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Close-Knit: a Japanese film with a focus on transgender life and family

R

Ryuukan

Member
IhB7MQ0.png


Close-Knit (Karera ga Honki de Amu Toki wa) is a film about a young girl, Tomo, who's mother has abandoned her on more than one occasion. She goes to stay with her uncle Makio and his girlfriend, Rinko, who is a transwoman.

While the film is from Tomo's point of view, the majority of the story is her interactions with Rinko. I personally feel it was handled respectfully, even if I think the knitting theme was a bit unusual. The LGBT characters in this film are not comic relief, they are portrayed as real people with real world issues.

brief Q&A:

How can I watch this legally?
As of now, the only source would be to import the bluray, which has english subtitles.

Why is a man in a transwoman role?
I think Toma Ikuta did a great job in this film, but for more information on this, please read this interview with the film's director, Naoko Ogigami.

Official site (Japanese)
 
F

Frozenprince

Banned
Wow something about LGBT life in Japan that's not made for Fujoshi or Otaku?

What madness is this. Will order a copy to check it out.
 
V

Valkerionseven

Member
Sold me on Ikuta Toma being in it, love this guy. Sounds interesting. There have been a few good LGBT stories coming out of Japan recently not including stereotype comic relief or overblown personalities, just great stories.

There is a manga that released recently-ish that is slightly similarly about a girl who lives with her two dads which has a TON of good reviews and even parents reading it with their kids to inform them of the different kinds of pairings and what not. Nothing super mainstream yet, maybe if they set it in high school /s but its nice to see it.
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
Sounds really interesting. I'll wait for a little while to see if there are any talks of it coming to Netflix or another streaming service.
 
M

Mimosa97

Member
Looks interesting. It's good to see that japanese cinema is opening up to lgbt issues.

Is there a trailer i can watch?
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
The issue is that currently there are no transgender actors in Japan; there are comedians who cross-dress, and everybody will laugh and love what they do, but they wouldn’t accept that outside of comedy. This makes it very hard for the Japanese to come out and now it seems impossible many transgendered people would decide to become actors or actresses. Perhaps in ten years’ time, the situation will change.
Click to expand...

This makes sense, sadly. Western shows/films just started casting appropriately.
 
P

Platy

Member
Geist- said:
Is it a supply problem? I can't imagine trans actors/actresses have an easy time breaking into the Japanese movie industry, if many try at all.
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And the director hiring a cis man is only doing WONDERS to fix this issue.

At least cast a woman to play the part of a woman
 
R

Ryuukan

Member
Platy said:
And the director hiring a cis man is only doing WONDERS to fix this issue.

At least cast a woman to play the part of a woman
Click to expand...

the film has a number of scenes where Rinko struggles or is put in difficult situations because she does not look like a cis woman to everyone else.

spoilers below:

a friend of Tomo's mother wanting to keep her child away after seeing Rinko

Rinko getting injured and being forced to stay in the men's ward of the hospital because she wasn't legally female yet

remarks about the size of her hands and how she can't change them

I am not trans and can't speak for anyone who is, but I feel these scenes would be pretty hollow and almost comedic if a cis woman was playing the role. Lots of Japanese media use LGBT characters as the butt of a joke and I think the director was really trying to reflect some real life struggles that some trans women may go through.
 
P

Platy

Member
Makeup, how does that work ?

lets see .... *3 seconds googling*

Fujiwara Norika sounds like an awesome choice. She is 1,71 meters tall. She can do it.

but I feel these scenes would be pretty hollow and almost comedic if a cis woman was playing the role
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That is the whole point.
A cis man playing the role gives the scene reason for the people who acted like she was a man.
A cis woman playing the role gives the scene reason for the character and says that everyone who thinks she is a man are transphobic assholes delirious.
 
R

Ryuukan

Member
Platy said:
Makeup, how does that work ?

lets see .... *3 seconds googling*

Fujiwara Norika sounds like an awesome choice. She is 1,71 meters tall. She can do it.



That is the whole point.
A cis man playing the role gives the scene reason for the people who acted like she was a man.
A cis woman playing the role gives the scene reason for the character and says that everyone who thinks she is a man are transphobic assholes delirious.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying and thats certainly a valid point.

it's possible she approached actresses and was rejected or more likely, she had a chance to cast someone from Johnny's Entertainment, which has a huge following, and knew that would help promote the film. I don't know.

In October, there's going to be a tv show on WOWOW called Kataomoi which is about a trans man. The main role will be played by a woman even though I'm sure they could've easily found a man to play the role.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Platy said:
And the director hiring a cis man is only doing WONDERS to fix this issue.

At least cast a woman to play the part of a woman
Click to expand...
What's more "okay"? Felicity Huffman or Jeffrey Tambor playing a trans woman? Both have been lauded for their performances and both are problematic for different reasons.
 
P

Platy

Member
firehawk12 said:
What's more "okay"? Felicity Huffman or Jeffrey Tambor playing a trans woman? Both have been lauded for their performances and both are problematic for different reasons.
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a cis X playing a trans X is much better than a cis Y playing a trans X because it shows that deep down the trans X is a real X.

It does not help with the lack of roles for trans actors but at least help destroy the idea that a trans woman deep down is a man in a dress and a trans man is a really butch woman.
 
C

Coriolanus

Banned
Platy said:
a cis X playing a trans X is much better than a cis Y playing a trans X because it shows that deep down the trans X is a real X.

It does not help with the lack of roles for trans actors but at least help destroy the idea that a trans woman deep down is a man in a dress and a trans man is a really butch woman.
Click to expand...

While true, this does, however, seem to be an Uhura situation.
 
R

_Ryo_

Member
Valkerionseven said:
Sold me on Ikuta Toma being in it, love this guy. Sounds interesting. There have been a few good LGBT stories coming out of Japan recently not including stereotype comic relief or overblown personalities, just great stories.

There is a manga that released recently-ish that is slightly similarly about a girl who lives with her two dads which has a TON of good reviews and even parents reading it with their kids to inform them of the different kinds of pairings and what not. Nothing super mainstream yet, maybe if they set it in high school /s but its nice to see it.
Click to expand...

Whats the name of the manga?
 
B

BTA

Member
Valkerionseven said:
Sold me on Ikuta Toma being in it, love this guy. Sounds interesting. There have been a few good LGBT stories coming out of Japan recently not including stereotype comic relief or overblown personalities, just great stories.

There is a manga that released recently-ish that is slightly similarly about a girl who lives with her two dads which has a TON of good reviews and even parents reading it with their kids to inform them of the different kinds of pairings and what not. Nothing super mainstream yet, maybe if they set it in high school /s but its nice to see it.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you're talking about My Brother's Husband (since that's not about two dads but rather a single father being visited by the Canadian husband of his late twin) but I'd recommend that to people interested. The quotes on the back are from much more mainstream writers/celebrities/etc. than I expected, which was interesting.
 
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