German + Rain

A stylish debut film by twenty-something filmmaker Yokohama Satoko, GERMAN + RAIN is a film that takes an affectionate, yet not sentimental, look at some of the misfits in Japanese society. Yoshiko is a teenage dropout who's been living alone since her parents divorced. Now her mom's dead and her dad lies incapacitated in the hospital. A moody apprentice gardener, Yoshiko is dubbed “Gorilla Man” by her boss for her similarity to a manga character. She tolerates the attention of a handsome German co-gardener, the desire of all the other village girls, but Yoshiko's real dream is to be a singer and have lots of kids. In order to make some cash, she advertises herself as a recorder teacher. Three insufferable boys show up for lessons, one of whom wants to be a girl. But when she finds out the local sewage worker has been propositioning her students, Yoshiko decides to punish him in her own way. Yokohama made this quirky movie independently with the cash prize she was awarded for her graduation piece at the Film School of Tokyo. We can expect to see more of her offbeat work in the future. (In Japanese with English subtitles) – B.B.