Bubble Fiction: Boom or Bust (Baba, 2007): ICA Cinema, 9pm
The Once Upon a Time in Japan season at the ICA examines the country’s past through the
eyes of contemporary filmmakers such as Koreeda and Takashi Miike.
Characterising a trend in recent Japanese cinema, this year’s programme
showcases a series of works by both emerging and established filmmakers
whose aim is to reinterpret, reinvent or relive moments of times past.
Through
a variety of genres, styles and tones, from horror, drama, action to
animation, this programme aims to give UK audiences the broadest and
most colourful insight into Japan’s history than any of our past Japan
film seasons, and explore how the past has been brought to life through
the eyes of contemporary filmmakers.
Here is the ICA introduction to this evening's film:
With the Japanese economy on the blink of collapse with 80 trillion
yen in debt, government bureaucrat Shimokawaji (Hiroshi Abe) conjures
the crazy idea of going back in time to 1990 in an attempt to prevent
Japan’s financial collapse. Luckily, Shimokawaji’s ex-lover Mariko
(Hiroko Yakushimaru) has a created one of the most unusual time
machines; a DeLorean-esque washing machine, transporting anyone who dons
a wetsuit and climbs into the drum some twenty years back in time.
Having lost Mariko somewhere in the past, Mariko’s daughter (Ryoko
Hirosue), a ditzy bar hostess, spins back to 1990 to the height of the
bubble economy, teaming up with a 17 years younger Shimokawaji to look
for her mother and prevent Japan’s ‘bubble’ economy from bursting.
Yasuo
Baba’s 2007 time-travel comedy is a hilarious satire of bubble-era
Japan, filled with nostalgic gags, retro fashion and music, guaranteed
to lift your spirits and cast away any recession blues!
Here is an extract.
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