‘Then Summer Came’ to premiere at NYAFF

As I posted here yesterday, this year’s New York Asian Film Festival features an impressive lineup of Japanese films - many of which will be screened for the first time in the US. Ryo Iwamatsu’s Then Summer Came will be screened for the first time anywhere, so I figured it’s as good a time as any to write about it. We first heard about this one last summer around this time when it was going by its working title “Soshite Natsu ga Kita” which actually does mean “Then Summer Came”. The Japanese title was then changed to “Tamio no Shiawase” which means “Happiness of Tamio”. The film is Iwamatsu’s first as a director since 1993’s “Ohaka to Rikon”. He’s more widely known as an actor, with roles in films like “In the Pool” and “Adrift in Tokyo”, but his work as a playwright and director has earned him a lot of respect within the industry.

The story revolves around a father named Nobuo (Yoshio Harada) and his son Tamio (Joe Odagiri). Both of them are kind of irresponsible - stuck in the trappings of their past, with neither seeming to be able to shed their respective roles as father and son. With Tamio’s marriage to his girlfriend (Kumiko Aso) rapidly approaching, both men are overwhelmed by everyone telling them what to do. The pair go to extraordinary and occasionally ridiculous lengths to make sure the wedding is memorable.

The supremely style-conscious seven-piece jazz/punk band Katteni Shiyagare handled all the music in the movie, so you know it’s going to be hep. Following the US premiere Then Summer Came will be released in Japan on July 19th.

And as luck would have it, the announcement of the NYAFF premiere coincides with a shiny new trailer:

Links:
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Tags: eri ishida, joe odagiri, kaoru kobayashi, ken mitsuishi, kiyoshiro imawano, kumiko aso, manami fuji, noriko eguchi, nyaff 2008, ryo iwamatsu, shinobu otake, suzuki matsuo, tetsushi tanaka, yoshio harada