"Director: Naomi KAWASE"

• Sweet Bean (aka 'an') (2015) (Masters of Cinema) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) | Blu Ray | (22/08/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the most acclaimed figures in modern Japanese cinema, Naoimi Kawase followed up her remarkable 2014 Still in the Water with Sweet Bean [AN], a small-town drama of culinary redemption, which opened the prestigious Un Certain Regard strain of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Struggling street food vendor Sentaro (Masatoshi Nagase) finds himself confronted with Tokue (Kirin Kiki), an odd but sympathetic elderly lady looking for work. When he reluctantly accepts, it's not long before Tokue proves to have an extraordinary gift when it comes to making an - the sweet red bean paste filling used in his dorayakis - which starts a relationship that is much more than just street food. With Sweet Bean, Kawase again focuses on people at the periphery of Japanese society and investigates their place in the flow of life itself. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film for the first time in the UK. Special Features: High Definition presentation on the Blu-ray Optional English Subtitles A new, exclusive video interview with Naomi Kawase Theatrical trailer A 32-page booklet featuring a new essay on the film by critic Philip Kemp; an interview and statement from Kawase, and production images Click Images to Enlarge

• The Mourning Forest (2007) (Masters of Cinema) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition | Blu Ray | (21/08/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Ten years after becoming the youngest winner of the Caméra d Or, Naomi Kawase returned to Cannes and claimed the prestigious Grand Prix for The Mourning Forest [Mogari no mori], a beautiful and contemplative portrait of grief. Machiko (Machiko Ono) is a young nurse who still carries the burden of her young son s death. Shigeki (Shigeki Uda) is an elderly widower and a resident at the nursing home where Machiko works. After celebrating Shigeki s birthday, Machiko takes him for a drive in the countryside, but their car breaks down and Shigeki absconds into the nearby forest. Machiko has no choice but to follow, and they become lost in the dense woodlands, before their fates eventually become entwined. Drawing comparisons to Shohei Imamura (particularly his Palme d Or winning The Ballad of Narayama) and Terence Malick, Naomi Kawase s The Mourning Forest is a hauntingly beautiful, symbolically rich masterpiece, and The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film for the first time ever on Blu-ray, in a special Dual Format edition. DUAL FORMAT SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: Stunning 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray, with a progressive encode on the DVD Uncompressed PCM audio on the Blu-ray High Definition Stills Gallery PLUS: A booklet featuring a statement from Kawase made at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, alongside stills from the films production