カリスマ
Karisuma

Director: KUROSAWA Kiyoshi
1999, 103 minutes, OmeU, 35 mm

FSK from 16

This drama, which seems like a philosophical allegory, is about the conflicts surrounding a mysterious tree in a forest clearing.

Policeman Yabuike is entrusted with a hostage-taking in which he is ordered to "restore the law of the world". The situation escalates, hostage and kidnapper are killed and Yabuike is put on leave. He makes his way into a mountain forest, where he comes across a tree called "Charisma". Kept alive by an installation system, the tree seems to have the mysterious power to uproot plants in its vicinity. The young Kiriyama wants to save the tree, a plantation worker wants to cut it down and a botanist is spraying chemicals. Amidst the conflicting positions, Yabuike has to decide which path he wants to take.

Film series
Turning Point
Japanese films from the 1990s

The decline of the studio system in the 1980s and the bursting of the speculative bubble at the beginning of the 1990s marked a turning point in the Japanese film industry. A generation of directors emerged who created independent productions with great creativity and small budgets, giving the film landscape an exciting new impetus. The series shows eight titles that impressively express this change.

It opens with a tragicomedy by Sai Yôichi about the lives of social minorities(Tsuki wa dotchi ni dete iru), followed by the story of the (sexual) relationship between two runners by Hiroki Ryûichi(800 Two Lap Runners). Suwa Nobuhiro, on the other hand, paints a multi-layered portrait of a young couple(2/Dyuo) and Kurosawa Kiyoshi, the master of thrillers and horror films, provides deep insights into the abysses of the human psyche(Hebi no michi; Karisuma). In a mixture of tragedy and comedy, Sabu tells the story of an unsuspecting letter carrier(Posutoman burûsu), while Kawase Naomi focuses on the problems of a family in a rural region(Moe no Suzaku). Finally, Miike Takashi is represented with a yakuza film full of absurdities(Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha).

The film series takes place in cooperation with the Nippon Connection film festival in Frankfurt (27.05. - 01.06.2025). Further information can be found at https://nipponconnection.com/