[Mini Theater Revisited] 28th Shibuya style trend, hot summer of mini theaters... Part 5 Bunkamura movie theater, Le Cinema

Asian movies are also big hits.

◉Director Wong Kar-wai's masterpiece ``In the Mood for Love'' (2000) received rave reviews for the mature, adult performances of Maggie Cheung and Tony Léon: The Professional. Director Zhang Yimou's ``The Road to First Love'' (1999) received rave reviews for Zhang Ziyi's innocent charm.

Generally speaking, there is a strong impression that the theater is strong on European films, mainly from France, but in fact, there are many unforgettable works of Asian films as well.

At the top of the list is director Chen Kaige's masterpiece `` Farewell My Concubine '' (1993, distributed by Herald Ace). It was released in February 1994, had a long run of 26 weeks (43 weeks in total), and grossed 170 million yen. It attracted 96,000 people, making it the theater's second-highest performance ever.

This is a drama that explores the love and lives of two men who work together as Peking Opera actors in China at the beginning of this century, and Leslie Cheung, who plays the female role, is stunningly beautiful. Gong Li, who plays the role of a former prostitute who intervenes between the men, also has a powerful presence.

The powerful direction of Chen Kaige, one of China's ``fifth generation'' directors, and overwhelming camera work that captures the undulations of history. It's a solid drama and has been screened at the 10am Film Festival.

``This film won the Palme The Piano '' (1993), and luckily it was scheduled to be screened before the festival.Masato Hara of Herald Ace The company president [at the time] contacted me and said, ``Would you like to watch it?'' When I first saw it, there were no subtitles and I couldn't understand the details, but after that it won the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It was a pleasant surprise to receive the award.”

This was the first Asian film for Le Cinema, which had a strong European orientation.

``This film made a spectacular debut in Asia, and for 17 of the 26 weeks it was screened at Le Cinema 1 and 2.The audience was mostly male, and one person was 40. There were some people who saw the movie twice.At that time, there wasn't much information about China, and not much was revealed about the Cultural Revolution, which appears in the movie.There were also scenes where artists accused each other. However, for the "fifth generation" of China, this part was the core of creation, and some of them were forced into farming.As it is a story that spans many years, the age It's a work that becomes even more interesting when you see it after watching it.''

The first Kaiko film to be screened at a Japanese mini-theater (Cinema Square Tokyo) was ` `Yellow Earth '' (1984), but Herald Ace continued to distribute this director's works, and the company name was changed to Ace Pictures. Also distributed The Shadow of Flowers (1996), a love story starring Leslie Cheung and Gong Li. This Kaiko film was also screened at Le Cinema for 17 weeks (22 weeks in total), ranking 14th in the history.

Producer Nakamura recalls the following about Leslie Cheung, who took her own life at the age of 46 in 2003 while gaining popularity in Japan.

“Leslie in ``Farewell My Concubine'' showed us the beauty of Peking Opera. I was really shocked when he passed away. I'll never forget how they shook hands until the end of the conversation."

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Kaiko's human drama `` Beijing Violin '' (2002, Cinecanon), which has a classical music theme, also appeared at Le Cinema and was shown for 15 weeks. It ranks 19th on the all-time list (three Kaiko works are in the top 20).

In addition, `` The Road to First Love '' (1999, Sony Pictures), directed by Zhang Yimou, who is one of the ``fifth generation'' directors along with Chen Kaige, was screened for 24 weeks and ranked 5th on the all-time list. Zhang Ziyi, a new actress who replaced Gong Li as director Zhang Yimou's new muse, gained acclaim for her innocent and lovely performance. She was crying,'' says producer Nakamura.

On the other hand, a successful Asian film with a female audience in mind was Wong Kar-wai's 2001 film `` In the Mood for Love '' (co-distributed by 00, Shochiku, and Media Suit). Starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Léon: The Professional, who are both closely associated with Kar-Wai films, this is a love story for adults in which the love hidden deep in the heart is sensually expressed through the protagonist's gaze and finger movements. At the Cannes Film Festival that year, he won the Best Actor Award (Tony Léon: The Professional) and the French Film and Technical Committee Award.

``Kar-Wai's films had been screened at Cinemarise, such as `` Fallen Angels '' (1995) and ` ` Happy Together '' (1997), but I had always wanted to screen them at Le Cinema someday. I went to my house because it was aimed at women, and it was a really beautiful movie.The two leads have a charm that Westerners don't have, and I think that's what Asian beauty is all about.The Chinese dress that Maggie wore. was great, and Tony is sexy too."

As a result, the film ran for 15 weeks and remains a firm favorite with movie fans. At this time, it was also screened at Ginza Theater Cinema, and for Le Cinema, it became the beginning of the expansion of single theater performances that continue to this day.

Other Asian filmmakers include South Korean director Kim Ki-duk (“ Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring ” (2003), “ The Bow ” (2005), “ The Lamentation ” (12)), and Chinese director Jia Jang-koo ( `` Touch of Sin '' 〈13〉) has also appeared, and is said to be particularly popular among male fans.

However, I have never played a Japanese movie until now. When I asked him why, he replied simply, ``There's no distinction between films, so I haven't been particularly particular about it...''

``Especially when the box office positions of foreign and Japanese films reverse as they have recently, there are cases where films from small countries end up not being released, so I want to be a part of that process as much as possible. And even now.”

As a result, the box office seems to have focused on Western films rather than Japanese films. There is also a hidden desire for people to learn about unfamiliar countries through movies.

``As the Internet environment became better and we became more connected to the world, it became easier to gather information than before, and I feel that young people have stopped going out.However, it is important to see and listen. It's different. Movies are the best storytellers that open that window, and by facing movies, you can learn about a country's religion, family, customs, etc. You can use that as an opportunity to deepen your interest, and I would be really happy if you could go beyond that. Maybe that’s why I’m doing this job.”

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