Venus in Fur (© 2013 R.P PRODUCTIONS – MONOLITH FILMS)

The latest film from Roman Polanski is coming to Tokyo, this one in French. Based on the two-person stage play, Venus in Fur starts with a frustrated director (Mathieu Amalric) trying to cast the perfect actress when one bursts into the theater intent on impressing him (played by Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle Seigner). The play-within-the-film is based on the novel by Leopold Sacher-Masoch, who lent his name to masochism. On from December 20 at Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho (2-7-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku; www.ht-cinema.com)

Two films by acclaimed Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev will screen from December 20 at Eurospace in Shibuya (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp)… The Return follows two brothers who only know their father from a fading photograph, until he appears on their doorstep. And Elena tells the story of an aging housewife who learns the inheritance that she has been counting on is under threat

Once, the musical about love and songwriting between two buskers in Dublin, is in town at Ex Theater Roppongi. If you want to get up to speed first with the film it’s based on, catch it from December 13 at Cinema Qualite (3-37-12 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku; http://qualite.musashino-k.jp).