Jiro Kagoshima

Constantly on the run from a vicious loan shark, two small-time con artists, Take and Tetsu, plan their biggest and most complex con yet in order to get revenge and retire from a life of crime. However, things get complicated when they cross paths with Mahiro, a young woman that Take inadvertently orphaned during a job gone awry years ago. Seeing Mahiro down on her luck, Take tries to relieve his guilt by taking her on as a partner, while hiding his true identity. But as his plan unfolds, Take discovers that he isn't the only one with a secret.

Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a noted fixer. When tensions rise between Chang and the Hanabishi, and Chang's life is endangered, Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.

Set in 1995. A helicopter, operated remotely, is hovering in the sky over a nuclear power plant. The power company, prefectural government and media all receive a fax. The fax contains a threat that if the nuclear power plant is not taken offline the helicopter will be dropped. 8 hours is given as the deadline. Making the situation even more dire, a young child is in the helicopter.

Trying to pass a strange bill to clear up the suspicion put on himself

Kumiko Hoshizaki’s “Akane Sasu Heya” is the story of Maki, a 20-something temp who is sick of her boring job and life in general. The rather bizarre solution she comes up with is to conceive a child behind her boyfriend’s back. Makoto Nagahisa offers the much more impressionistic “Frog.” The story meanders around a bunch of unrelated characters, using experimental techniques like repeated scenes, hallucinatory visuals, blurred shots and disconnected sounds. Lastly, we have “Bouquet Garni,” a much more conventional work from director Junpei Hatano. The plot is centered on a reporter, the relative of a kidnapping victim, and a woman who is obsessed with the case.