The NEOWN editorial staff introduces new films that you should "see now".
We have selected four films, ranging from the most talked-about to the most noteworthy that we are interested in.

It doesn't matter if they don't love me.
On view from Friday, July 4, 2025

Director: Aya Igashi
Original story: Ayano Takeda, "Even If You Don't Love Me, I Don't Need to Be Loved".
Cast: Sara Minami, Fumika Baba, Mochiyui Honda, Shunsuke Motoi (IMP.), Sora Ishima, Shoko Ikezu, Aoba Kawai, etc.

Distributor: Culture Publishers Inc.

Official site:https://aisare-betsuni.com/

©Ayano Takeda/Kodansha ©2025 "Apart from Not Being Loved" Film Partners

Yosai Miyata was living a "shitty" college life with no time for fun and no hope for her future, as she was busy with housework and part-time jobs to support her mother. One day, she hears a rumor that her father is a murderer. The intimidating looking Enaga is the complete opposite of Miyata. However, the two, who had felt unable to build a normal relationship with others, meet and gradually begin to connect with each other, and their closed lives begin to move forward.

Directed by Aya Igashi, this live-action film is based on the novel of the same title by Ayano Takeda. Starring Sara Minami and co-starring Fumika Baba, Mochiyui Honda, Shunsuke Motoi (IMP.), Sora Ishima, Shoko Ikezu, and Aoba Kawai, this humanistic drama depicts the "coming-of-age escape drama" of young people dealing with toxic parents and family problems.

Although they both have a certain past, they receive something from each other in the time they spend together without going too deeply into each other's lives - and this is the way Miyata and Enaga build their relationship. We are drawn into the way Miyata and Enaga build their relationship, and are moved by the way they change.
The importance of time to simply face yourself straight on, even if it means distancing yourself a little from your closest relationships. In this process, small feelings of discomfort, fluctuating emotions, and changes such as determination arise. This is a work that I felt that people who are occupied with what is in front of them at the moment should encounter.

On the Sands of Summer
On view from Friday, July 4, 2025

Director: Shinya Tamada
Original story: Masataka Matsuda
Cast: Odagiri Joe, Takaishi Akari, Matsu Takako, Moriyama Naotaro, Takahashi Fumiya, Shinohara Yukiko, Mitsushima Hikari, Saito Yoichiro, Asai Kosuke, Hanase Kotone, Mitsuishi Ken and others

Distributor: Asmik Ace

Official site:https://natsunosunanoue-movie.asmik-ace.co.jp/

(C) 2025 "On the Sands of Summer" Film Partners

In Nagasaki during a dry, rainless summer, Osamu Koura is depressed by the loss of his young son, and his relationship with his estranged wife, Keiko, is strained. As Osamu wanders through his days without a job, his sister Asako comes to visit him with her 17-year-old daughter Yuko, while everyone around him is aware of the relationship between Jinno, a former colleague, and Keiko. Osamu takes care of Yuko and tries his best to act as a father figure to her, while Yuko becomes friends with Tateyama, a senior student at her part-time job. One day, Yuko encounters an argument between Osamu and Keiko. ......

Up-and-coming director Shinya Tamada directs and writes the screenplay for this film adaptation of the play of the same title by Masataka Matsuda, winner of the Yomiuri Literary Award for Best Drama and Scenario. Starring and co-produced by Odagiri Joe, the talented cast includes Akari Takaishi, Takako Matsu, Hikari Mitsushima, Fumiya Takahashi, Naotaro Moriyama, and Ken Mitsuishi. A man who lost his young son and his 17-year-old niece face their mutual pain and small hope in this human drama.

The movements and conversations of people passing by in a house. The quiet swell of emotions in an ordinary day. The accumulation of trivial moments, such as the time spent walking alone or the way a person looks at something, brings up a variety of backgrounds in this work. And as time passes, the steep stairway in front of the house that you always pass and the fork in the road that appears several times gradually change their expressions.
An uncle and niece, who are at odds with each other, live together. The exquisite relationship and distance between them is played with great subtlety by Odagiri Joe and Akari Takaishi. The scene in which the two face the rainfall was particularly moving.

The Man Who Lost His Face.
On view from Friday, July 11, 2025

Director: Aaron Simberg
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinswe, John Keating, Malachi Weir, Adam Pearson, Michael Shannon and others

Distributor: Happinet Phantom Studio

Official site:https://happinet-phantom.com/different-man/

© 2023 FACES OFF RIGHTS LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Edward, an aspiring actor with an extreme facial deformity, has feelings for his neighbor, Ingrid, an aspiring playwright, but keeps his feelings hidden. One day, he undergoes a treatment that dramatically changes his appearance and gives him a "new face. Just as he begins to lead a successful life as a different person, Oswald, a man who bears a striking resemblance to his former self, appears. This mysterious encounter accelerates and reverses Edward's destiny in an unexpected direction.

Directed and written by Aaron Simberg, Sebastian Stan plays Edward, an aspiring actor with a facial deformity. This unique absurdist thriller is a biting satire on the theme of lookism (appearance supremacy) with a black sense of humor.

What is a person's "attractiveness" in the first place? How do the outside and the inside affect each other? What is really important behind the "face" we usually see? This work asks these questions and delivers a quiet shock with its unpredictable development.
After undergoing radical treatment, Edward gets a "new face" and begins a new life. From there, Edward's destiny is thrown into disarray and his inner life is shaken loose. The sadness and irony of this story somewhat overlaps with the way we are swept away by appearances and the evaluations of others in the modern world.

Film "Deep Breath in the Water
Open to the public from Friday, July 25, 2025

Director: Shoji Yasui
Cast: Ruka Ishikawa, Runa Nakajima, Moi Kurata, Yuka Sasaki, Rin Matsumiya, Kurato Hachijoin, Ariko Ito, Chisako Kawase, Anne Yamamoto, Chihiro Morikawa, Kiwari Kurabayashi, Yuya Konishi, Toruya Nojima, Shuji Ikegami, Harumi Shuhama and others

Official site:https://mizunonaka-movie.jp/

Aoi, a first-year high school student, belongs to a swimming club and spends her days practicing while enduring unreasonable harassment by upperclassmen. She has a secret that she cannot tell anyone. She is confused about her attraction to Hina, a fellow swimmer. What is "normal" and what is "being oneself"?

This original film is directed by Shoji Yasui, who has won numerous international awards for his short films. Starring Ruka Ishikawa and co-starring Runa Nakajima, Moi Kurata, and Yuka Sasaki, the up-and-coming cast depicts the subtleties of a high school student's emotional struggle with unspoken feelings in this freshly filmed coming-of-age drama set in a swimming club.

This is a story of a summer's worth watching, carefully capturing the casual conversations, glances, and fleeting moments of flicker among high school students. The film depicts an age in which the outlines of oneself and others are still hazy and unstable, but feelings and relationships are gradually developing. The film depicts a time that is shifting and changing, and the irreplaceability that is unique to this time of year stands out. The film also has a somewhat lighthearted atmosphere typical of a coming-of-age film, and the final scene leaves a gentle aftertaste in the viewer's heart.

We have introduced four recommended films to be released in July.
Next month, we will continue to bring you inspiring and interesting films. Please look forward to it!
text: yabesaya

■NEOWN chooses 5 films to watch in June.