''Sake-Bomb'' is a 2013 film directed by Junya Sakino, written by Jeff Mizushima, and starring Gaku Hamada and Eugene Kim as cousins who embark on a road trip in California. It is a shared Japanese and American production. It premiered at the 2013

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

film festival.

Plot

After his girlfriend dumps him, Sebastian, a cynical and bitter Asian-American

vlogger A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...

, meets his cousin Naoto, a Japanese tourist. Naoto has come to America to follow his ex-girlfriend, who left him without any explanation. Seeking answers for their respective relationship issues, the two embark on a road trip that results in culture clash between the two cousins and wider American culture.

Cast

Gaku Hamada is a Japanese film and television actor. He was a regular cast member of Fuji TV's ''Operation Love'', appearing in all 11 episodes broadcast in 2007 and the 2008 special, and receiving an award for his role. He has made numerous other TV appe ...

as Naota * Eugene Kim as Sebastian * Marlane Barnes as Joslyn * Josh Brodis as Michael *

Denden is a Japanese actor and former comedian.http://japancinema.net/2012/05/29/creative-spotlight-episode-126-denden He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1981. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * { ...

as Masa *

Chrissie Fit Chrissie Fit (born April 3, 1984) is an American actress. In 2007, Fit rose to prominence after she was cast as the character Mercedes Juarez in the medical drama, '' General Hospital''. She also played the roles of CheeChee in the DCOMs '' Teen ...

as Edie * Samantha Quan as Tamiko *

Hiroyuki Watanabe was a Japanese actor. He primarily acted in dramas, of which a handful are tokusatsu series. One of his latest roles was as Taiga Saejima in the tokusatsu series ''GARO''. He also played Kamen Rider Gaoh in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' movie, ...

as Takanori *

Jessika Van Jessika Van is an American actress, singer-songwriter, pianist and dancer. Van is most known for playing "Becca," the ringleader of the Asians or the Asian mafia in Season 2 and Season 3 of MTV's '' Awkward.'' She also played Kim, a Hong Kong Po ...

as Annie * Jenn Liu as Olivia *

Dat Phan Dat Phan (born January 25, 1975) is a Vietnamese American stand-up comedian. He first rose to fame in 2003 after defeating runner-up Ralphie May to win Season 1 of Last Comic Standing. In Fall 2004, he returned for the third season dubbed "Battl ...

as Long Wang * Mary Carey as Ms. Robinson

Production

Besides a comedy enjoyable without thinking about heavy themes, director Sakino wanted to offer audiences subject matter with which broad audiences could identify if they looked closer. Aspects of the film were based on real experiences that Sakino and writer Mizushima faced as Asians in America. The crew was multicultural, and this caused real-life culture clashes.

Release

''Sake-Bomb'' premiered at the 2013

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

film festival. It was distributed in the UK by

Third Window Films Third Window Films is a UK-based distributor of movies from East Asia founded in 2005. They have provided distribution for numerous award-winning films, such as ''Oasis'' (Winner of Marcello Mastroianni Award, FIPRESCI Prize Signis Award and Specia ...

and in the US by First Pond.

Reception

Kaori Shoji of ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

'' rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "It has its good points, but on the other hand, ''Sake Bomb'' seems to pander a bit much to the insecurities and sense of inadequacy that are a big part of life for Japanese living in America." Inkoo Kang of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' called it "a thoughtful and moving road-trip dramedy" that is hurt by Mizushima's editing. Jamie S. Rich of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'' wrote, "''Sake-Bomb'' is a road-tripping culture-clash comedy with something to say, even though it's not always good at saying it." James Mudge of Beyond Hollywood described it as "a very enjoyable mix of serious and intriguing themes with a commercially friendly road-buddy comedy in the traditional Hollywood style." The film won Best Narrative Feature at the 2013 San Diego Asian Film Festival. Mizushima won Outstanding Screenplay at the

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Ameri ...

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, sake_bomb 2013 films 2013 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films American independent films Japanese comedy-drama films Japanese independent films 2013 comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s Japanese films