AnyMart (Japan, 2026)
Official Synopsis
Sakai, the protagonist, works as an assistant manager at a local convenience store. Outside of work, he lives a quiet, routine life — playing online games and using dating apps — having spent most of his twenties tied to the store. The store is his entire world. And yet, beyond its doors, the world itself seems to be coming to an end.
Review
Shõta Sometani as Sakai, a clerk at the convenience store owned by his gruff, stick-to-corporate-rules father, gives a fine performance. His character is all but dead on the inside at work, and not much motivated socially or otherwise outside of his job, although he attempts romantic connections, awkward though they may be. Sometani nails this everyman character as writer/director Yusuke Iwasaki uses the konbini and his protagonist as a representation of the frustrations of twentysomething life in modern Japan. The kills are sudden and often shocking, the gore is impressive, and the existential horror is palpable.
A Weapon in My Heart (Japan, 1996)
Official Synopsis
A call girl named Alice stiffs a gang boss for his money but is arrested by police officers Goro and Yoshioka. The gang won’t let this stop them and set an ambush, killing Yoshioka and forcing Alice and Goro to go on the run.
Review
A product of Japan’s V-cinema age, A Weapon in My Heart is a fun crime thriller that doesn’t care about its meager budget. It delivers surreality, chase scenes, fight scenes, and humor, all reminiscent of the heyday of Nikkatsu action movies. Writer/director Shinji Aoyama delivers an always entertaining film that features multiple antagonists including one who feels one step removed from a stalk-and-slash horror villain, cops who gamble on the chances of criminals escaping, and a street-smart femme fatale. Mika Aoba is mesmerizing in that latter role, and it is unfortunate that her entire body of work seems to be this one and a small part as a stripper in 1998’s Screwed, because she is highly impressive here and the camera absolutely loves her.
AnyMart and A Weapon in My Heart screened at Jeonju International Film Festival, which ran April 29–May 8 in Jeonju, South Korea.
