Theatrical trailer for Kazuyoshi Kumakiri's GREEN MIND, METAL BATS (SEISHUN ☆ KINZOKU BATTO),

A theatrical trailer for Kazuyoshi Kumakiri's Green Mind, Metal Bats (Seishun ☆ kinzoku batto) has been added to the official website for the movie. There's Enterprise Inc. (K.K. Zearizu Entâpuraizu) and Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc. (Nippon Shuppan Hanbai K.K.) plan to release the movie theatrically in Japan in late August. It had its world première at the 35th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on January 30th.

As was previously reported here and there on ScreenAnarchy, the screenplay for Green Mind, Metal Bats (Seishun ☆ kinzoku batto) was written by Takashi Ujita, based on the eponymous manga Seishun ☆ kinzoku batto - a.k.a. "Seishun Kinzoku Bat" - by Tomohiro Koizumi. The movie stars (listed order corresponds to theatrical trailer order) Pistol Takehara (Takehara Pisutoru), Masanobu Andô, Maki Sakai, director Kôji Wakamatsu, Megumi Satô, Yûsuke Kamiji, and Susumu Terajima.

Here's a description of Green Mind, Metal Bats from the IFFR website: "Baseball film, but not a sport film. But - just to make up - it does have a supporting role for Wakamatsu Koji as the spirit of Babe Ruth. A failure continues to practice his swing and excessively. Any change is progress in his case - even the encounter with a problem causing alcoholic bitch. Gentle and atmospheric. Based on manga, like so many Japanese dramas. ¶ When Kumakiri was asked by producer Kimura whether he was interested in filming the manga Green Minds, Metal Bats, he certainly did not expect a particularly good-natured subject. Not only because of the title, but also because Kimura is known for many extreme Miike Takashi films and because Kumakiri himself made his début with the splatter film Kichiku. Since A Hole in the Sky (Tiger Awards Competition 2001), Kumakiri has however developed into a steady, mature and tender chronicler of loves and obsessions in modern Japan. When it became apparent that the story was about young people who are all victims in their own pathetic way of their love for baseball, he accepted the challenge. The three protagonists have ended up going nowhere. Nanba is without money and a girlfriend. At secondary school, the future seemed promising: in those years, he played baseball at the highest level. But in the local supermarket where he has a part-time job, his colleagues think he is 'kind of yucky'. When he meets the aggressive alcoholic Eiko, the peace and quiet in Nanba's life is over. He also comes into contact with the frustrated policeman Ishioka, an old team mate who had to give up his sporting career because of an elbow injury. Wakamatsu Koji, the legendary maker of pink film classics such as Sex Jack (1967) and Ecstasy of Angels (1972), plays the spirit of Babe Ruth; we also see Terajima Susumu, star of films by Kitano and Kore-Eda."

Kumakiri's previous directing credits include The Volatile Woman (Kihatsusei no onna), The Ravaged House: Zoroku's Disease (Tadareta ie: 'Zôroku no kibyô' yori) - one of the movies in the Hideshi Hino's Theater of Horror (Hino Hideshi no za horâ: kaiki gekijô) hexalogy - Antenna (Antena), Hole in the Sky (Sora no ana), and Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts (Kichiku daienkai).

Green Mind, Metal Bats large theatrical trailer page
Green Mind, Metal Bats small theatrical trailer page
Green Mind, Metal Bats teaser trailer (downloadable 3.7 MB WMV file)
Green Mind, Metal Bats official website
The Ravaged House: Zoroku's Disease trailer (downloadable 0.7 MB WMV file)
The Ravaged House: Zoroku's Disease official webpage
Antenna official subsite
Hole in the Sky official subsite