The Tokyo International Film Festival Opened in the Rain With Sukiyaki, and Godzilla Minus Zero Is the Centerpiece

Photo: Shampoorobot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival opened on October 26 in the rain, and by all accounts the weather did not dampen anything. It runs to November 4. The opening film was Sukiyaki, a Japanese musical drama about the making of the 1963 song, and the red carpet had the cast, with Junichi Okada saying he practised piano for three months.

Photo: Elena Ternovaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Godzilla Minus Zero is the Centerpiece, and Yeon Sang-ho, the director of Train to Busan, closes the festival with Colony. A Godzilla film in the middle and a Yeon Sang-ho film at the end is a satisfying shape for a festival in Tokyo.

Photo: Arielaortizb, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The International Competition is chaired by the Australian director Rolf de Heer, with Oh Jung-wan, Makiko Watanabe and Yov Moor among the jury. Fifteen films are in competition, including Rubaiyat Hossain's The Difficult Bride, which arrives from Venice. Last year's Tokyo Grand Prix went to Palestine 36, and this year's winner will not be known until the closing.

Photo: Alex Knight agkdesign, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The festival opened with a pledge to boost Japanese cinema, and Japan's government restated its ambitions for global content. I take that kind of language with a grain of salt, but the timing is interesting given how far Godzilla Minus One travelled overseas.

Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I will report the winners when they are announced. Is there a film in this year's line-up you are hoping reaches your country?