Part of the 2017 season: Odd Obsessions

Flying Colours

Director Nobuhiro Doi

Cast Starring: Kasumi Arimura, Atsushi Ito, Shuhei Nomura

2015, 117 min, English subtitles

Images: © 2015 "Flying Colors" Film Partners

ビリギャル (Birigyaru)

UK Premiere

Bottom-of-the-class Sayaka (played by newcomer Kasumi Arimura) enrols in a cram school in a last ditch attempt to improve her grades. There Sayaka meets the overly optimistic and unconventional teacher Mr Tsubota (Atsushi Ito) who soon encourages Sayaka to set her sights on passing the entrance exam for Japan’s prestigious Keio University.

Based on a true story and bestselling book How a Teen Girl Went From Academic Absurdity to an Elite University in One Amazing Year, this film follows Japan’s highly competitive and demanding university entrance exams. A huge smash hit upon its release, the film was ranked the third highest-grossing Japanese live-action film at the Japanese box office in 2015.

学習塾を営む坪田信貴の実話を基にしたベストセラー「学年ビリのギャルが1年で偏差値を40上げて慶応大学に現役合格した」を映画化。学年ビリのギャル、さやかは、少しでも成績を上げようと、最後の手段として入った学習塾で講師の坪田と出会う。やがて彼のユニークな教授法でメキメキと学力を付けた彼女は、難関の慶應義塾大学を本気で目指すことを決意する。

監督: 土井裕泰
出演: 有村架純、伊藤淳史、野村周平

Distributor: TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc.)

Past screenings