“Raise Your Arms and Twist – Documentary of NMB48” – 2016 HKIFF press conference

The latest in a string of documentaries on Japan’s all-girl idol supergroups, “Raise Your Arms and Twist – Documentary of NMB48” startles in its appeal to a viewer who knows nothing about the music, the culture or the politics.  It helped that its director, Atsushi Funahashi, came into the project with an equally blank slate, having created comparatively serious works such as “Nuclear Nation” and “Cold Bloom.”

“When this offer came to me, I was like, ‘What?!,’” Funahashi said at a panel held at Hong Kong University.  “I didn’t know anyone in AKB48 and I didn’t know anyone in NMB48.”

“This is not for the idol geeks,” Funahashi emphasized. “It’s for the first-timers, for the outsiders. So that’s the approach I chose.”

The result is an almost clinical dissection of a complicated hierarchy in which the professional fates of young female singer-dancer-actresses are left to mercy of popularity votes and, at times, subjective senior management decisions.  No detail is seemingly spared in describing the system to the viewer; it may not be obvious in a theater, but the narrator is speaking into the listener’s right ear, as if in confidence so as not to distract too much from the visual spectacle on screen, whether it is the surrounding kitsch Dotonbori district of Osaka or a concert at a monster sports stadium with sparkly outfits.

Contrasting with this approach are some very personal stories interspersed throughout, including those of NMB48 captain Sayaka Yamamoto (山本彩) and rising star Fuuko Yagara (矢倉楓子), who both appeared with Funahashi at a 2016 Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) press conference promoting the world premiere of the documentary.  As expected, the relationships of the members zigzag between camaraderie and competition, showing a human side behind the robotic onstage synchronized dance moves.  In a statement issued by the HKIFF, Yamamoto said that the film is ultimately about life aspirations playing out in parallel with everyone else.

“I hope everyone [can learn more] about us through this documentary,” she said. “We are dreamers who are trying very hard to make our dreams come true.”

 

 

 

 

Photos: Video: Director Atsushi Funahashi, NMB48 members Sayaka Yamamoto and Fūko Yagura – Hong Kong International Film Festival press conference, Apr. 3, 2016
all photos by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine

Video: Director Atsushi Funahashi – Hong Kong Documentary Initiative, Mar. 31, 2016, Hong Kong University
video by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine

Video: Director Atsushi Funahashi, NMB48 members Sayaka Yamamoto and Fūko Yagura – Hong Kong International Film Festival press conference, Apr. 3, 2016
video by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine

Video: Trailer – “Raise Your Arms and Twist – Documentary of NMB48”