Retro Reviews

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JFF Theater: SUMO DO, SUMO DON´T Review: An Irresistible, Underdog Comedy Classic

With the sole intention of earning enough credits to graduate and secure a lazy job at his uncle’s company, Shuhei Yamamoto reluctantly joins his university’s failing sumo club. What he doesn’t expect is that alongside a highly peculiar, misfit group of outsiders, he will actually find the motivation needed to save the club from total disbandment. To the average gaijin, sumo wrestling might look like nothing more than two oversized men in traditional loincloths trying to shove each other out of a sand ring. For the Japanese people, however, it is a deeply rooted, thousands-of-years-old cultural tradition packed with spiritual symbolism that transcends the boundaries of mere sports. This modern classic of Japanese cinema—and say what you want, but 1992 feels like it was just yesterday—stands as perhaps the most iconic representation of the sport ever put to film. It is an inspiring sports comedy that went on to sweep […]

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JFF Theater: TIME TRAVELLER: THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME: Time Travel as a Vessel for Memory

Time travel stories have always held a unique allure, possessing a special charm that consistently captivates audiences. This is certainly the case for this story within Japanese culture; based on the 1967 Yasutaka Tsutsui’s novel, it has been adapted for the big screen no fewer than four times, with each iteration offering its own distinct perspective. This 2010 adaptation, serves as a  sequel to the 1983 film starred by popular 80´s idol Tomoyo Harada in her screen debut  . It follows the daughter of the original protagonist as she travels back to 1972 to find her mother’s teenage love and deliver a long-awaited message. However, the journey is fraught with errors: she arrives two years late. There, she encounters an aspiring young filmmaker who helps her on her quest, inadvertently weaving a new story that leads them to a poignant realization—in this life, the only thing that truly survives the […]

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