Written by: Nicole Castro
Published on: August 14 2021 at 10:09 PHT (GMT+8)
The official Twitter account of Japanese rock band RADWIMPS has announced the release of a new YouTube MV titled Utakata-Uta (うたかた歌).
Utakata-Uta is the theme song of the movie Kinema no Kami-sama 「Japanese: キネマの神様, stylized in English as It's a Flickering Life」which is currently showing in theatres in Japan. The MV for Utakata-Uta features actors Masaki Suda and Yojiro Noda (also a member of RADWIMPS), who play the young versions of Go and Terashin in Kinema no Kami-sama. Their characters work in the same movie studio and look back on how time has affected their dreams.
The MV was directed by filmmaker Kento Yamada, who has worked with RADWIMPS multiple times in the past. Suda and Noda's singing scenes were shot in 16mm film to produce a warm, nostalgic effect. The choice of film is also a reference to Go and Terashin's amateur days in the film industry.
About RADWIMPS
RADWIMPS is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and later on through major label EMI Music Japan (formerly Toshiba EMI) in 2005. Their current members include Yojiro Noda ((野田洋次郎), Akira Kuwahara (桑原彰), Yusuke Takeda (武田祐介), and Satoshi Yamaguchi (山口智史). To the anime community, they are famous for providing the soundtrack to Makoto Shinkai's Your Name, one of the highest-grossing Japanese animated films, as well as the soundtrack to Shinkai's next film, Weathering with You.
Synopsis of the film Kinema no Kami-sama by Shochiku Films:
Go (Kenji Sawada) is a passionate gambler but a deadbeat dad, and his wife Yoshiko (Nobuko Miyamoto) and family have given up on him. Nevertheless, there’s one thing that Go has always been wholeheartedly devoted to: movies. He and Terashin, the owner of a repertory cinema he frequents, are old friends from their days working at a film studio.
In their youth, Go (Masaki Suda) and his colleagues spent every waking moment chasing their dreams, surrounded by great directors and famous stars who represented Japan’s golden age of motion pictures. However, when Go and Terashin (Yojiro Noda) both fell in love with a young woman (Mei Nagano) whose family ran a diner, the wheels of fate started to wobble...
In this tale of love and friendship spanning a lifetime, the "god of cinema" that Go has worshipped since he was young will transcend time, and work a miracle in the lives of one family...
Source: RADWIMPS Official Twitter | Comic Natalie | Moshi Moshi Nippon
