Japan | The Sleepless Critic

REVIEW: Oscar nominated documentary shorts ‘Instruments of a Beating Heart,’ ‘Death by Numbers’ and ‘I am Ready, Warden’ at Coolidge Corner Theatre for a limited time

Posted on March 4, 2025 by The Sleepless Critic

The repercussions of two horrific and devastating crimes and a quiet lesson in discipline are just a few of the 2025 documentary shorts nominated for the 97^th annual Academy Awards which took place on Sunday, March 2. All of these shorts are available online and now playing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts through Thursday, March 6. Click here for more information and for tickets.

Please note that this review does not include Netflix’s The Only Girl in the Orchestra who took home Best Documentary Short or the New Yorker’s Oscar nominated documentary short Incident.

A beautifully engaging documentary from the start, Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s 23 minute Japanese short film Instruments of a Beating Heart, presented by Op-Docs, is a tender and endearing piece about an audition held for first graders for a part in a musical performance Ode to Joy in Tokyo 2022. The film’s cinematography is bright and inviting offering an inside look at these adorable, excitable and impressionable children learning about discipline amid competition. Their teacher is wise and firm with the students to help them grow. The film specifically focuses on intimidated Ayame who longs to play a particular instrument in the performance. The hidden meaning behind the title will not revealed here, but it is worth seeing this wonderful and tender film.

Ayame in ‘Instruments of a Beating Heart’

“Forever will always be yesterday.”

The classroom frozen in time, the warning signs and so much more encapsulate Parkland School horrific school shooting.

Written by Sam Fuentes and directed by Kim A Snyder, Death by Numbers dives deep inside case #26 from the perspective of traumatized survivor Sam Fuentes and the nature of what it is to live through this unimaginable loss.

The numbers represent not only the facts of the case, but what they know about the shooter through evidence of his mindset and sticks to Sam’s exclusive outlook on the case while tracing a fraction of her long and incalculable road to healing.

Death by Numbers also examines the unimaginable loss, guilt, forgiveness, grief, death, and mortality as well as an agonizing and riveting encounter with the shooter. It is a unique and chilling film that is humanized by Sam’s dynamic perspective.

In 2022, Texas Inmate John Henry Ramirez counts down the days until his execution after being convicted of the murder of Pablo Castro in 2004.

MTV Documentary Films presents I am Ready, Warden, a stirring 37 minute documentary set in Livingston, Texas that impressively covers just about every perspective of this heinous and unplanned act, its aftermath, and a snapshot into Ramirez’s background. It is mainly told from Ramirez’s perspective, but contains interviews with the godmother who supported Ramirez when his family left, the victim’s family, Ramirez’s son born when Ramirez was on the run, and takes a deeper look at Texas’s death penalty. I am Ready, Warden also examines the complicated emotions of everyone involved in this case including what results when Ramirez tries to reach out to the victim’s son, Aaron.

All of these shorts are available online and now playing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts through Thursday, March 6. Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: Lyric Stage brings beauty and powerful perspective to Sondheim’s ‘Pacific Overtures’

Posted on June 2, 2019 by The Sleepless Critic

Surrounded by wild pink cherry blossoms, Lyric Stage reveals a telling story with Stephen Sondheim’s stirring musical Pacific Overtures, a historical production set in 1853 when a mysterious ship drops anchor on Japan’s remote and tranquil island. Told entirely from Japan’s perspective, it’s an important tale about conflict, betrayal, and the price of progress.

Skillfully directed by Spiro Veloudos, musically-directed by Jonathan Goldberg, and choreographed by Micheline Wu, Lyric Stage presents Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures through June 16 at 140 Clarendon Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and tickets.

Lyric Stage Pacific Overtures Please Hello

Jeff Song and The cast of Pacific Overtures. Photo by Mark S. Howard.

The Lyric Stage has a knack for surprises. They take on a variety of shows throughout the season, from contemporary to original productions to traditional musicals, but one thing they all have in common is it is hard to imagine how the show will play out onstage. Though rarely performed, Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures is an unpredictable, multi-layered musical that delivers an unforgettable message about power and prosperity.

Between scenic designer Janie E Howland’s hand painted set, the sloping wild pink cherry blossoms, Gail Astrid Buckley’s rich and historically-accurate costumes, and Karen Perlow’s clever light design, Lyric Stage brings to life Japan’s beautiful and increasingly tumultuous landscape. This show does an excellent job at depicting a sympathetic, humorous, and at times, haunting look of how Japan saw the outside world.

Micheline Wu performs a fan Dance Photo by Mark S. Howard

Kai Chao in Pacific Overtures. Photo by Mark S. Howard.

Choreographer Micheline Wu’s reflects Japan’s distinct culture in sharp choreography, integrating samurai tradition while carefully letting a bit of westernization seep in. Kai Chao as relentless Commodore Perry struts into a patriotic, humorous, and cunning Lion Dance while Wu herself, who also depicts Tamate and other roles, captures Tamate’s raw vulnerability in a fan dance during the reflective number, There is No Other Way.

The cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘Pacific Overtures’ Photo by Mark S. Howard

Enthusiastically recited by Lisa Yuen, who was last seen on the Lyric Stage as the mesmerizing Spider Woman in Puig’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, Yuen delicately balances the tale she tells with a mix of humor and urgency, occasionally stepping into the story itself. That could be an awkward transition, but it’s one that Yuen takes on with ease.

Carl Hsu portrays Kayama, a quietly conflicted fisherman thrust into the spotlight to solve a seemingly impossible issue. Hsu’s wistful, soaring vocals reflect his alienation as western culture attempts to take hold in Bowler Hat. Inquisitive and awestruck, he struggles to adjust to Japan’s seeming future.

Lyric Stage Pacific Overtures Carl Hsu and Sam Hamashima

Carl Hsu as Kayama and Sam Hamashima as Manjiro in ‘Pacific Overtures’ Photo by Mark S. Howard

Sam Hamashima portrays Massachusetts fisherman prisoner Manjiro, a man with mysterious intentions. Hamasima and Hsu show low key camaraderie as they improvise together during the number Poems. Gary Thomas Ng takes on several roles, but proves to be at his funniest as the Grandmother in the lighthearted number, Welcome to Kanagawa.

Lyric Stage Pacific Overtures Welcome to Kanagawa

Alexander Holden, Gary Thomas Ng, Karina Wen, and Kai Chao in Pacific Overtures. Photo by Mark S. Howard.

Change can be painful. From a remote, peaceful, self-sufficient island to an economic powerhouse to the home of the 2020 Olympics, Japan has worn many faces and overcame many obstacles. Pacific Overtures depicts the raw emotion and a sympathetic perspective on what that might have felt like along the way.

Lyric Stage continues Stephen Sondheim’s moving musical, Pacific Overtures through Sunday, June 16 at 140 Clarendon Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Click here for tickets and more information. Subscriptions and dinner packages are also available. Follow The Lyric Stage on Twitter and Facebook for their upcoming productions and more.