17th New York Asian Film Festival

Jun 29 - Jul 15, 2018

FilmsGuestsTalks & EventsSchedule & Tickets

Photo: © 2017 Liverleaf Film Partners / Rensuke Oshikiri / Futabasha Publishers Ltd

North American Premiere

Liverleaf

ミスミソウ

This inspired manga adaptation creeps up on you and packs a wallop. Haruka, a high school student who has just moved to a small town, endures relentless bullying with the stiffest upper lip since Kaji Meiko in the Female Prisoner Scorpion series. Only the handsome and honorable Mitsuru takes her side, further enraging her tormentors. After the hazing escalates to unfathomable proportions, Haruka metamorphoses—and shit gets real. Director Naito Eisuke elicits nuanced characterizations from his talented young cast while deftly unspooling a pressure-cooker narrative bursting with madness, twists, and catharses.

Director: Naito Eisuke
Cast: Otsuka Rena, Morita Aki, Otani Rinka, Shimizu Hiroya, Anna Yamada
Languages: Japanese with English subtitles
2018; 114 min.; DCP

SCHEDULE:

Sunday July 8, 7:00pm
Film Society of Lincoln Center

Q&A with director Naito Eisuke

Naito Eisuke
内藤瑛亮

A graduate of the Film School of Tokyo, Naito Eisuke first gained notice with his 16mm-shot splatter short The Prince of Milk (2008) about a lactose-intolerant serial killer of schoolgirls. It introduced many of the motifs of his future features. His hour-long Let's Make the Teacher Have a Miscarriage Club (NYAFF 2012) gained attention not only for its sensational title but also for its darkly black humor. Naito extended his fan base with Puzzle (2014) that combined his politically incorrect content with candy-colored highschool weirdness. He attends NYAFF with Liverleaf, a surprisingly poetic film with nuanced performances about teenage bullying.