Japan Japan

2007 Israeli film

Japan Japan

Hebrew| יפאן יפאן
Directed by| Lior Shamriz
Starring| Imri Kahn

Release date

* 8 August 2007 (2007-08-08)

Running time

| 65 minutes
Country| Israel
Languages| Hebrew
English
Budget| US$200

Japan Japan (Hebrew: יפאן יפאן, Japanese:日本日本) is a 2007 film directed by Lior Shamriz, starring Imri Kahn.

## Cast

[edit]

Actor  | Role

|

Imri Kahn | Imri
Tal Meiri | Tal
Irit Gidron | Irit
Naama Yuria | Naama
Amnon Friedman | Amnon
Benny Ziffer | Benny

## Plot

[edit]

The film tells the story of Imri, who at 19 goes to live in Tel Aviv, but dreams of moving to Japan. Through his relationships and encounters and in diverse cinematic tools, we are introduced to the young man's life. An exploration of living in the exotic city of Tel Aviv is presented through a hero who is himself in the midst of exploring his own choice of an exotic place. A unique correlation is formed between the hero's misconception of Japan and ours of him. The movie was constructed by both improvised and pre-scripted scenes, as required by the nature of each scene.

The film presents internal conflicts in a personal way and explores themes of otherness and difference, as well as "the lives of lost and young people," according to the director.

## Production

[edit]

The film was reportedly produced for as little as US$200, with volunteer actors and no additional crew.[1] Nevertheless, it was presented at some prestigious venues around the world such as the Locarno Film Festival,[2] the New York Museum of Modern Art,[3] the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival, and more than fifty film festivals. Due to dozens of copyright violations,[4] the film has not been commercially released. It is, however, well distributed through the underground network of illegal art distribution.

## Awards

[edit]

The film participated in dozens of film festivals and received extensive coverage. Among the most notable and prestigious: the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, selected as the best film at Mexico's Film Week, screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), and featured at the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival.

## Critical reception

[edit]

The film received polar reviews from the critics, ranging from cutting edge, brilliant [5][6] to the horror of video when it falls into the wrong hands.[7] The film was named by MoMA chief curator as one of the top ten films of 2008.[8]

The filmmaker said about the film: "One interesting challenge was how to create an interesting viewing experience in a film where it is impossible for the viewer to experience the film through the hero's eyes. As the hero says himself: 'Whoever looks at me, expects to see the drama or the thoughts, but the face is empty."[1]

## See also

[edit]

* Lior Shamriz filmography

## References

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1. ^ a b "Japan Japan (2008): Interview with the director". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
2. ^ "Locarno Film Festival Website" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07.
3. ^ "MoMA Calendar". Archived from the original on 2012-07-28.
4. ^ "TimeOut London Magazine". Archived from the original on 2007-11-23.
5. ^ "Japan Japan (2008): Reviews". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
6. ^ "Japan Japan (2008): Reviews". Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
7. ^ "Japan Japan (2008): Reviews". La Razon. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
8. ^ "indieWIRE & Industry Top 10s for 2008". Indiewire. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-04.

## External links

[edit]

* Official site
* Japan Japan at IMDb
* Japan Japan at Rotten Tomatoes
* Japan Japan at Yahoo! Movies
* Review by Bill Weber \- at Slant Magazine