Fish Story

Out on July 26 is Fish Story (Third Window Films), a charming Japanese punk sci-fi tale. Here’s an extract of Eithne Farry’s review of the film: ‘It’s a brilliantly crafted piece of storytelling, and each chapter could survive independently, but Nakamura revels in the idea that seemingly random events are intertwined, resonating down the years, until they culminate in a moment freighted with meaning. Funny, melancholy, hopefully, helplessly optimistic, deliciously absurd, Fish Story is a quirky gem of a movie.’

Also out on July 26 is another Japanese film, Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (4Digital Media), which John Berra saw at the Nippon Connection in April: ‘Kaiji is a noncommittal job-hopper who lives month-to-month with little concern for his long-term financial security. When he suddenly finds himself burdened with a debt of two million yen due to the non-payment of a loan that he casually co-signed for a friend, Kaiji is forced to play a high-risk game onboard a cruise ship to try and clear it. It’s an ingenious premise, one that recalls the sinister escapism of David Fincher circa The Game (1997) and comments on current economic conditions in recession-hit countries where people are paying the price for taking out ‘easy’ credit. Unfortunately, Kaiji is undermined by an irritating central performance by Tatsuya Fujiwara while Yuki Amani is merely window-dressing as the initially icy, ultimately sympathetic credit collector. An over-reliance on fast edits and swirling camera movements makes Kaiji an unfortunate case of a neat idea undermined by erratic execution.’

July 26 also sees the release of Ki-duk’s acclaimed prison drama Breath by Palisades Tartan. We haven’t seen this one, but we love Kim Ki-duk and this is what the press release says: ‘Nominated for the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2007, the director’s 14th feature moves on from the extreme violence and provocation of his earlier works, to a more considered yet still poetic look at some of the inexpressible emotions between humans and taboo-breaking relationships. Elements from his previous works Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring and 3-Iron find new expression in this story of a prisoner on death row and the lonely housewife he confides in.’

Continuing with Asian cinema, the BFI have launched the Ozu Collection on July 19. Following its recent theatrical retrospective of Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu’s entire surviving films, the BFI will release all 32 films on DVD over the next three years. Some of these films will also be made available on Blu-ray for the first time. The Ozu Collection was launched on July 19 with the Dual Format Edition releases (both a Blu-ray and a DVD disc in one box) of Tokyo Story (1953), Early Summer (1951) and Late Spring (1949). Extra features with each of these three titles, and with subsequent releases, will include an early Ozu film that has never been available in the UK before.

Other DVD releases this month include Todd Solondz’s caustic follow-up to Happiness, Life During Wartime (Artificial Eye, July 12), which John Berra reviewed: ‘It is arguable that Solondz has been somewhat marginalised in recent years, but this ‘sequel’ exhibits a newfound mellowness that those who lost interest following the middle-class mockery of Storytelling may find oddly endearing.’

In the well-crafted, tense Australian thriller The Dinner Party, released by Kaleidoscope on July 12, an unhinged young woman throws a dinner party where she plans to commit suicide with her boyfriend, but things don’t go according to plan.

And finally, the wonderful Iranian music film No One Knows about Persian Cats is released by Network on July 26. Lucy Hurst said: ‘Bahman Ghobadi’s exploration into the world of underground music in Tehran is a welcome antidote to the blasé, pedestrian, apathetic state of the music industry in the West. This bold and inspiring film was obviously a great risk to make but it is ultimately rewarding for its audience.’