Can a candidate with no political experience win an election?
40-year-old, self-employed Kazuhiko 'Yama-san' Yamauchi's peaceful, humdrum life is disturbed when Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) unexpectedly chooses him to run for a vacant seat on the city council in Kawasaki despite having no political experience and no time to prepare for the impending election, a critical vote for the LDP.
This documentary follows his heated campaign, asking timely questions about the nature of democracy.
Also showing as part of our Kazuhiro Soda season - The Big House, Mental, Peace, Inland Sea
dir. Kazuhiro Soda
year: 2007
country: Japan
run-time: 120 minutes
Doors 18:45
Film 19:15
£6.00 (£4.50 conc.)
“A gripping watch”
“A wry, fly-on-the-wall look at local politics, Japanese style... an insightful, ironic portrait of campaigning at street level”
“Campaign may invite a certain skepticism about democracy, but it will surely restore your faith in cinema verite”
“No plot description, can do justice to the subtlety, humour, and enigmatic beauty of this film”