrinkles,\u201d as the filmmaker himself would put it, of the seaside town. Obayashi\u2019s showcase of his provincial hometown would focus on eternal themes of lost love and nostalgia.<\/p>\n
Kicking off on February 7 with a\u00a0rare 35mm import<\/b>\u00a0of\u00a0I Are You, You Am Me<\/i>, Obayashi ’80s also features a\u00a0rare 16mm import<\/b>\u00a0screening of\u00a0Lonely Heart<\/i>\u00a0on February 8. Series highlights include Obayashi\u2019s Kadokawa-era productions\u00a0School in the Crosshairs<\/i><\/b>, a gonzo, cosmic fantasy with extraterrestrial fascists; and\u00a0His Motorbike, Her Island<\/i><\/b>, a\u00a0bosozoku<\/i>\u00a0(biker gang) melodrama of love-stricken, thrill-seeking motorbike enthusiasts; and the middle chapter of the Onomichi films,\u00a0The Little Girl Who Conquered Time<\/i>, a metaphysical love story that catapulted Tomoyo Harada to superstardom.<\/p>\n
Tickets:<\/b>\u00a0$16\/$14 students and seniors\/$12 Japan Society members.<\/p>\n
Screenings take place in Japan Society\u2019s landmarked headquarters at 333 East 47th Street, one block from the United Nations. Lineup and other details subject to change. For complete information, visit\u00a0japansociety.org<\/b><\/a>. Tickets are available now.<\/p>\n About Nobuhiko Obayashi<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Born in Onomichi, Hiroshima in 1938, Nobuhiko Obayashi began creating films at age three after first encountering a film projector in a home storage room. By the time he was in his 20s, his independent film\u00a0Tabeta Hito\u00a0<\/i>aka\u00a0The Person Who is Eaten<\/i>\u00a0(1963) won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1963 Belgium International Experimental Film Festival, and his 16mm experimental film\u00a0Emotion<\/i>\u00a0(1966) played around Japan at galleries and universities to wide acclaim. During the early years of television, he directed many commercials with international figures such as Charles Bronson for the brand \u201cMandam\u201d, Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve. In 1977, he directed his first feature film\u00a0House<\/i>, which won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Newcomer, a prestigious award presented by film critics and writers in Japan. He has won many awards including the FIPRESCI Award at Berlin International Film Festival for\u00a0Sada<\/i>\u00a0(1998). He is also the recipient of the Spring 2004 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon and the Fall 2009 The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette from the Japanese government.<\/p>\n<\/ins>\n FILM DESCRIPTIONS<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n All films are listed alphabetically.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n His Motorbike, Her Island<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u300e\u5f7c\u306e\u30aa\u30fc\u30c8\u30d0\u30a4\u3001\u5f7c\u5973\u306e\u5cf6\u300f (Kare no otobai, Kanojo no Shima)<\/b><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Thursday, February 13 at 7:00 PM; Friday, February 14 at 9:15 PM<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1986, 96 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Riki Takeuchi, Kiwako Harada, Noriko Watanabe.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n Following a painful breakup, macho biker Koh (Riki Takeuchi) skips town and hits the road on his beloved Kawasaki W3 650. On his countryside excursion, he encounters the free-spirited Miyo (Kiwako Harada, older sister of Obayashi favorite Tomoyo Harada) who quickly takes interest in both the leather-clad Koh and his motorbike. Koh and Miyo fall in love even as Miyo\u2019s prodigious biking talent and thrill-seeking tendencies heighten Koh\u2019s fear that she may push it all too far. A nostalgia-filled reminiscence, Obayashi\u2019s monochromatic dream playfully worships the biker culture of yesteryear, delivering a sentimental and liberating take on young love. A\u00a0Cult Epics Release<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Island Closest to Heaven<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u300e\u5929\u56fd\u306b\u3044\u3061\u3070\u3093\u8fd1\u3044\u5cf6\u300f (Tengoku ni ichiban chikai shima)<\/b><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Sunday, February 9 at 5:00 PM<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1984, DCP, 103 min., color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Tomoyo Harada, Ryoichi Takayanagi, Toru Minegishi, Miyoko Akaza.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n Based on Katsura Morimura\u2019s 1966 best-selling travelogue, Obayashi\u2019s paradise-laden coming-of-age tale is an island retreat to the white sands of New Caledonia. Fulfilling her late father\u2019s (YMO\u2019s Yukihiro Takahashi) dream to take her to \u201cthe island closest to heaven,\u201d bookish teen Mari (Tomoyo Harada) ventures solo to the archipelago\u2019s indigo waters in search of this mythic locale. Taking in the island\u2019s sites, Mari journeys off the beaten path, befriending a host of friendly locals in the process, from islander Taro (Ryoichi Takayanagi) to footloose tour guide Yuichi. One of Obayashi\u2019s breeziest features, filled with a sense of old school Hollywood romanticism,\u00a0The Island Closest to Heaven<\/i>\u00a0forms an affecting portrait of a young girl\u2019s journey to self-discovery and her own piece of heaven deep within. A\u00a0Cult Epics Release<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Little Girl Who Conquered Time<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u300e\u6642\u3092\u304b\u3051\u308b\u5c11\u5973\u300f (Toki o Kakeru Shoujo)<\/b><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Saturday, February 8 at 5:00 PM; Friday, February 14 at 7:00 PM<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1983, DCP, 104 min., color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Tomoyo Harada, Ryoichi Takayanagi, Toshinori Omi.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n Adapting sci-fi author Yasutaka Tsutsui\u2019s famous 1967 novel-of-the-same-name,\u00a0The Little Girl Who Conquered Time<\/i>\u00a0cast Tomoyo Harada in her feature film debut, launching the Kadokawa pop idol into superstardom. After suffering a fainting spell in her school\u2019s laboratory, 16-year-old Kazuko Yoshiyama (Harada) begins to experience a strange phenomenon throughout her daily life\u2014temporal leaps backward and forward in time\u2014disorienting her as she relives moments time and time again, as days past return to present. Lost in a sea of time, Kazuko\u2019s desperate pleas to exist in the present are answered, amidst the swell of FX wizardry, musical overtures and, most of all, the anchor of young love. Lyrical, romantic and longing, Obayashi\u2019s second Onomichi film is a genuine expression of the filmmaker\u2019s reflections on the poetic transcendence of love\u2014cast across the stars for a young girl who lives in tomorrow. A\u00a0Cult Epics Release<\/i>.<\/p>\n I Are You, You Am Me (Exchange Students)<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u300e\u8ee2\u6821\u751f\u300f (Tenkousei)<\/b><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Friday, February 7 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, February 13 at 9:15 PM<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1982, 112 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Toshinori Omi, Satomi Kobayashi, Makoto Sato.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n Imported 35mm Print.<\/b>\u00a0Falling down a steep set of stairs, classmates Kazuo and Kazumi find they\u2019ve switched bodies\u2014a dilemma that complicates manifold as the two realize they need to live out each other’s lives, both at school and home. A gender-swap youth film based on Hisashi Yamanaka\u2019s novel\u00a0Exchange Students<\/i>, Obayashi\u2019s first entry in his Onomichi trilogy is colored by the filmmaker\u2019s lively brand of humor as the two struggle to conform to the expected ways boys and girls must behave. Obayashi\u2019s film offers an inventive mix of formal play\u20148mm, black-and-white, and color photography\u2014all packaged within a heartfelt melodrama that functions not only as a goodbye to childhood, but as an effortless evocation of the streets of Obayashi\u2019s youth: a display of classical orchestrations accompanying the late summer\u00a0hana-bi<\/i>, small-gauge captures of trudging tugboats and the crimson sunsets of Onomichi\u2019s rolling hills.<\/p>\n Lonely Heart (Ms. Lonely)<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u300e\u3055\u3073\u3057\u3093\u307c\u3046\u300f (Sabishinbou)<\/b><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Saturday, February 8 at 8:00 PM<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1985, \u00a0112 min., 16mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Toshinori Omi, Yasuko Tomita, Yumiko Fujita.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n 40th Anniversary\u2014Imported 16mm Print.<\/b>\u00a0The finale to Obayashi\u2019s Onomichi trilogy,\u00a0Lonely Heart<\/i>\u00a0is a nostalgic rite of passage, nestled in the familiar pathways of his hometown. Schoolboy Hiroki (Toshinori Omi) is an amateur photographer and hapless romantic, transfixed by a sad-looking girl at his school\u2014his self-described \u201cLonely Heart.\u201d However, his inexpressible feelings and longing are disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious girl in the convex of his camera lens: a mischievous, white-faced tomboy who goes by the name Lonely Heart. A feature that impressed Akira Kurosawa so much so that he asked his entire staff to watch it,\u00a0Lonely Heart<\/i>\u00a0is a virtuosic recollection of first love and the intrinsic emotions that bubble to the surface; its bittersweet tristesse echoing through the melancholic refrain of Chopin\u2019s\u00a0\u00c9tude Op. 10, No. 3<\/i>.<\/p>\n School in the Crosshairs<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n