Keep on Rockin´

Colour, 35 mm
Japan, 2003, 109 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

Eiji sings with The Bluff, a rock band that reached its peak five years ago. Now its members slump from one non-event to another, and their contract is cancelled because they aren’t capable of putting together anything new. The young man, who behaves like a pampered star, gets depressed and goes back to his hometown, where his father owns a small factory. He finds dad in hospital and the factory in big trouble. All the worries of keeping going have fallen to Eiji’s quiet and humble mother. Eiji learns from his girlfriend Yoko that the band is fed up and wants to find a new singer. Sorrow over his father’s eventual death awakes a desire in the young man to compose again, and this time the music flows straight from the heart. He sends his new work to a major music label but soon realises that the bosses care about nothing but business, he goes home. Then his mother hands over a parcel prepared for him by his father. Eiji is about to make the most important decision of his life.

About the director

Kazuyuki Morosawa (b. 1960) studied at Meiji University then began to work for Nikkatsu Studios, where he cooperated on more than 30 film as assistant director. He also wrote the scripts for, among other films, Damn, I got no money! (Okagena Nai!) and Masters of Taste (Aji ichimonme). With producer Fumiko Oga he made the television series “Women’s Company” (“Oshigoto desu!”) and “My Job as a Nurse” (“Na-su no Oshigoto”), the latter of which he turned into a film in 2002.