Japan Film Festival Online 2022 - Oz Land, Sumodo

 

The Japan Film Festival Online is currently ongoing with its 2022 edition, featuring some well-known classics, films from past festivals and new gems waiting to be discovered. Join me as I talk shortly about selected films from this year's edition.

An eternal staple of Japanese film festivals and eigasais past are what I call "ganbatte!" films, where a newbie is introduced to a new job that is completely out of their element, learns the ins and outs of that job and learns to love it.

Oz Land in particular is about Kurumi Namihira (Haru), a hapless hotel employee who gets assigned to an amusement part in the sticks. She isn't particularly versed in amusement park operations so she struggles to get used to the job, but there's something rewarding about making people happy that eventually appeals to her.

The film seems to veer into romcom territory by introducing the character of Ozuka (Hidetoshi Nishijima of Drive My Car fame), who is responsible for most of the park's more interesting ideas. But ultimately the focus is on how Kurumi gets used to the job. 

Unlike other similar films, however, the film doesn't feel as immersive, and the sense of community is very limited, even within the scope of the handful of employees running the park. A crucial pair of pranks that bookend the film would probably be okay in Japan, but would be quite a bad look anywhere else.

Still, it's a pretty fun watch especially for fans of the two leads, who deliver fine performances and is worth the watch if only for that.

Sumo Wrestling is a sport that's not as well known outside Japan as other sports, but this documentary shows, it's a serious discipline that deserves attention. Sumodo follows sumo wrestlers from two different stables as they train and prepare for an eventual clash at Kokugikan Arena.

The training is brutal, even when compared to other martial sports: hours of continuous sparring and training with nary a break in between. It's far from the stereotypes that western media has presented to us, and there's a reason why these men are so massive but rarely have any problems with that weight gain until they stop competing. I do have some reservations with how the wrestlers fight through their injuries to compete - an attitude taht is dangerous for any sport - thankfully it hasn't resulted in any permanent damage to them.

The film also looks at the lives of these wrestlers outside their martial discipline, limited as it may be. There are hints detailing how training has changed over the years, in terms of public perception (training before was harsher on the mental health of the trainees) and it would have been an interesting subject to delve into, but the coverage does not dig too deep into it.

Sports in itself is storytelling, and the intersecting paths of the Sumo wrestlers create some amazing stories, twists and comebacks that one would think would only happen in the imagination of a creative writer. All in all, it's a fun ride.