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The Gaijin Ghost

A photoblog, where you become the phantom foreigner, exploring travel destinations in Japan.
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'The Last Jedi' Press Tour Comes to Tokyo

December 8, 2017

There’s only one week left until Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters in Japan and around the world. The global press tour for this movie has already been making the rounds in places like Mexico City, and on the night of Wednesday, December 6, 2017, writer-director Rian Johnson, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and stars Mark Hamill and Adam Driver came to Tokyo to promote the new film. One by one, their cars pulled up to Roppongi Hills Arena, where they took part in a red carpet event and stage greeting, followed by a Q&A and a special screening of 13 minutes from The Last Jedi at Toho Cinemas Roppongi.

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Tags star wars in japan, tokyo international film festival

Al Gore on stage at the closing ceremony of the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival.

An Inconvenient Time to Talk About 'An Inconvenient Truth' and Its Sequel [TIFF-JP 2017]

November 17, 2017

Though he professes to be a “recovering politician,” Al Gore, the 45th Vice President of the United States, is a name that still might serve to politicize and polarize discussions with people of fervent, long-held beliefs. Especially when those discussions relate to the so-called “hoax” of climate change. Some voters who aren’t fans of Gore and didn’t cast a ballot for him back in the 2000 presidential election could very well reject what he says out-of-hand, simply because they have fixed notions about who he is and what he stands for.

In my experience, I’ve found that seeing a public figure in person (or maybe just seeing a public figure as a person) can have a disarming effect. It’s not so much being starstruck — mooning over a politician the way you would a celebrity — as it is just realizing that the face you saw on TV is a walking, talking human being whose body language you can now observe.

You suddenly find yourself staring at this living caricature whose intentions you must parse. Are they just a traveling salesperson, feeding you a line about something? Or are they a true believer? Do they have their heart in the right place?

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Tags tokyo international film festival
View fullsize TIFFJP_2017_059_3x4-Tommy-Lee-Jones.jpg
View fullsize TIFFJP_2017_061_3x4-Tommy-Lee-Jones.jpg

Tommy Lee Jones on Film Festivals [TIFF-JP 2017]

November 3, 2017

Actor Tommy Lee Jones served as president of the competition jury at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. During his parting speech at tonight’s closing ceremony, he shared these comments.

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Tags tokyo international film festival
Gutland poster art by Gilles Vranckx.

Gutland poster art by Gilles Vranckx.

In 'Gutland,' the Vibes Are Bad in the Good Land [TIFF-JP 2017]

November 1, 2017

“One day a fugitive appears in a village. He enjoys the calm, friendly atmosphere there, but also senses that something is not quite right.”

This is the simple but intriguing setup for the movie Gutland, provided by the official guide to the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival (hereafter referred to as TIFF-JP, in order to differentiate it from the Toronto International Film Festival, where Gutland made its world premiere in September).

Writer-director Govinda Van Maele, who hails from Luxembourg, first emerged on the film festival circuit ten years ago with a short film entitled Josh. It seems only fitting, then, that the winsome gut lord behind The Gaijin Ghost — coincidentally also named Josh — should take a quick stab at reviewing Gutland. The film screened in competition at TIFF-JP yesterday, and it marks a very assured debut feature for Van Maele.

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Tags tokyo international film festival
The main hall of Hanazono, a Shinto shrine in Shinjuku, Tokyo, whose bells are said to be the inspiration for the face of the Disney character Baymax.

The main hall of Hanazono, a Shinto shrine in Shinjuku, Tokyo, whose bells are said to be the inspiration for the face of the Disney character Baymax.

The Shinjuku Shrine That Inspired the Face of Baymax in 'Big Hero 6'

April 29, 2017

In 2014, the Disney animated feature Big Hero 6 made its world premiere at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival. It was an obvious choice for this film to debut in Japan’s capital, given that Japanese culture played such a heavy influence on the film’s production design.

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Tags golden gai, shinjuku, tokyo international film festival, film-lover's guide to japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks onstage between acting legend Meryl Streep and other VIPs at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 25, 2016.

The Tokyo International Film Festival: 2015–2016 Photo Tour

November 3, 2016

Every year in late October, the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF-JP) kicks off in the Roppongi Hills complex, located in the affluent ward of Minato. 2015 and 2016 were no different; the 45 images in this post relate to those years, when globally renowned actors and directors like Koji Yakusho, Helen Mirren, Robert Zemeckis, and Meryl Streep made appearances. The focus here is the festival’s opening day, where you’ll see what it’s like to attend a screening, and then engage in a bit of people-watching from the public viewing area during the red carpet ceremony.

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Tags tokyo international film festival, film-lover's guide to japan