Minoru Kawasaki (film director)
Encyclopedia
, born 15 August 1958 is a Japan
ese film director
, screenwriter
and producer
. He is known for his low budget, absurdist
comedy film
s.
Kawasaki began his career with some self-financed films, including Iko the Earth Patrol Girl, and manga
to live action
adaptions, before working on Ultraman Tiga
. He had his first hit with Calamari Wrestler, a film about a wrestler who becomes a large squid
. He followed this up with Executive Koala, featuring a koala
office worker who may have murdered his wife, Kabuto-O Beetle
, another wrestling movie, this time with a giant stag beetle
. In 2006, he released Everyone But Japan Sinks (a parody
of Japan Sinks
) and Crab Goalkeeper
, a movie Kawasaki describes as being like Forrest Gump
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He is known for his low budget, absurdist
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
s.
Kawasaki began his career with some self-financed films, including Iko the Earth Patrol Girl, and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
to live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
adaptions, before working on Ultraman Tiga
Ultraman Tiga
is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show and is the 11th show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultraman Tiga was aired at 6:00pm and aired between September 7, 1996 to August 30, 1997, with a total of 52 episodes with 4 movies After a franchise hiatus of over 15 years, set in a...
. He had his first hit with Calamari Wrestler, a film about a wrestler who becomes a large squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
. He followed this up with Executive Koala, featuring a koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
office worker who may have murdered his wife, Kabuto-O Beetle
Kabuto-O Beetle
translated as Beetle, the Horn King is a 2005 Japanese film directed by Minoru Kawasaki. The film, from an original story by Go Nagai and a screenplay by Takao Nakano, is based on the character of the same name created by Nagai for Osaka Pro-Wrestling .-External links:* official website* at...
, another wrestling movie, this time with a giant stag beetle
Stag beetle
Stag beetles are a group of about 1,200 species of beetle in the family Lucanidae, presently classified in four subfamilies Some species grow up to over 12 cm , but most are about 5 cm .-Overview:...
. In 2006, he released Everyone But Japan Sinks (a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Japan Sinks
Japan Sinks
is a 2006 Tokusatsu film directed by Shinji Higuchi, and a remake of the 1973 screenplay based on the Komatsu novel. It stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kou Shibasaki, Etsushi Toyokawa, and Mao Daichi, and was released on July 15, 2006....
) and Crab Goalkeeper
Crab Goalkeeper
Crab Goalkeeper is a Japanese film directed by Minoru Kawasaki starring Hiroshi Fujioka and Naoto Takenaka.The film documents the life of an oversized crab who is hired by a soccer team as a goalkeeper....
, a movie Kawasaki describes as being like Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
.