
Reiwa Uprising. 2019. Japan. Directed by Kazuo Hara. US premiere. Courtesy Fukyo Films. In Japanese; English subtitles. 248 min.
Returning to New York only months after his major MoMA retrospective, Kazuo Hara (The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On) presents the US premiere of his newest film, a defiant and raucous portrait of Japanese democracy under siege. The filmmaker trails Ayumi Yasutomi, a transgender Tokyo University professor, as she embarks on her national campaign for a seat in the Diet’s Upper House, championing the rights of the disabled and the marginalized.