Have a 'happy fright' at Japanese film fest

Nothing points out the gap between East and West quite like airline service. In the Japanese comedy Happy Flight (showing at the Eiga Sai Japanese Film Festival which runs at Shangri-Plaza Cinemas from July 6 to 15) the ground crew, flight attendants and pilots of a fictitious Japanese airline are almost impossibly dutiful to the customer: in one scene a flight attendant is shown bowing and kneeling before a coach passenger, who is obviously a Very Important Person, even as he knocks over his drink, yells at the crew members and demands that the plane turn around and continue its flight path despite mechanical trouble. In Happy Flight, the unhappy flight attendant is shown on the verge of tears, trying to placate her rude passenger. On a US flight, she’d probably smile through gritted teeth and say, “Okay, sir, I’m sending the air marshal over now to Taser you!” And the other passengers would probably applaud, and jeer the a-hole — “Hey, if you’re so important, why are you flying coach?”

Or alternately, as with a recent actual JetBlue flight, it’s the pilot who weaves and wobbles down the aisle, having a nervous breakdown until he’s subdued by air marshals.

See? Little differences.

Happy Flight (the title, if spoken in English by a Japanese native, or Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, might sound like “Happy Fright”) is one of 10 Japanese films showing at the festival (opening tomorrow), which is held in conjunction with Philippines-Japan Friendship Month. It’s a light comedy about the inner workings of an airline — the many, many, many things that can go wrong on a single day, and on a single flight, from cabin to pilot’s seat — but it’s also a bit of a thriller, as rookie pilot Suzuki Kazuhiro and cabin attendant Saito Etsuko try to keep things on even keel during a short trip from Haneda to Honolulu. You discover dozens more things to worry about when flying — like the possibility that a mechanic has left a wrench inside an intake shaft while doing a repair, or that seagulls can seriously eff up an engine mid-flight.

(Safe to say it won’t be shown as in-flight entertainment on Japan Airlines.)

The Eiga Sai is also flying high, bringing a wide range of Japanese cinema, all offered, as usual, free to patrons at Shangri-La Plaza Cineplex (tickets are limited, so line up early). In addition to light comedy, there’s the opening film, Villain, a dark-edged tale starring award-winning actress Fukatsu Eri as a sales clerk who takes up with a murderer on the run. It promises to be grittier than the usual Eiga Sai fare. Comic books and fantasy have a strong showing as well, with Colorful, Ninja Kids, PEAK: The Rescuers and Abacus and Sword all being screened.

Here’s a complete lineup:

Villain. Fukatsu Eri plays sales clerk Mitsuyo, a woman on the run with a murderer.

PEAK: The Rescuers. An adventure film and drama based on the popular comics by Ishizuka Shinichi, following the story of Sanpo, who volunteers as a mountain rescuer in the Northern Alps after having conquered the world’s famous peaks.

Railways. Businessman Hajime, who is in line to be the head of a prominent electronics company, instead returns home after his mother falls ill and his best friend is killed in an accident. There he revisits his childhood dream of becoming a train conductor.

Happy Flight. Set onboard Flight No. 1980 bound for Honolulu from Japan, which is forced to head back to Japan due to technical failures and must be landed in the face of an approaching typhoon. 

Tomorrow’s Joe. An exciting live adaptation of Takamori Asao and Chiba Tetsuya’s eponymous comic, regarded as a brilliant feat in Manga history. The story revolves around two boxing rivals—a recruit from the slums and a professional fighter—who engage in a fierce battle that will determine both their fates.

In His Chart. A medical drama based on the debut novel of Natsukawa Sosuke. An eye-opening glimpse into Japan’s healthcare issues in its provinces, the film follows the growth of young doctor Ichito, who encounters terminal cancer patient Azumi and questions the very existence of medicine.

Colorful. An animated sci-fi and fantasy film showing what happens to a deceased soul that was transferred into the body of high school boy Kobayashi Makoto, who just committed suicide. With Kobayashi’s body regaining life, the soul inhabits him and journeys deeper into the boy’s story, eventually uncovering the truth behind the suicide.

Abacus and Sword. A family drama and film adaptation of Isoda Michifumi’s book chronicling life in the final days of the Tokugawa shogunate from the household accounts of a low-ranking samurai.

Ninja Kids. A live action adaptation of Amako Soubei’s well-loved ninja action manga, following the comical slapstick antics of a group of boys who are elite ninjas-in-training. In this film, the spotlight is on Ninja Academy first grader Rantaro and friends and fellow students Shinbee and Kirimaru as they commit constant blunders in school.

Permanent Nobara. A love story for grown-ups based on the popular manga series of the same title by Saibara Rieko. Naoko returns home with her young daughter, where her mother runs a beauty parlor and local women go there to lament their bad luck with men and laugh over dirty jokes. However, unbeknownst to them, Naoko has been secretly seeing her former teacher Kashima. 

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For showtimes and inquiries on Eiga Sai Film Festival, contact 633-7851 loc. 113 or log on to www.shangrila-plaza.com.