Party 'Round the Globe

Hirobumi Watanabe (director of the award-winning Poolsideman) writes, directs and stars in this genially tongue-in-cheek comedy drama that has distinct echoes of Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law (1986). Two Beatles fans head off to a Paul McCartney concert at the Tokyo Dome. Deadpan Hikaru Honda leads a quiet life with his dog Ringo and tends to do the driving, while his motormouth friend Takafumi Hirayama (director Watanabe, always amusing and off-kilter) provides a funny and droll monologue.