Description

Born in Kochi Prefecture, Masashi Chikamori studied cinematography under Takashi Kawamata and Tetsuo Takaha after graduating from the Department of Cinema at the Nihon University College of Art. He made his debut in narrative films with Sotsugyo Proof in 1987, after working as an assistant in the production of films including Giwaku (Suspicion), Meiso Chizu (The Politicians), Kuroi Ame (Black Rain), and the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series (It’s Tough Being a Man). He began handling the cinematographic chores for the Salaryman Senka series [nos. 1 - 3] directed by Yuzo Asahara in 1995 and the Tsuribaka Nisshi series (Fishing Fool’s Diary) [nos. 14 - 20] by the same director in 2003. Beginning with Ototo (About Her Brother) in 2010, he shot films directed by Yoji Yamada as one of Japan’s leading cinematographers includnig the latest film Cinema no Kamisama (God of Cinema, or It's a Flickering Life).

Don’t miss this chance to see 12 films with cinematography by Chikamori, who continued to shoot films on the royal road of entertaining cinema.

Program

*Doors open 15-30 minutes before the start of each program after applying disinfection measures. *Tickets are valid for one program only.

19 Jan. Wed.	Program A 10:00-11:41 Fishing Fool’s Diary 17 - Ato wa Noto Nare Hama to Nare! [107 min] - - - 12:00-13:54 Fishing Fool’s Diary 18 - Hama-chan Su-san Seto no Yakusoku [114 min]	Program B 15:00-16:33 Salaryman Senka [93 min] - - - 16:40-18:28 Fishing Fool’s Diary 14 - O-Henro Dai Panic! [116 min]
20 Jan. Thurs	Program C 10:00-12:26 Tokyo Family (146 min] - - - 12:35-14:23 What a Wonderful Family! [108 min]	Program D 15:00-16:57 Fishing Fool’s Diary 20 - Final [117 min] - - - 17:10-19:16 About Her Brother [126 min]
21 Jan. Fri	Program B 10:00-11:33 Salaryman Senka [93min] - - - 11:45-13:41 Fishing Fool’s Diary 14 - O-Henro Dai Panic! [116min]	Program A 15:00-16:47 Fishing Fool’s Diary 17 - Ato wa Noto Nare Hama to Nare! [107 min] - - - 16:55-18:49 Fishing Fool’s Diary 18 - Hama-chan Su-san Seto no Yakusoku [114 min]
22 Jan. Sat	Program D 10:00-11:57 Fishing Fool’s Diary 20 - Final [117 min] - - - 12:10-14:16 About Her Brother [126 min]	Program C 15:00-17:26 Tokyo Family [146 min] - - - 17:35-19:23 What a Wonderful Family! [108 min]
23 Jan. Sun	Program E 10:00-11:36 Salaryman Senka - Tanshin Funin [96 min] - - - 11:45-13:32 Shin Salaryman Senka [107 min]	Program F 14:15-15:00 Special Talk with Masashi Chikamori [free entry with the winter screening program ticket] - - - 15:15-17:14 Organ [117 min] - - - 17:25-19:21 It’s Tough Being a Man - Tora-san, Wish You Were Here [116 min]

Program A

Wed. 19 Jan. 10:00-11:47
Fri. 21 Jan. 15:00-16:47
Fishing Fool’s Diary 17 - Ato wa Noto Nare Hama to Nare!
[2006/ 107min / 35mm/『釣りバカ日誌17　あとは能登なれハマとなれ！』]

Director: Yuzo Asahara | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Toshiyuki Nishida, Rentaro Mikuni, Miyoko Asada, Yuriko Ishida

This is the 17th film in the popular comedy series portraying the antics of the two “fishing fools” Hamasaki and Suzuki, better known as Hama-chan and Su-san, as they go fishing and try to help others. A woman (Yuriko Ishida) who was once a favorite employee in Suzuki Construction is rehired in the No. 3 Sales Section, where Hamasaki works. His colleagues in the section are overjoyed, but there appear to be some special circumstances behind her return. The film is set in the old castle-town district of the city of Kanazawa and features shots of the majestic scenery around the Noto Peninsula.

Wed. 19 Jan.12:00-13:54
Fri. 21 Jan. 16:55-18:49
Fishing Fool’s Diary 18 - Hama-chan Su-san Seto no Yakusoku
[2007/ 114min /35mm/『釣りバカ日誌18　ハマちゃんスーさん瀬戸の約束』]

Director: Yuzo Asahara | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Toshiyuki Nishida, Rentaro Mikuni, Miyoko Asada, Rei Dan

This was actually the 20th in the series of film comedies with a nationwide popularity, and marked the 20th anniversary of its first installment. Suzuki, who has headed Suzuki Construction for the many years since its founding and is to retire from that position and become the corporate chairman, suddenly goes missing. At the request of his wife, Hamasaki heads for Okayama Prefecture with only scant clues as to Suzuki’s whereabouts. There, the two become entangled in a commotion over development of a resort on the Seto Inland Sea.

Program B

Wed. 19 Jan.15:00-16:33
Fri. 21 Jan. 10:00-11:33
Salaryman Senka
[1995/ 93min /35mm/『サラリーマン専科』]

Director: Yuzo Asahara | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara, Masao Kajiura | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Yuji Miyake, Taishu Kase, Ko Nishimura, Yoshiko Tanaka

This is a film adaptation of an eponymous cartoon by Sadao Shoji that ran in Weekly Gendai magazine for a long period beginning in 1969. It was the first in the genre of “salaryman” cartoons humorously depicting the everyday lives of mediocre male office workers with no outstanding capabilities. In this comedy, a typical “salaryman” is put through loads of trouble on behalf of his free-spirited younger brother. This was the first film in which Chikamori worked with Asahara, and the two subsequently went on to collaborate in production of the Fishing Fool’s Diary series.

Wed. 19 Jan.16:45-18:41
Fri. 21 Jan. 11:45-13:41
Fishing Fool’s Diary 14 - O-Henro Dai Panic!
[2003/ 116min /35mm/『釣りバカ日誌14　お遍路大パニック！』]

Director: Yuzo Asahara | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yoshitaka Asama | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Toshiyuki Nishida, Rentaro Mikuni, Reiko Takashima, Yuji Miyake

Sasaki, who has long been Hamasaki’s boss in the No. 3 Sales Section, is promoted to assistant director of the whole sales department. Iwata, who replaces him as the head of the sales section, sets about trying to re-educate the problem-child Hamasaki. Meanwhile, to take a break from his hard work and refresh himself, Suzuki sets out to make the 88-stop Shikoku Pilgrimage, a long-cherished dream of his. This was the first film of the Fishing Fool’s Diary series in which Chikamori served as cinematographer, and the only one set in Kochi.

Program C

Thurs. 20 Jan. 10:00-12:26
Sat. 22 Jan. 15:00-17:26
Tokyo Family
[2013/ 146min/ 35mm『東京家族』]

Director: Yoji Yamada | Script: Yoji Yamada, Emiko Hiramatsu | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Isao Hashizume, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Masahiko Nishimura, Yui Natsukawa

For the first time in many years, a couple living on a little island in the Seto Inland Sea make a trip to Tokyo, to see their children. There, they again meet their first son, who has his own private clinic; their daughter, who runs a beauty parlor; and their younger son, who is working in scenography. The children, however, are all busy with their own jobs, and cannot look after their parents during the visit. They consequently put the two in a deluxe hotel for their stay. The pair have nothing in particular to do around the hotel, and decide to cut their visit short and go home early. In the 37th Japan Academy Film Prize, Chikamori won the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography award for his work in this film.

Thurs. 20 Jan. 12:35-14:23
Sat. 22 Jan. 17:35-19:23
What a Wonderful Family!
[2016/ 108min/ 35mm『家族はつらいよ』]

Director: Yoji Yamada | Script: Yoji Yamada, Emiko Hiramatsu | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Isao Hashizume, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Masahiko Nishimura, Yui Natsukawa

The members of the Hirata household comprise three generations, including the family of the eldest son and his younger brother. When the head of the household, who realizes he forgot his wife’s birthday, asks her if there is anything she wants, she replies “a divorce notification form.” He is flabbergasted by this unexpected turn of events. Meanwhile, the eldest daughter and her husband, who are quarreling over his reckless spending, decide to join in a family conference with only the adult members, including the younger brother, when told of the possible divorce of their parents by the eldest son and his wife.
This was the first comedy film that Yamada directed since It’s Tough Being a Man - Tora-san to the Rescue (1995) 21 years earlier. Chikamori won the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography award for his work in this film in the 40th Japan Academy Film Prize.

Program D

Thurs. 20 Jan. 15:00-16:57
Sat. 22 Jan. 10:00-11:57
Fishing Fool’s Diary 20 - Final
[2009年/ 117min/ 35mm『釣りバカ日誌20　ファイナル』]

Director: Yuzo Asahara | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Toshiyuki Nishida, Rentaro Mikuni

Suzuki is worried about the slumping business of his company Suzuki Construction. Hamasaki, one of his employees who never gets promoted and loves fishing and his family, wants to help him, and gets a big order from one of his fishing acquaintances. As a reward for this feat, he is given the chairman’s prize and some time off, which he uses for another fishing trip with Suzuki, to Hokkaido.
This was the 22nd (counting two special editions) and last film in the series, which began in 1988. The director was Asahara, who continued to hold the megaphone for the series from the 16th film to the this final one.

Thurs. 20 Jan. 17:10-19:16
Sat. 22 Jan. 12:10-14:16
About Her Brother
[2010/ 126min/ 35mm『おとうと』]

Director: Yoji Yamada | Script: Yoji Yamada, Emiko Hiramatsu | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Sayuri Yoshinaga, Tsurube Shofukutei, Yu Aoi, Ryo Kase

Ginko lost her husband soon after marriage and brought up her daughter singlehandedly while running a little drugstore in Tokyo, where she lives with her mother-in-law. Her daughter is finally going to be married and sees the day of the wedding arrive, only to have her younger brother, a loafer who has not been heard from in nearly 10 years, suddenly show up from Osaka in formal Japanese attire.
This film was Yamada’s first modern-life drama since A Class to Remember Ⅳ 10 years before. It was also the first Yamada film for which Chikamori did the cinematography. For it, he won the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography award in the 34th Japan Academy Film Prize.

Program E

Sun. 23 Jan. 10:00-11:36
Salaryman Senka - Tanshin Funin
[1996/ 96min/ 35mm『サラリーマン専科　単身赴任』]

Director: Yuzo Asahara | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara, Toshio Suzuki | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Yuji Miyake, Yoshiko Tanaka, Taishu Kase, Hisako Manda

The protagonist, who heads the general affairs section in the general affairs department of Hinata Office Equipment, is posted away from his family to the sales department of the Osaka branch. He feels lonely living by himself, has trouble adjusting to the unfamiliar sales work and the Osaka dialect, and struggles with other difficulties related to the locale. Then one day, he makes the acquaintance of a woman in the neighborhood, and his situation brightens overnight. But then,… This is the second film in a series adapted from a cartoon serial that ran in Weekly Gendai. It was directed by Asahara, who also directed the first.

Sun. 23 Jan. 11:45-13:32
Shin Salaryman Senka
[1997/ 107min/ 35mm『新サラリーマン専科』]

Director: Yuzo Asahara | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara, Toshio Suzuki | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Yuji Miyake, Kayoko Kishimoto, Hisaya Morishige, Yuki Matsushita

The protagonist, an ordinary office worker, and his wife are surprised when her father suddenly turns up at their doorstep. He apparently left the home of her brother and his wife after they tried to persuade him to enter an old age home. The “salaryman” warmly welcomes his father-in-law, but trouble ensues when the latter complains about a meal and other things. Meanwhile, he also finds himself involved in trouble at the company. This is the third film in the series depicting the upheaval in the home of typical wage-earner. Morishige delivers a bravura performance in what was his first appearance in a comedy film in a long time.

Program F

Sun. 23 Jan. 15:15-17:14
Organ
[2019/ 119min/ DCP『あの日のオルガン』]

Director: Emiko Hiramatsu | Script: Emiko Hiramatsu | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Erika Toda, Sakurako Ohara, Yui Sakuma, Yui Natsukawa

In 1944, toward the end of World War II, teachers at Togoshi and Aiikurin nursery schools in Tokyo’s Shinagawa and Sumida wards, respectively, consider evacuation in order to protect the lives of the young children. After finally persuading the parents, who were of various minds on the prospect, and finding a destination, they and the children begin their lives as evacuees sheltered in a dilapidated temple in Saitama Prefecture. Although they have managed to evacuate, every day brings numerous problems. As the teachers persevere while encouraging each other, air raids cast a deepening shadow. This film was adapted from the book Kimitachi ha wasurenai - Sokai hoikuen monogatari (The story of a nursery school evacuation you won’t forget), which was published in 1982.

Sun. 23 Jan. 17:25-19:21
It’s Tough Being a Man - Tora-san, Wish You Were Here
[2019/ 116min/ DCP『男はつらいよ　お帰り寅さん』]

Director: Yoji Yamada | Script: Yoji Yamada, Yuzo Asahara | Cinematography: Masashi Chikamori
Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Kumiko Goto

The whole Kuruma family gathers for the memorial ceremony marking the sixth anniversary of the wife of Michio Suwa, Torajiro’s nephew, and have a good time talking about the old days afterward. Michio had long worked as a regular corporate employee, but quit his job to become a professional author after a novel he had written during his spare time on the job won high marks. One day, his first love turns up in the queue of fans to get his autograph on their copy of his latest novel. This film was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the immensely popular It’s Tough Being a Man series, and is also the 50th installment. It was the first of Yamada’s films to be shot entirely with digital high-definition cameras.