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「FilmmakerLife」Best Creator 2024

「FilmmakerLife」誌の選ぶ、"2024年のベストクリエイター"の一人に選出

"Meditative and hypnotic"
「​瞑想的で魔術的」

FilmmakerLife  Magazine 

 

 

LONELY WOLF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL(England)

ロンリーウルフ国際映画祭(英国)

 ”Forest Island  is not merely a film; It serves as an exemplar of what cinema, when rendered with passion and precision, can achieve. As the credits roll, one feels both a weight of profound reflection and the levity of having borne witness to cinematic brilliance.”

 

Forest Island」は、単なる映画ではなく、詩的誘惑、黙想、自然、記憶、音楽が交錯した祝祭的な空間である。情熱と繊細さによって、映画が何を達成できるかの見本である。エンドロールクレジットが流れると、深い省察の重みと映画的知性の軽やかさを同時に感じることだろう。

 

 

FOREST ISLAND review of LONELY WOLF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ​ In the dimly lit echo chambers of global cinema, Ryosuke Handa unveils the timeless tale of FOREST ISLAND a delicate introspection into the fragility of human spirit, entwined with nature's perennial evocations. With undertones reminiscent of Ozu’s quiet meditations on life and death, Handa escorts us on a serenely tempestuous voyage into the heart of the Boso Peninsula, where the whispers of leaves synchronize with the heartbeats of its characters. An evocative piece set in the tumultuous backdrop of World War II, the narrative juxtaposes the thunder of war with the silence of nature, amplified only by Bach's mournful notes from a hand-made cello. The film, much like Tarkovsky’s *The Mirror*, engages the audience in a psychoanalytic exploration of the past's haunting, an embodiment of memory and music as catharsis. Mogami’s portrayal of the mother brings to mind the poignant depth of Setsuko Hara in *Tokyo Story*. She imbues her character with a subtleness, wrestling with grief, hope, and the ethereal tethering to her lost son. Pere Jovanov, as the wounded soldier, articulates pain and solace through the strings of his cello, becoming a conduit of both his own memories and those of the mother's departed son. The forest, alive with Keiun Kim’s portrayal of tree spirits, adds an ethereal layer to this intricate tapestry, playing silent witness to the sorrows of war, reminiscent of the forest spirits in Miyazaki’s *Princess Mononoke*. The ghost, an almost Shakespearean chorus, carries with him a kettle, a symbol of his unfulfilled purpose, echoing the mournful lament of the cello. In a scene where the mother hears the kettle's distant resonance, we're reminded of the unspoken words and lingering emotions that often hang in the air, forever awaiting acknowledgment. Handa’s prior venture, "Alicematonika", hinted at his capacity to traverse realms beyond mere realism, and with forest island, he perfects this dalliance with the ethereal. The sound scores, curated meticulously by Yamanaka, Fujii, Fuwa, and Tadokoro, become characters themselves, weaving seamlessly through the narrative, much like the wind rustling through the trees. The film's color palette, a delicate balance between the verdant forest and the earth-toned interiors of the cottage, evokes a melancholy synonymous with Wong Kar-wai’s *In the Mood for Love*. The digital cinematography captures the serenity of the forest with the sharpness of contemporary cinematography, yet maintaining an old-world charm, an ode to Japan's rich celluloid history. In a world inundated with visual narratives, FOREST ISLAND stands as a testament to the enduring power of subtlety. Handa beckons us to listen not just to the voices of the characters but to the silences they inhabit. As he eloquently states, he attempts to hear the voices of nature itself, transcending the human. By the end, we're left wondering whether we are mere visitors in nature's grand narrative or active participants in its eternal symphony. In conclusion FOREST ISLAND is not merely a film; it is a poetic invitation, a meditation, and a celebration of the interplay between nature, memory, and music. It serves as an exemplar of what cinema, when rendered with passion and precision, can achieve. As the credits roll, one feels both a weight of profound reflection and the levity of having borne witness to cinematic brilliance. Grade: A*

Wild Filmmaker    Top 10 best artist 2025​

Wild Filmmaker (イタリア)レビュー

 

" A work that feels

as though it has stepped out of another era—and yet, is entirely essential to our own."

Passacaglia

「まるで別の時代から立ち現れたかのようでいて、まさしく私たちの時代にこそ必要とされる作品」

 

 

                       

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Top Ten Best Artists 2025 英語・日本語対訳 Passacaglia By Ryosuke Handa In the noisy, hyper-accelerated cinematic landscape of 2025—where form too often burns out before thought can take root—Passacaglia by Ryosuke Handa emerges as a countercurrent gesture. Not merely a film, but an act of listening. Of subtraction. A work that feels as though it has stepped out of another era—and yet, is entirely essential to our own. Handa doesn’t simply direct a film; he carries within himself the entire great tradition of Japanese cinema. The silences of Ozu, the ritual composure of Mizoguchi, the human epic of Kurosawa, the quiet melancholy of Kore-eda: all of this pulses beneath the surface of Passacaglia. But not as a calligraphic homage—rather, as living substance, reimagined and internalized. It is a film deeply aware of its lineage, and for that very reason, free to venture beyond it. Narratively, Passacaglia is a fragile, unguarded labyrinth. No linear plot, no constructed emotional highs. Only time, light, breath. Faces that drift away. Minimal gestures, yet dense with meaning. Here, the frame becomes a space for meditation; editing becomes pause; the soundtrack—or its absence—speaks volumes. Every element seems to suggest that the viewer is not meant to “understand,” but to be permeated. For WILD FILMMAKER, a platform that has always sought the authentic and untamed gaze, Passacaglia has been a quiet jolt. It is not a “successful” film in the conventional sense—it is far more: a poetic stance. A vision of cinema as spiritual practice, as radical openness to impermanence and memory. That the film is beginning to gain recognition—at independent festivals, among discerning critics, through a near-whispered word of mouth—is proof that its language, however rarefied, resonates. Ryosuke Handa is a filmmaker to follow not for what he shows, but for what he holds in suspension. His cinema does not shout; it questions. It does not assert; it unfolds. And it reminds us—with a grace that now feels almost revolutionary—that even in an age of disposable images, it is still possible to create art. True art. Without compromise. With a breath that comes from far away. 2025年 ベストアーティスト Top 10 パッサカリア 伴田良輔 2025年、ノイズに満ちた加速的な映画の風景のなかで——表現が根を張る前に燃え尽きてしまうことがあまりに多い時代に——伴田良輔の『パッサカリア』は、逆流するような存在感を放つ。 それは単なる映画ではない。耳を澄ませる行為。引き算の芸術。 まるで別の時代から立ち現れたかのようでいて、まさしく私たちの時代にこそ必要とされる作品である。 伴田は、ただ映画を演出するのではない。彼の内には、日本映画の偉大な伝統が脈打っている。小津の静けさ、溝口の儀礼的な気品、黒澤の人間叙事詩、是枝の静謐な哀愁——これらすべてが、『パッサカリア』の底を流れている。しかし、それは決して表面的なオマージュではない。むしろ、生きた物質として再構成され、内面化されたものなのだ。この映画は自身の系譜を深く意識しながら、それゆえにこそ、その系譜を超えて進む自由を手にしている。 物語としての『パッサカリア』は、繊細で無防備な迷宮のようだ。明確な筋書きによって感情を操作することもない。あるのは、時間、光、呼吸。そしてとおりすぎる顔たち。最小限の動作が、しかし深い意味を湛えている。画面は瞑想の場となり、編集は間(ま)となる。音楽——あるいはその不在——が雄弁に語る。すべての要素が、観客に「理解」を求めているのではなく、「浸透」されることを目指しているように見える。  WILD FILMMAKER ——本物のまなざしと未開の視点を求めてきたこのプラットフォームにとって、『パッサカリア』は静かなる衝撃だった。それは一般的な意味での「成功した映画」ではない。それ以上のものだ。詩的な姿勢であり、映画を精神的な実践と捉えるひとつのビジョン——無常と記憶への根源的な開放としての映像表現。  この作品が静かに評価され始めていること——インディペンデント映画祭や、審美眼をもつ批評家たちの間で、ささやかに語り継がれながら——は、その稀有な言語が確かに届いていることの証だ。伴田良輔は、「何を見せるか」ではなく、「何を保留するか」によって注目すべき映画作家である。彼の映画は叫ばない。問いかける。断定しない。ゆっくりと、開かれていく。 そして彼の作品は私たちにそっと思い出させてくれる——今や革命的とすら思える優雅さをもって——たとえ使い捨ての映像があふれる時代であっても、真の芸術はなお創造しうるのだと。妥協なき芸術。遠いところから届くひと呼吸とともに。

『道 Passacaglia』 (2023) 予告編

2025年公開予定 

長編映画​『赤い自転車』

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