Kontora

Kontora (コントラ) is a 2019 drama mystery film written, directed, produced, and edited by Anshul Chauhan that stars Seira Kojima, Wan Marui, and Hidemasa Mase. Kontora is shot in black-and-white. Kontora is Chauhan's second feature film after Bad Poetry Tokyo, preceded by December.[1] Kontora is also the first Japanese film to receive the Grand Prix award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.[2]

Kontora
コントラ
Directed byAnshul Chauhan
Written byAnshul Chauhan
Produced byAnshul Chauhan
StarringSeira Kojima
Wan Marui
Hidemasa Mase
CinematographyMaxim Golomidov
Edited byAnshul Chauhan
Music byYuma Koda
Production
company
Kowatanda Films
Release dates
  • November 25, 2019 (2019-11-25) (Estonia)
  • March 12, 2020 (2020-03-12) (Japan)
  • July 30, 2020 (2020-07-30) (United States)
  • September 26, 2020 (2020-09-26) (Japan)
  • October 4, 2020 (2020-10-04) (Israel)
Running time
144 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot summary

Following her grandfather's (Noriyuki Yamada) WWII-era diary, Sora (Wan Marui) searches for a mysterious trove in the wilderness of her hometown. Meanwhile, a mysterious mute and backward-walking homeless man (Hidemasa Mase) wanders into town who may be the catalyst to put her shattered relationship with her father (Taichi Yamada) back together.[3][4]

Cast
  • Seira Kojima as Haru
  • Wan Marui as Sora
  • Hidemasa Mase as the Homeless Man
  • Takuzo Shimizu as Haru's father
  • Taichi Yamada as Sora's father
  • Noriyuki Yamada as Sora's grandfather

Release

Kontora had its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix for Best Film.[5][6][7] Composer Yuma Koda also won the Best Music prize.[5] Kontora also won the Obayashi Prize at Japan Cuts[3] and Best Picture at the Skip City International D-Cinema Festival.[2] Kontora also screened at the Osaka Asian Film Festival.[8]

Music

All tracks are written by Yuma Koda

No.TitleLength
1."Sora's Theme"3:47
2."Kontora's Walk"3:09
3."Reverse Rivers"2:38
4."Grandpa's Note"4:32
5."First Encounter"1:27
6."Second Encounter"3:05
7."Seeker"2:20
8."Opening the Case"3:42
9."Reverse Rivers – Recomposed"2:04
10."Salvation"6:21
11."An Ending"4:06
Total length:37:16

Reception

The film received positive reviews from critics. Kontora has an approval rating of 80% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews.[9] Richard Gray of TheReelBits gave the film a 4.5/5 stars and stated that the film was, "visually striking and often mysterious familial drama doesn’t offer any easy answers, but captivates from the first to last frame."[10] Four Weddings and a Funeral director Mike Newell, stated that Kontora was "brilliantly multi-layered" and "a truly cinematic experience".[7]

References
  1. Kotzathanasis, Panos (2019-11-27). "Film Review: Kontora (2019) by Anshul Chauhan". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  2. "Sneak Preview Screening: "KONTORA" | FCCJ". www.fccj.or.jp. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  3. pvhaecke (2020-07-19). "Kontora (2019) review [Japan Cuts 2020]". psycho-cinematography. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  4. Cooper, Matt (2021-12-12). "Kontora (2019) by Anshul Chauhan". Japanese Film Reviews. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  5. Dalton, Stephen (2019-12-28). "'Kontora': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  6. "Kontora – film review". DMovies. 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  7. Rosser, Michael. "Japan's 'Kontora' is awarded best film at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival". Screen. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  8. Scanlon, Hayley (2020-03-09). "Kontora (コントラ, Anshul Chauhan, 2019)". Windows on Worlds. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  9. "Kontora – Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  10. Gray, Richard (2020-07-28). "Review: Kontora". The Reel Bits. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
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