Saudade (Saudaji)

A Kozuko Co. production. (Worldwide sales: Kozuko, Tokyo, japan.) Created by Kotaro Date, Satomi Tomita. Executive producer, Takayuki Sasamoto. Directed by Katsuya Tomita. Script, Toranosuke Aizawa, Tomita.With: Tsuyoshi Takano, Hitoshi Ito, Takeshi Amano, Dengaryu, Deejai Paweena, Ai Ozaki, Chie Kudo, Dennis Oliveira p Hamatsu, Ieda p Almeida Hamatsu, Yusuke Noguchi, Shinji Murata, Tomohito Nakajima. (Japanese, Portuguese, Thai, British, Tagalog dialogue)To explain "Saudade" being an episode of "The Wire" adopted to Japan and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (with an off day) may be roughly accurate, but regrettably it makes sense nowhere close to fun and intriguing because it sounds. In an unnecessarily lengthy 163 minutes, pic requires a potentially fascinating subject -- rocky relations between native Japanese and foreign immigrants, particularly Brazilians and Thais, in working-class Nippon -- and muffles its impact with random storytelling, self-indulgently lengthy moments and little feeling of structure. This really is fest fare having a vengeance. Action originates within the economically depressed town of Kofu, beginning in a building site where employees Seiji (Tsuyoshi Takano) and Hosaka (Hitoshi Ito) bond on the mutual curiosity about Thailand, particularly its women Seiji is married to some Thai lady, Keiko (Chie Kudo). Meanwhile, their fellow laborer Takeru (Takeshi Amano), who raps in the free time, resents the neighborhood Brazilian employees and challenges rival rapper Dennis (Dennis Oliveira p Hamatsu) and the crew to some verbal joust in a local club. Pic really will get rather interesting in the late stages, however the difficult midsection squanders auds' interest. Title means "homesickness" in Portuguese.Camera (color), Yoshiko Takano editors, Tomita, Takano music, Stillichimiya production designer, Hiroshi Imamura. Examined at Locarno Film Festival (competing), August. 11, 2011. Running time: 162 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com