WHY I Had a Surprisingly Good Day Today | ALSO *Film Friday* "Giri/Haji" (Patreon)

So this morning I received a wonderful, albeit unexpected surprise.

I opened my inbox to find an email from Shin Suzuma, the acclaimed musician behind the song “Ikebana” used in the opening countryside montage of the recent Driving in Japan video.

Apparently all week he’s been inundated with folks asking about the soundtrack after hearing it on the Abroad in Japan channel and he’s received a record amount of traffic to his website and Soundcloud!

I was absolutely delighted to hear from him, especially as I’ve used quite a few of his songs over the years (such as the opening soundtrack to this year’s tsunami documentary). Listening to his music has been a real source of inspiration, and in fact the idea for countryside montage at the start of the Driving in Japan video came while listening to Ikebana. If I didn't hear the song, it wouldn't have happened.

Unfortunately, when I purchase the songs from the website Premium Beat, it doesn’t actually give you any real info on the artist so they remain anonymous. Many times over the years I’ve wanted to reach out to artists and thank them but it’s been quite tricky as a result.
 

The good news is, now I know Shin has Soundcloud so you can enjoy his music here! https://soundcloud.com/shinsuzuma/sets/ghiblihisaishisakamoto-inspired-music

Also folks, if you have any questions you’d like answered in the upcoming #ASKABROAD Q&A, please ask away in the comments below. Looking forward to producing the third and final Q&A in the trilogy for 2020.

Right then, let’s dive into film Friday.
Or rather this week, TV Friday…

GIRI HAJI (2019)
Trailer: https://youtu.be/L4CZM2HdVJc

Official Synopsis: Giri/Haji (Duty/Shame) is a thriller set across Tokyo and London. A Tokyo detective named Kenzo Mori, scours the London underworld to find his allegedly deceased brother, Yuto. Yuto was accused of brutally murdering the nephew of a yakuza member, which could lead to the onset of a gang war. As the clock ticks down, Kenzo’s investigation into the disappearance lures him into dangerous elements of the corrupt underworld of London's criminal circuit.

Abroad in Japan Review: If doing Youtube has taught me one thing it’s that regardless of whether your video is good or not, if you fail to market it well (ie. title and thumbnail), then nobody will watch it and the hype will die off.

When Giri/Haji emerged on Netflix and the BBC, I barely heard about it anywhere. Despite speaking to hundreds of people throughout any given week, no-one seemed to mention it to me - bizarre given it’s one of the first times a thriller has been set across Japan and the UK.

As a result I just naively assumed it wasn’t any good and avoided it for months until a friend finally recommended it. I was instantly hooked and binged all 8 episodes in a couple of days.

With an excellent and original script, beautiful cinematography, bold storytelling and a remarkable cast of characters - played by an ensemble cast - Giri/Haji is one of the best series I’ve seen in a few years. I could never have imagined a drama would play out so well between the skyscrapers of Tokyo and the backstreets of London.

The series has an amusing self awareness of common Japanese tropes. In one scene, while Kenzo Mori is searching for his younger brother in London, he’s explaining the situation to a British police colleague (played by Kelly Macdonald). She asks how Kenzo feels about his brother.

“HE HAS BROUGHT SHAME AND DISHONOUR TO MY FAMILY…
- Nah just kidding.”

Hilarious.
- Though Ken Watanabe and the cast of the Last Samurai would be utterly mortified at the lack of honour.

For me though the star of the show is Rodney (Will Sharpe), a half-Japanese half-British rent boy, who somehow gets caught up in everything and goes along for the ride. His performance is one of the best I’ve seen in recent memory.

Watching a stern Japanese police detective searching for his brother, team up with a charismatic and emotionally volatile rent boy is the onscreen relationship I never knew I wanted. (In hindsight that sounds rather shady).

Giri/Haji.

Binge it over a weekend! It’s bloody brilliant and it'd be a crime to miss it.
Albeit, not as bad as the relentless violent crime featured in the show.