Writer/director Koba Akiyoshi’s debut, Nunchaku and Soul, is gearing up for a world premiere at the 14th Osaka Asian Film Festival. The line-up is packed with genre faves and indie delights, one of which thusfar includes Koba’s film which sits among ten other titles for the Indie Forum.
Numata is a shy, bespectacled beanpole of a middle-aged guy who manages a restaurant. His only charm point, if you can call it that, is his ability to use nunchaku, a weapon he became obsessed with as a child but never really had any call to use in actual combat. An encounter with a cute woman named Reiko leads him to attend a dance class and the chance to win her heart in a dance contest. Alas, Numata doesn’t have the moves…
Meanwhile, across town, Soma, a funk soul brother, is facing the breakup of his long-running band. The other members are busy with their regular lives while Soma’s is a disaster. He is facing leaving the stage forever but it just so happens that one of the band happens to be the cook in Numata’s restaurant and suggests to Soma he teach Numata how to dance.
These two very different men get the chance to reboot their lives through participating in the dance contest and in so doing, overcome their problems in this funny and funky film with characters that will have audiences grinning with glee.
Gachinko Film is rolling this one out in Japan in due time for all of 76 minutes. The odd-pairing aspect coupled with the kind of comedy and heart that takes aim at the kind of artfulness here through music, dance and character development have me pretty intrigued about this, plus it’s been a long time since I’d seen nunchaku as a narrative centerpiece.
Enjoy the trailer and let’s hope some fair artwork comes our way.