Two sisters, one board game, zero patience for mediocre men.
Asami and Rina are two sisters who are both professional shogi players in the same B League. Both are also unsatisfied with their partners — Asami is in a slump and is danger of slipping into the C League and she blames her husband Kazuya, and Rina is tired of her boyfriend Hiroki, an unsuccessful musician.
Acting
Asaka Seto's restrained fury could freeze a room.
Writing
Dialogue so dry you'll need water.
Direction
Otani turns shogi matches into psychological warfare.
Director
Kentaro Otani
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Female shogi professionals were exceptionally rare in early 2000s Japan; the film quietly interrogates a male-dominated space without centering men at all.
Shinya Tsukamoto—who plays the beleaguered husband—is primarily known as an avant-garde horror director (Tetsuo: The Iron Man), making his casting as a passive partner deliciously subversive.
JP
