Something of a cross-cultural "After Hours", newcomer Yoshifumi Hosoya's "Sleepy Heads" is a jittery, rough-around-the-edges take on the lives of a group of transplanted Japanese neo-Bohemians attempting to take a bite out of the Big Apple.
While its plottings are fairly threadbare, the film's quirky comic sensibility and likable performances help to smooth over some of the awkward patches. Hosoya is definitely one to watch.
The picture is essentially seen through the eyes of Hiro (Eugene Nomura), an aspiring singer who has recently left behind the stress of living in Japan in the hopes of finding a freer existence in New York City, not that Manhattan has ever been defined as laid-back.
He soon takes up with a pair of underachieving roommates -- Kenta (Toshiya Nagasawa), who dreams of opening his own kendo (fencing school) but at present uses his martial-arts skills to intimidate Japanese restaurant customers who attempt to skip the bill; and Akira (Takahiro "Engin" Fujita), a dreadlocked, drugged-out flunky.
Hiro also meets the comely Akiko Sayuri Higuchi Emerson), an executive at a Japanese airline who is taken with his sincerity, much to the displeasure of her boss, Shun (Snakey Mao), who also happens to be Hiro's old high school rival.
Hiro appears to gain the upper hand when he scores tickets to "Les Miserables" and Akiko accepts the invitation; however, roommate Akira fatally o.d.'s on the night of the big date.
Afraid to call the police because of their illegal immigrant status, Kenta and Hiro decide to dispose of the body themselves, dragging it throughout town in a duffel bag in an effort to honor Akira's last wish to have his earthly remains thrown off his favorite spot on The Brooklyn Bridge into the East River.
Hosoya, who also co-wrote and lensed "Sleepy Heads", gets some fine comically tuned performances from his cast of seasoned performers and newcomers. The perpetually wide-eyed Nomura as Hiro, and Nagasawa as the gruff Kenta are particularly good; while the slim storyline nevertheless makes good use of its New York backdrop, especially during some very funny subway sequences.
Production values, like the rest of the picture, are scrappy and energetic.
SLEEPY HEADS
Phaedra Cinema
Elephant Studio/Zazou Prods. present
Yoshifumi Hosoya's film
Director Yoshifumi Hosoya
Producer Yuko Yoshikawa,
Shunji Okada, Yoshifumi Hosoya
Screenwriters Yoshifumi Hosoya,
Nick Feyz, Christo Assefi, Edwin Baker
Director of photography Yoshifumi Hosoya
Production designer Mark Helmuth
Editor Keiko Deguchi
Music Joshua Stone
Color/stereo
Cast:
Hiro Eugene Nomura
Kenta Toshiya Nagasawa
Akira Takahiro "Engin" Fujita
B.J. Nick Feyz
Akiko Sayuri Higuchi Emerson
Shun Snakey Mao
Running time -- 86 minutes
No MPAA rating...
While its plottings are fairly threadbare, the film's quirky comic sensibility and likable performances help to smooth over some of the awkward patches. Hosoya is definitely one to watch.
The picture is essentially seen through the eyes of Hiro (Eugene Nomura), an aspiring singer who has recently left behind the stress of living in Japan in the hopes of finding a freer existence in New York City, not that Manhattan has ever been defined as laid-back.
He soon takes up with a pair of underachieving roommates -- Kenta (Toshiya Nagasawa), who dreams of opening his own kendo (fencing school) but at present uses his martial-arts skills to intimidate Japanese restaurant customers who attempt to skip the bill; and Akira (Takahiro "Engin" Fujita), a dreadlocked, drugged-out flunky.
Hiro also meets the comely Akiko Sayuri Higuchi Emerson), an executive at a Japanese airline who is taken with his sincerity, much to the displeasure of her boss, Shun (Snakey Mao), who also happens to be Hiro's old high school rival.
Hiro appears to gain the upper hand when he scores tickets to "Les Miserables" and Akiko accepts the invitation; however, roommate Akira fatally o.d.'s on the night of the big date.
Afraid to call the police because of their illegal immigrant status, Kenta and Hiro decide to dispose of the body themselves, dragging it throughout town in a duffel bag in an effort to honor Akira's last wish to have his earthly remains thrown off his favorite spot on The Brooklyn Bridge into the East River.
Hosoya, who also co-wrote and lensed "Sleepy Heads", gets some fine comically tuned performances from his cast of seasoned performers and newcomers. The perpetually wide-eyed Nomura as Hiro, and Nagasawa as the gruff Kenta are particularly good; while the slim storyline nevertheless makes good use of its New York backdrop, especially during some very funny subway sequences.
Production values, like the rest of the picture, are scrappy and energetic.
SLEEPY HEADS
Phaedra Cinema
Elephant Studio/Zazou Prods. present
Yoshifumi Hosoya's film
Director Yoshifumi Hosoya
Producer Yuko Yoshikawa,
Shunji Okada, Yoshifumi Hosoya
Screenwriters Yoshifumi Hosoya,
Nick Feyz, Christo Assefi, Edwin Baker
Director of photography Yoshifumi Hosoya
Production designer Mark Helmuth
Editor Keiko Deguchi
Music Joshua Stone
Color/stereo
Cast:
Hiro Eugene Nomura
Kenta Toshiya Nagasawa
Akira Takahiro "Engin" Fujita
B.J. Nick Feyz
Akiko Sayuri Higuchi Emerson
Shun Snakey Mao
Running time -- 86 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/16/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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