Original Title: Joze To Tora To Sakanatachi
Director: Isshin Inudo
Running Time: 116 minutes
Language: Native Japanese with English Subtitles

JOSEE, THE TIGER AND THE FISH wheels into action when college student, Tsuneo (Satoshi Tsumabuki), hears rumors about an eccentric elderly woman who pushes a baby carriage around town. No one knows what's in the carriage, but wild speculations range from money to drugs. Tsuneo eventually discovers for himself what's in the carriage when he literally crashes into it while dog walking: The old woman's uppity knife-wielding granddaughter, Josee (Chizuru Ikewaki).
 
Slowly, Tsuneo becomes entwined with the world of the old woman and her scrappy charge, who has cerebral palsy. Despite the grandmother's embarrassment about Josee’s condition, the feisty young woman’s confidence is a powerful counter to Tsuneo's hum drum college-boy existence. She may be a pain in the butt, trapped in the house by her grandma who doesn't want anyone to know she exists, but she's the most fully alive person Tsuneo knows.

A crowd pleaser and multiple award winner at numerous film festivals including the San Diego Asian Film Festival and the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, JOSEE, THE TIGER AND THE FISH has drawn comparisons to “Harold & Maude” and been called a Japanese “Amelie.”
 
Regular disTHIS! attendees have asked for more feature-length films and more romance.  JOSEE works beautifully on both counts. The film is a quirky bittersweet, funny and -- at times – a brutally honest chronicle of the sometimes stormy relationship between Tsuneo and Josee.  It sets itself apart from sappier fare by not pulling any punches depicting the joys and difficulties of romantic relationships, disabled or not.

 

disTHIS! movies, talkback sessions and related events are open to the public. $5 suggested donation. There will be ASL interpretation for the post film discussion. Space is wheelchair accessible.

When:  Special screening date - Wednesday, July 18th
Where: DCTV, 3rd Floor Screening Room, 87 Lafayette Street (between Walker and White), 2 blocks South of the Canal Street Subway.
Time: 6:30 to 9pm.  Screening starts @ 7pm

Snacks are provided and there is a cash bar for drinks, but recent screenings following articles in the NY Times and the New York Nonprofit Press have been filled to capacity.  Space is limited! Call 212.251.4092 to reserve YOUR seat or email: Lawrence@...