For the script of happy hour by hamaguchi ryusuke, japan for the cinematography by shai goldman for tikkun by avishai sivan, israel. In 20, he directed touching the skin of eeriness and happy hour in 2015. Cowriterdirector ryusuke hamaguchis whose first film in 2007 was a remake of solaris. The locarno film festival is an annual film festival held every august in locarno, switzerland. Developed through workshops with a cast of mostly newcomers the lead quartet shared the best actress award at the locarno film festival, and filled with absorbing sequences that flow almost in real time, happy hour comes to life through novelistic depth and texture. In the competition lineup at locarno, it was the longest film by some. Happy hour has a predilection for observation that is gently dramatic and surprisingly tense. Watch happy hour a film in 3 parts online vimeo on. Four japanese women together won the best actress award on saturday at the locarno international film festival in switzerland for their performances in the. It came out of an improvisational acting workshop he held for nonprofessionals, with many of the film s performers having participated in the workshop. At some point everyone needs an attitude adjustment. Four japanese win best actress award at locarno film festival.
It came out of an improvisational acting workshop he held for nonprofessionals, with many of the film s performers having participated in. Four thirtysomething female friends in the misty seaside city of kobe navigate the unsteady currents of their work, domestic, and romantic lives. A japanese double bluray set is being released on may 18th, 2018, with cast interviews called beyond happy hour 38 min. Ryusuke hamaguchis five hour epic happy hour has so far enjoyed a healthy international festival run, travelling to shanghai, spain, the united states, south korea and now finally in australia where it recently had its australian premiere at the melbourne international film festival the film stars a cast of unknown actors and focuses its attention on four. Aug 16, 2015 four japanese women together won the best actress award on saturday at the locarno international film festival in switzerland for their performances in the. They seek solace in one anothers company, but a sudden revelation creates a rift, and rouses each woman to take. This extraordinary film is awarded twice at the locarno festival. Happy hour new directorsnew films film at lincoln center. The film was voted the third best japanese film of 2015 in the kinema junpo poll of critics.
The four lead actresses shared the best actress award and the film earned a special mention for its script at the 2015 locarno film festival. Sachie tanaka, hazuki kikuchi, maiko mihara and rira kawamura. In happy hour, and particularly in that beautiful scene on the ferry, the world is not just gliding byit is being slid into place before our eyes, as if for the first time. Home about news deadlines pro press locarno boutique previous next. Collecting a special mention at locarno for its script, along with the best actress award shared collectively between its four leads, ryusuke hamaguchis happy hour is a joyfully discursive. This intimate epic by the previously littleknown hamaguchi was the revelation of several 2016 film festivals including locarno and new directorsnew films and a highranker on several bestoftheyear lists including the new yorker and slant. Asian films dominated major awards at the 68th locarno film festival which wrapped today. The film had its world premiere at the 68th locarno festival on 14 august 2015. In 2015 his feature fiction happy hour was selected for the official competition of ff locarno, where it won a leopard for the best actress given to the ensemble cast and a special.
Hong sangsoos right now, wrong then from south korea took the golden leopard for best film and best. Aug 24, 2016 a fivehour japanese film captures the agonizing intimacies of daily life. Locarno film festival announces 2015 open door awards. One day, after losing in divorce court, one of them gives up on a future with their partner and disappears. Locarno fest launches industry academy exclusive variety. The narrative centers on four women in their midthirties in the hilly port city of kobe. Aug 17, 2015 here are the 2015 locarno film festival winners. Happy hour new zealand international film festival. Sep 30, 2018 winner of awards at major international festivalsincluding locarno, where stars sachie tanaka, hazuki kikuchi, maiko mihara and rira kawamura shared the golden leopard for best actresshappy hour has brought new attention to the work and career of one of japans most talented young directors.
A married film director falls for a young painter twice. Started in 1995 connecting films to festivals, reporting and promoting festivals worldwide a brand new website will soon be available. A powerful affirmation of the immersive potential of cinema. Epic doesnt always have to be grandiose, and ryusuke hamaguchis subtle five hour drama is proof. Happy hour is a slowburning epic chronicling the emotional journey of four. Buoyed by remarkable performances from its four leadsnonprofessional actresses discovered at an improvisational theater workshopwho shared the best actress prize at the 2015 locarno film festival, happy hour crafts complex, fullyrealized characters and nuanced relationships, building to a slowburn melodramatic climax that is riveting. Jul 27, 2016 breaking the film up into more digestible sections, however, may ruin what hamaguchi so successfully achieves. The best actress prize was split between the four leads of ryusuke hamaguchis happy hour.
Dan sullivan in film comment stated that buoyed by four captivating performances from its unheralded actresses, happy hour is a fascinating, towering confection of contradictions. Tanaka sachie, kikuchi hazuki, mihara maiko, kawamura rira for happy hour by hamaguchi ryusuke, japan. Happy hour, a work of distinctly modern cinema, reaches deep into. Four japanese win best actress award at locarno film. Special mention for the script of happy hour by hamaguchi ryusuke, japan. Happy hour at hotel locarno in rome travel through italy. Happy hour at hotel locarno in rome is a hip place to be.
But its also the kind of immersive, intensely moving experience that remains. In 2015 his feature fiction happy hour was selected for the official competition of ff locarno, where it won a leopard for the best actress given to the ensemble cast and a special mention for its script. The latter, which lasts more than five hours, tells the life of four girls linked by a fragile friendship when one of them disappears. Developed through workshops with a cast of mostly newcomers the extraordinary lead quartet shared the best actress award at the locarno film festival, and filled with absorbing sequences that flow almost in real time, happy hour has a novelistic depth and texture. This intimate epic by the previously littleknown hamaguchi was the revelation of several 2016 film festivals including locarno and new directorsnew films and a highranker on several bestoftheyear. Winner of awards at major international festivalsincluding locarno, where stars sachie tanaka, hazuki kikuchi, maiko mihara and rira kawamura shared the golden leopard for best actress happy hour. A film by ryusuke hamaguchi an icarus films release. Representing film and tv directors in europe since 1980. Japanese film wins award at locarno film fest august 15, 2015 by emanuellevy japanese director hamaguchi ryusukes happy hour took a joint best actress award for ensemble players tanaka sachie, kikuchi hazuki, mihara maiko and kawamura rira, with a special mention for its script. With a grandeur and detail afforded by its running time, happy hour explores that balance through a feat of fortitude and the poise of simply being there between friends. Certainly, theres a great deal going on here during the five hour running time, and the film is a fine example of patient. Founded in 1946, it is one of the longestrunning film festivals, and is also known for being a prestigious platform for art house films. Ben konigsberg in the new york times wrote that if happy hour doesnt quite deliver all it promises, that may only be because it promises quite a lot.
But also, when seen alongside the other more stylized, formally assertive works in the competition, happy hour certainly seems more like highminded television, perhaps an experimental variation on a conventional asian soap. Happy hour is a slowburning epic chronicling the emotional journey of four thirtysomething women in the misty seaside city of kobe. Hats off to moma for giving an extraordinary new filmhappy hour, directed by. Aug 15, 2015 asian films dominated major awards at the 68th locarno film festival which wrapped today. Yet the four awardwinning leads, collectively given best actress at the 2015 locarno international film festival, ensure that that time is spent exploring the most human of moments. In the city, hotel locarno is known for their aperitivo. His next film happy hour was first developed while hamaguchi was an artist in residence at kiito design and creative center kobe in 20. In the competition lineup at locarno, it was the longest film by some distance at five hours and 17 minutes. Yet this is no arty lav diaz epic, but rather a sprawling, realistic drama of four female friends in their late 30s who each come to reconsider their relationships as one.
A fivehour japanese film captures the agonizing intimacies. Following the lives of four female friends, happy hour investigates the women at midlife and their friendship as they each work through personal struggles and events that will send them slowly spiraling. With sachie tanaka, hazuki kikuchi, maiko mihara, rira kawamura. Four female friends in the dawn of adulthoodsakurako hazuki kikuchi, fumi maiko mihara, akari sachie tanaka, and jun rira kawamuraattend a. Right now, wrong then, happy hour take top prizes at. Hamaguchi mounts an epic film of intimate gestures that unfolds in great lapping movements containing minute stanzas of heartbreak, in which a meditation class, a postworkshop happy hour, a divorce hearing, and a book reading are allowed to exist both as worlds onto themselves as well as links in chains comprising larger existences. Hamaguchi developed the script from acting workshops with mostly nonprofessionals, including the four leads, who took home a collective best actress prize at the 2015 locarno film festival for their sensitive, subtle portrayals of these women at a major crossroads. It has and continues to be a stage and retreat for famous film actors, directors, writers, producers and musicians. Hamaguchi builds his character drama not only out of conversations but also.
Mar 27, 2016 developed through workshops with a cast of mostly newcomers the extraordinary lead quartet shared the best actress award at the locarno film festival, and filled with absorbing sequences that flow almost in real time, happy hour has a novelistic depth and texture. The precious balance holding together four best friends is tested when one announces that she will be divorcing her husband. The wellknown director bernard weber directed his film hotel locarno here in 1978. Happy hour is a film that doesnt rely on having one idea, but many. The medium is one thing, but a long film should never just be randomly sliced up for the sake of consumption. By allowing for space in happy hour for these more passive forms of social interaction, hamaguchi shows what both art cinema and tv dramedies omit, yielding a highly unusual, uppermiddlebrow atmosphere for the reception of new ideas. Here are the 2015 locarno film festival winners indiewire. Oct 20, 2015 ryusuke hamaguchis happy hour received two awards from the locarno film festival 2015 for best actresses and special mention for script. The unusual way in which the director allows most of his scenes time to develop, to grow and transform, makes this film about love, friendship and balance, one of a kind. I could have kept on watching it building further layers for another five and a half hours. Nov 21, 2017 winner of awards at major international festivalsincluding locarno, where stars sachie tanaka, hazuki kikuchi, maiko mihara and rira kawamura shared the golden leopard for best actresshappy hour has brought new attention to the work and career of one of japans most talented young directors.
Those two scenes in particular are magnificent tests of selfreflection for the characters, epic jousts of chicanery that are also brilliant allegories for friendship. Jun, akari, sakurako and fumi truly believe that they can. At happy hour films, we aim to serve up an attitude adjustment without the hangover. As most japanese films focus on human experiences in everyday life, ryusuke hamaguchi presents a five hour indepth storyline behind womens daily lives which are based on emotions and. Yet, there is hope that happy hour will find a postfestival home on a streaming service. His recent fiction films are a feature film intimacies 2012 and touching the skin of eeriness 20 starring premio marcello mastroianni winner, shota sometani. Locarno nomination for the european film awards premio pianifica fils du loup by lola quivoron, france.
Happy hour 2015 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. As they navigate the unsteady currents of their work, domestic, and romantic lives a sudden, unexpected rift opens between that propels each to a new, richer understanding of life. Locarno, switzerland four japanese women together won the best actress award on saturday at the locarno international film festival in switzerland for their performances in the film happy. Four japanese women together won the best actress award on saturday at the locarno international film festival in switzerland for their performances in the film happy hour, festival organizers said. Developed through workshops with a cast of most newcomers the extraordinary lead quartet shared the best actress award at the locarno film festival, and filled with absorbing sequences that flow almost in real time, happy hour has a novelistic depth and texture. Winner of awards at major international festivalsincluding locarno, where stars. Winner of awards at major international festivalsincluding locarno, where stars sachie tanaka, hazuki kikuchi, maiko mihara and rira kawamura shared the golden leopard for best actresshappy hour has brought new attention to the work and career of one of japans most talented young directors. Winner of awards at major international festivalsincluding locarno, where stars sachie tanaka, hazuki kikuchi, maiko mihara and rira kawamura shared the golden leopard for best actress happy hour has brought new attention to the work and career of one of japans most talented young directors. Watch happy hour a film in 3 parts online vimeo on demand.
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