The Friends

Portland premiere of the new 4K restoration!

Part of the Hanabi Film Festival, running select days Aug. 18 – 31. Limited festival passes available for access to all films.

It’s the dog days of summer vacation. Up to no good, a group of three wily young friends discover a decrepit house and the old coot who lives there all alone. They begin to spy on him, expecting to find his corpse when he dies. But soon, as they learn the sad story behind his present wretchedness, the boys develop a touching bond with the old-timer. They even help replant his overgrown garden.

Shinji Somai’s follow-up to his acclaimed Moving is a comic spectacle of movement and play and a stirring contemplation on time’s ravages and delights. Evoking other preteen anarchist masterpieces like Typhoon Club (also screening at this year’s Hanabi Film Festival) and P.P. Rider, the film is a testament to Somai’s singular ability to enter into the unruly world of children, using his liberated long takes to stir up the energies of a raucous ensemble of first-time performers.

We’re excited to bring a brand new restoration of this beloved Japanese film to Portland on the same weekend that it debuts in North America at New York’s Lincoln Center before receiving a wider release.

Screened in Japanese with English subtitles.