Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2010

Awaremi Mumashika calls to mind recent comedies by Satoshi Miki (Instant Numa) and Kankuro Kudo (No More Cry), in which oddball characters come together in wacky, convoluted situations that play out in a humorous, often anarchic manner. So it is in this farce by director Kentaro Matsuda, which was made last year but is just getting a run in the theaters now. It’s the dead of summer, and a provincial Japanese town is suffering from the heat and a stagnant economy. A local farmer whose main pursuit seems to be having sex with pigs becomes convinced—after a “run-in” with a signboard—that a monster is loose on his property. From this absurd incident, town councilman Atsuo (Koshiro Asami) gets the idea to start a rumor of a local bigfoot-like monster to attract media attention—and tourists. In order to enact this plan, however, he must figure out how to stage some actual sightings of the creature. Awaremi Mumashika is somewhat funny but, lacking the big laughs of the heavyweights of this genre, is a tad disappointing. (74 min)