Yuji Nakae

Tsutomu lives alone in the mountains, writing essays, cooking Zen food with the vegetables he grows and the mushrooms he picks in the hills. His routine is happily disturbed when Machiko, his editor and love interest, occasionally visits. Tsutomu seems content with his daily life. On the other hand, he still hasn't let go of his wife's ashes, although she died 13 years ago...

Kanako joins a high school where she is reunited with her childhood friend, Eijun. Following the idea of Seiryo, Kanako's elder brother, they form a band. They aim to perform at the school festival, however, they are unable to get through the audition. The following year, they perform at a local music event, Yaeyama Band Tengoku, under a new band name.

Shirayuri Club is an amateur band started in 1947. They still are playing wonderful music in various occasions. The documentary captures their first tour to Tokyo.

Hotel Hibiscus is the story of one very young energetic girl named Mieko and her internatioanl family who live in Okinawa. They live in a run down old hotel called Hotel Hibiscus with only one room for rent.

6.9/10

The film tells the story of a small community on a small island in Okinawa, Japan. Especially it focusses on the story of a grandma named Nabbie, but although it's her story told in the film's centre there are some young people, the grand-daughter of Nabbie and a young Japanese who just came to visit the little island. As the film evolves with the more or less ordinary events of the little island's inhabitant's more or less ordinary life, the story behind Nabbie's life gets more and more obvious. It's a surprise to most everyone involved in one or the other way.

7/10

A woman follows an inner journey from island to island in search of "Pai Pati Roma"

An anthology film consisting of three linked stories by different directors, all set on an Okinawan island. The first story, 'Aunt Reiko' concerns an opera singer who travels back to her home island to consult a spiritualist about the loss of her voice. The second story, 'Haruko & Hideyoshi' concerns an outsider to the island who is tricked into marrying an island girl after visiting the island god of fertility with her. The final story, 'Bomb Kids' concerns two kids in a punk band who set out to win (or steal) a large amount of money. Linking these stories is the ongoing search for an unexploded WWII bomb, a large model pineapple, and the possibility of a hotel development coming to the island...

6.7/10