15
Gauche the Cellist
DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata.
CAST: Hideki Sasaki, Fuyumi Shiraishi, Kaneta Kimotsuki, Masashi Amenomori. 1982. 63 min. Japan. Color. Japanese. DCP.
Pom Poko
Thu, Feb 10 | 7:30pm | TMT
A motley band of tanuki—shapeshifting wild raccoons—must battle humans to protect the idyllic Tama Hills from being converted into a bustling suburb. Takahata’s epic is a playful and entertaining adventure brimming with visual delights and surprises—the film’s nocturnal spirit parade is a showstopper that foreshadows Spirited Away . A huge hit in Japan that remains an under-screened gem in the Ghibli catalog, Pom Poko infuses Japanese mythology with madcap energy.
DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata.
CAST: Shincho Kokontei, Makoto Nonomura, Yuriko Ishida, Norihei Miki.
1994. 119 min. Japan. Color. Japanese. 35mm.
The Story of Yanagawa Waterways
Sat, Feb 12 | 2pm | TMT
A fascinating outlier in Takahata’s filmography, The Story of Yanagawa Waterways is a poetic documentary about the ways nature and humanity impact one another. In Japan’s southern Fukuoka Prefecture, the city of Yanagawa has nearly 300 miles of water- ways snaking through it. Takahata elegantly traces how these canals have been both boon and burden to locals. Employing a range of cinematic techniques including stop-motion, aerial photography, and animation, Takahata’s rarely screened film is a classic Ghibli tale of traditions challenged by technology.
DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata.
1987. 165 min. Japan. Color. Japanese. DCP.
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