Japan

 

From the opening colonic-irrigation scene, immediately followed by an episode in a Tokyo office where wretched new toys are being tested on spoilt-brat infants, it's clear that Sawako Decides will be one of the more unusual Japanese films of the year. In fact, in a year in which the creativity in Japanese mainstream cinema all but curled up and died, it's a real stand-out: a joyous, nuanced, comic drama about female empowerment.