Wolf's Calling
After director Toshiaki Toyoda was arrested in April 2019 for unlawful possession of a handgun (which was actually a familial keepsake) and eventually released without charge, he responded with this 17-minute period drama based on his experience. A girl finds an old handgun in her attic and the symbolic object conjures a mystical scene of samurai (a stellar cast of actors joined by the 20-person Edo punk band Seppuku Pistols, who also provide the soundtrack) gathering within the moss-grown location of Kasosan Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture. Director’s note: “Turn up the volume!”
Available streaming territory: U.S. only