Michiro Endo

Set in a barren, futuristic Tokyo of highways and wastelands, a rowdy group of punk bands and their fans gather to protest slow, boring, Japanese living.

If you loved movies such as Shonen Merikensack and GS Wonderland, then this one, which predates the former, will impress you as well. The story is set in the 80s rock scene and revolves around Nakajima (Kazunobu Mineta), the lead singer of a band called 'Speed Way'. Because he refuses to write trite, pop-friendly songs he is constantly at odds with his own record company. However, he refuses to bend on his rock principles simply for better record sales. The most interesting parts of this movie is how they pay homage to music icon, Bob Dylan who gave the filmmaker his blessing, which is no small feat itself, especially for a Japanese indie debut.

The newly divorced singer Kumi is not too enthusiastic about life as a single mother. She drops her son to her ex-husband, leaving her band and embarks on a crazy tour of Tokyo's shadowy side.

Pig heads, intestines, megaphones: all these and more have been thrown into crowds of loyal fans following the influential punk band THE STALIN or any of number of Michiro Endo's other bands since 1980. Taking a step in front of the camera, however, Endo offers a very different kind of encounter in this inspiring self-portrait. "Mother, I've Pretty Much Forgotten Your Face" follows the artist, a native of Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, on the 2011 nationwide solo tour celebrating his 60th birthday, which was interrupted by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Traveling, performing and talking with fellow musicians and activists, Endo reflects on the past and future of Fukushima, the legacy of Hiroshima, his upbringing and his feelings about his mother, communicated in the song from which the documentary is named.