On May 15, this 2007 mockumentary spoof of Japanese giant monster movies launches its U.S. release with one-week runs at the Nuart Theatre in West Los Angles and at The Cinema Vilalge in New York City. Subsequent engagements will take place in Berkeley, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, and Chicago. The trailer looks pretty funny, and Variety called it “tears-down-the-face funny and a genuine, jaw-dropping oddity… [a] must for midnight madness slots as well as Asia and fantasy-themed fests…”
From the official website:
A middle-aged slacker living in a rundown, graffiti-ridden slum, Daisato’s job involves being shocked by bolts of electricity that transform him into a stocky, stick-wielding giant several stories high who is entrusted with defending Japan from a host of bizarre monsters.
But while his predecessors were national heroes, he is a pariah among the citizens he protects, who bitterly complain about the noise and destruction of property he causes. And Daisato has his own problems – an agent insistent on branding him with sponsor advertisements, an Alzheimer-afflicted grandfather who transforms into a giant in dirty underwear, and a family who is embarrassed by his often cowardly exploits.
A wickedly deadpan spin on the giant Japanese superhero, BIG MAN JAPAN is an outrageous portrait of a pathetic but truly unique hero.
Big Man Japan Playdates:
- 5/15/2009
West Los Angeles, CA: Nuart Theatre
New York, NY: Cinema Village - 5/29/2009
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas 10
San Francisco, CA: Lumiere Theatre 3
Seattle, WA: Grand Illusion Cinema - 6/12/2009
Denver, CO: Esquire Theatre
Rochester, NY: Dryden Theatre - 6/26/2009
Hilo, HI: Palace Theatre
Chicago, IL: Facets Multimedia Theater** - 7/7/2009
Honokaa, HI: Honokaa Peoples Theatre