Hanagatami

Japanese filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi (1938-2020) finally realized his dream of making an anti-war epic at age 80 after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and given six months to live. Based on a 1937 novella by Kazuo Dan and set in a Japanese coastal village a few months before Pearl Harbor, Hanagatami (the title means The Flower Basket) focuses on a teenage boy who sees his friendships and romances subsumed by war. Tonight at 6:30 p.m., the film makes its local debut at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. Special admission $11, or $8 for Cinematheque members, CIA and CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 and under.