Emi-Abi - Japan Cuts 2016

Emi-Abi
エミアビのはじまりとはじまり (Emiabi no Hajimari to Hajimari)
Sunday, July 24, 4:30 PM
WORLD PREMIERE
Introduction and Q&A with director Kensaku Watanabe
Up-and-coming manzai stand-up comedy duo Emi-Abi has lost consummate funny man Unno (a surprisingly touching Tomoya Maeno) to an accident, leaving conceited straight man Jitsudo (Ryu Morioka) to contend with his diminished career prospects as a bland, pretty face entertainer. Guided by his manager Natsumi (Haru Kuroki), who demonstrates stronger comedy chops than her own star, Jitsudo comes to learn the circumstances of his friend's passing, as well as the life-and-death stakes of a career in comedy. Demonstrating a careful balance of tone across tragedy and deadpan and gross-out humor, writer/director Kensaku Watanabe expands Emi-Abi's hilarious premise into a strikingly assured meditation on artistic rivalry and self-actualization.
2016. 88 min. HDCAM, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kensaku Watanabe. With Ryu Morioka, Tomoya Maeno, Haru Kuroki, Hirofumi Arai, Mari Yamachi.
Director Kensaku Watanabe awarded Japan Academy Prize for Best Screenplay for Yuya Ishii’s The Great Passage.
Part of JAPAN CUTS 2016.
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