VIEWS

Femmes libérées

The picture belongs to the jidai gekki (historic) genre. It is a powerful story of violence and eroticism, picturing a world at once sordid and poetic, with two central themes which intermingle to compound an admirable panel of a critical period in Japanese history: the great famine in the mid 19th Century.

Top-ranking RubberTubber saleswoman Agatha J. Ruby was brutally beaten and shot on her morning jog by an unknown assailant. Over six thousand dollars worth of her best plastic storage ware was stolen from her trunk. Nearly all 200 residents in her hometown of Mametville, Washington knew her personally. All were named as suspects. See if you can figure out her killer.

Yukiko Nogami is rescued during a mountain blizzard by handsome forester Shinkichi, and the two subsequently fall in love. But when Shinkichi dies in an avalanche, Yukiko leaves the mountains in despair and takes a job in a bar where she becomes deeply involved in the personal lives of several of the patrons. One day she thinks she sees Shinkichi alive, but it turns out to be a gangster named Hayakawa, a man on the run who bears an astonishing resemblance to Yukiko's lost love. Against her better judgment, she is drawn to help Hayakawa, though clearly danger follows him.

The slightly self-indulgent artist Thorvald collapses during an interview made in celebration of his 80th birthday and dies shortly after. But in spite of his death Thorvald can still follow those left behind. From a distance, and for better or worse, he sees with his own eyes the imprint he has left on his family and especially his son Vincent, who had a strained relationship with his father.

Coach Shimamura of the hapless Sparrows baseball team is pleased to obtain a hot new pitcher named Onishi. But when Onishi begins a romantic relationship with the coach's daughter Michiko, Shimamura becomes angry with the young man, lashing out at him when he disobeys instructions during a game. In turn, Michiko becomes angry with her father, who becomes increasingly depressed. When a tragedy strikes the family, Coach Shimamura begins losing control of his life, just when his family and his team need him most.

Les hommes preferent mentir

Portrait Craché

A group of mothers rise up to clean up their town, but their fight begins to tear the community apart.

Set 3 years after the drama series. Kitano Yuichiro comes to give a lecture in the town where divorcee Sasamoto Sawa now lives quietly. The two meet again and their love story continue.