![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Neko-Atsume-House-.jpg\")
<\/a>Neko Atsume House<\/em>, starring Atsushi Ito and an army of kitties, makes its East Coast premiere at Japan Society July 16. By\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Lyle Sylvander<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(<\/em><\/strong>Yokohama-shi<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, 2001-02) for\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>JQ\u00a0magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Lyle has completed a master\u2019s program at the\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and has been writing for the\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>JET Alumni Association of New York<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0since 2004. He is also the goalkeeper for\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>FC Japan<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a New York City-based soccer team.<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n The 11th edition of\u00a0JAPAN CUTS<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>the\u00a0Japan Society<\/a>\u00a0of New York\u2019s extensive showcase of new Japanese cinema, premieres tomorrow (July 13) for 11 days of unique programming, special guests, and the chance to see exclusive North American releases. This year\u2019s lineup\u201429 films in all\u2014demonstrates the wide variety of Japan\u2019s contemporary cinematic space. The programming runs the gamut from documentaries to shoestring independents, old classics and mainstream blockbusters. A handful of films were made available for\u00a0JQ<\/strong>\u00a0press screenings; here are some notable selections:<\/p>\n Neko Atsume House<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(July 16, 12:00 p.m.):<\/strong>\u00a0Based on a popular smartphone game, this film deals with writer\u2019s block in a most unique way. When the novelist-protagonist Sakumoto-san (Atsushi Ito) finds himself faced with his profession\u2019s most dreaded dilemma, he accepts an assignment to write a series of horror novels\u2014a major step backward for this once-celebrated author. In order to solve his predicament, he adopts the old clich\u00e9 of secluding himself in a country house for creative inspiration. What follows is a thoroughly unexpected delight of a movie as he makes friends with a multitude of friendly felines with whom he bonds.<\/p>\n At the Terrace<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(<\/strong>July 16, 6:45 p.m.):<\/strong>\u00a0Kenji Yamauchi adapts his play for the screen, in what can best be described as a Japanese\u00a0Who<\/em>\u2019<\/em>s<\/em>\u00a0Afraid<\/em>\u00a0of<\/em>\u00a0Virginia<\/em>\u00a0Woolf<\/em>?\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>This dialogue-heavy film finds a group of guests drinking into the night. As the alcohol makes its way through their systems, the characters let down their guard and inhibitions and make confrontational and incriminating accusations against one another. The veneer of civility gradually dissipates until the carnal desires and petty jealousies take over the proceedings. In the process, Yamauchi skewers the pretensions of Japan\u2019s professional and bourgeois class.<\/p>\n Haruneko<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(July 16, 8:45 p.m.):<\/strong>\u00a0Dealing with the Japanese fascination with death is first-time director Soro Hakimoto\u2019s\u00a0Haruneko<\/em>,<\/em>\u00a0a tale set at a forest caf\u00e9 where people come to die. In some ways, the setting reminds one of the infamous \u201csuicide forest\u201d at the base of Mt. Fuji, another place for a similar purpose. Unlike that real location, Hakimoto creates an ambience that can only be described as \u201cmelancholy mysticism\u201d as the caf\u00e9 manager, young boy and an old woman guide their visitors into the deep woods to dissolve into the ether. This film debut serves as a harbinger of great things to come from Hakimoto, who establishes himself as Japan\u2019s answer to the great Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Tropical<\/em>\u00a0Malady<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>Uncle<\/em>\u00a0Boonmee<\/em>\u00a0Who<\/em>\u00a0Can<\/em>\u00a0Recall<\/em>\u00a0his<\/em>\u00a0Past<\/em>\u00a0Lives<\/em>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n West North West<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(July 22, 4:15 p.m.):<\/strong>\u00a0Director Takuro Nakamura presents one of the most though-provoking and provocative films of the series. His film dares to explore an LGBTQ love triangle between the punkish Japanese Kei (Hanae Kan) and the religiously devoted Naima (Sahel Rosa), an exchange student from Iran. Confounding the unorthodox relationship is Kei\u2019s xenophobic and anti-Islamic girlfriend Ai (Yuka Yamauchi). In its social commentary, the film echoes Stephen Frears\u2019 classic\u00a0My<\/em>\u00a0Beautiful<\/em>\u00a0Laundrette<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>in its exploration of LGBTQ romance against a backdrop of racial bigotry and tension. Nakamura\u2019s staid and steady direction effortlessly places the non-traditional triangle against the conservative complacency of Japan\u2019s tradition social structure.<\/p>\n ANTI-PORNO<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(July 22, 10:30 p.m.)<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>In the 1970s, Nikkatsu studios produced a number of soft-core porn films for the domestic market. Director Sion Sono\u2019s\u00a0ANTI-PORNO<\/em>\u00a0subversively works against the conventions of these Nikkatsu \u201cpink\u201d films and transgresses them in mind-boggling ways. The story reads as an S&M version of Fassbinder\u2019s\u00a0The<\/em>\u00a0Bitter<\/em>\u00a0Tears<\/em>\u00a0of<\/em>\u00a0Petra<\/em>\u00a0van<\/em>\u00a0Kant<\/em>, as Kyoko (Ami Tomite) terrorizes her subservient assistant Noriko (Mariko Tsutsui), who is sadistically kept on a leash. Sono also uses a bright, primary color palette full of blinding reds and yellows, the kinkiness of which rivals any Almodovar film.<\/p>\n JAPAN CUTS 2017 runs from July 13-23 at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, in New York City. For this year\u2019s complete schedule and tickets,\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
(Neko Atsume House<\/em>\u00a0\u00a9 2017 Hit-Point:Neko Atsume House Production Committee<\/p><\/div>\n