Following the United States premiere of the new 2K restoration as part of New York City’s Japan Society over the weekend, Hideaki Anno’s first live-action feature-length film, “Love and Pop,” is headed to North American theaters for the first time via GKids.
The movie, based on the novel by Ryū Murakami, was originally released in 1998 but never had a North American release. The new 2K restoration will be “presented with technical adjustments made to its format,” since it was originally captured by consumer-grade handheld digital cameras (Anno is frequently playing with format, with sections of his recent “Shin Kamen Rider” captured via iPhone). The film will be released at the IFC Center in New York City starting Feb. 21 and at the American Cinematheque’s Los Feliz 3 starting Feb. 23. Additional markets will follow.
“Love and Pop” is described, in the official release as “radical in its stylistic approach to teenage ennui, taking to the seedy streets of Shibuya with handheld digicams, distorted lenses and a barrage of unconventional camera angles.” The mo
