SCREENING

ArtScience on Screen: The Modern Fables of Masaaki Yuasa

Yakitori, yakuza, and mermaids collide in the wonderfully kaleidoscopic genius mind of acclaimed Japanese animator and director Masaaki Yuasa.

An illustrious career spanning almost two decades, Yuasa is the first Japanese animator since Hayao Miyazaki (1992) to win the top animation award from the prestigious Annecy Festival.

With a wildly diverse resume ranging from gore-horror anime such as Devilman Crybaby to children’s classics like Crayon Shin-chan to even international favourites such as Adventure Time, Yuasa’s style can be described as lovechild variation between Dali, Disney and Ghibli – surreal yet expressive, eccentric yet lovable, and doused in unapologetically fun-filled freneticism with memorable, empowering characters.

In this programme, we carve out four iconic slices of Yuasa’s illustrious career - a quintessential representation of his signature style that serve as modern fables. From his first ever feature Mind Game (2004) that has become a sleeper hit, to his Annecy-winning Lu Over The Wall (2017), to the very enigmatic pop-culture madness of Japanese drinking culture in The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (2017), and finally capping it off with his beloved surf-pop love story Ride Your Wave (2019), strap in, it’s gonna be a wild ride!

Ride Your Wave (2019)
96 minutes | PG (Brief Nudity)
Japanese with English Subtitles

Winner – Best Animated Feature, Fantasia Film Festival 2019

Admission: FREE

Showtimes:
Mon – Fri | 5pm
Sat & Sun | 10.30pm & 3pm
15 Apr, Good Friday | 10.30am & 3pm
*No showtimes on 9 – 11 Mar & 13 – 14 Apr

Hinako is a free-spirited girl who loves nothing more than surfing and being near the sea. Her life takes an unexpected turn upon meeting suave fireman Minato whom she is able to share her passion with.

But not all stories have happy endings and tragedy strikes and Hinako is forced to contemplate an uncertain future – that is until waves bring back an unexpected surprise back into her life once again.

Screening courtesy of a Really Good Film Company Limited.
Mind Game (2004)
105 minutes | NC16 (Some Sexual Scenes and Violence)
Japanese with English Subtitles

Best Film, Best Director, Best Script, & Special Award for Visual Accomplishment, Fantafestival 2005

Admission: S$8

Showtimes:
Sun: 6, 13, 20, 27 Mar | 5pm
Sun: 3 & 10 Apr | 5pm

A fantastical, pop-psychedelic trip surrounding a boy (Nishi) who met with an unfortunate – and comical – demise at the hands of the yakuza in a nondescript yakitori restaurant while trying to save his childhood sweetheart from them.

Transcending into a post-life void, Nishi is given an unconventional second chance at life – and he sure as hell (or heaven) isn’t going to waste it!

Featuring a delightful myriad of styles ranging from rotoscopy, watercolour and hand-drawn animation, Yuasa bends all the rules in visual storytelling to craft an unforgettable modern fable of loss, courage, redemption and revenge.
Lu Over The Wall (2017)
112 minutes | PG
Japanese with English Subtitles

Winner – Best Feature Film, Annecy International Film Festival 2017

Admission: FREE

Showtimes:
Mon – Fri | 2pm
Sat & Sun | 12.30pm
15 Apr, Good Friday | 12.30pm
*No showtimes on 9 – 11 Mar & 13 – 14 Apr

Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. When his classmates invite him to play the keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance - whether they want to or not. As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form.
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (2017)
93 minutes | M18 (Some Sexual Scenes)
Japanese with English Subtitles

Winner – Best Anime Feature, Japan Academy Awards 2017

Admission: S$8

Showtimes:
Sat: 5, 12, 19, 26 Mar | 5pm
Good Friday: 15 Apr | 5pm
Sat: 2, 9, 16 Apr | 5pm
Sun: 17 Apr | 5pm

Combining the fever dream sequences of Terry Gilliam with the surrealist strokes of Maya Deren, Yuasa charts one young girl’s insanely long night of partying where she meets a cast of eccentric characters at every turn, each stranger than the next.

Convinced that her stars are guiding her to something – or somewhere – important, she roams around the modern-day streets of Kyoto in a tireless search, embarking on one raucous, alcohol-fuelled adventure after another until she arrives at a second-hand antique bookstore – where her journey takes an unexpected turn.
Ride Your Wave (2019)
96 minutes | PG (Brief Nudity)
Japanese with English Subtitles

Winner – Best Animated Feature, Fantasia Film Festival 2019

Admission: FREE

Showtimes:
Mon – Fri | 5pm
Sat & Sun | 10.30pm & 3pm
15 Apr, Good Friday | 10.30am & 3pm
*No showtimes on 9 – 11 Mar & 13 – 14 Apr

Hinako is a free-spirited girl who loves nothing more than surfing and being near the sea. Her life takes an unexpected turn upon meeting suave fireman Minato whom she is able to share her passion with.

But not all stories have happy endings and tragedy strikes and Hinako is forced to contemplate an uncertain future – that is until waves bring back an unexpected surprise back into her life once again.

Screening courtesy of a Really Good Film Company Limited.
Mind Game (2004)
105 minutes | NC16 (Some Sexual Scenes and Violence)
Japanese with English Subtitles

Best Film, Best Director, Best Script, & Special Award for Visual Accomplishment, Fantafestival 2005

Admission: S$8

Showtimes:
Sun: 6, 13, 20, 27 Mar | 5pm
Sun: 3 & 10 Apr | 5pm

A fantastical, pop-psychedelic trip surrounding a boy (Nishi) who met with an unfortunate – and comical – demise at the hands of the yakuza in a nondescript yakitori restaurant while trying to save his childhood sweetheart from them.

Transcending into a post-life void, Nishi is given an unconventional second chance at life – and he sure as hell (or heaven) isn’t going to waste it!

Featuring a delightful myriad of styles ranging from rotoscopy, watercolour and hand-drawn animation, Yuasa bends all the rules in visual storytelling to craft an unforgettable modern fable of loss, courage, redemption and revenge.