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For more than 70 years, the Cannes Film Festival has been synonymous with sex, and we can credit an 18-year-old Brigitte Bardot for bringing them together. Bizarrely, though, this had nothing to do with movies. Despite her global fame as a sex symbol, the actress, now 90, has only ever had one contemporary film accepted by the festival. Even then, it was as part of an ensemble, in a section of a three-part 1968 portmanteau called Spirits of the Dead, directed by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini. All three stories were based on stories by Edgar Allen Poe, and Bardot appeared in Malle’s section, William Wilson, the macabre story of a man (Alain Delon) haunted, and taunted, by his double. It never screened, though. As part of a countrywide protest — ironically, brought to boiling point in Cannes by Malle himself — the whole event was canceled.

But, by then, Bardot had...

Carlos M. Quintela‘s ‘The Wolves of the East‘ starts with a voiceover stating, “There were two species of wolves that inhabited the Japanese archipelago. But now they are extinct. Now, hunters take on the role of the wolves, in maintaining the ecosystem of this region.” The hunters kill deer to maintain the ecosystem. From the first minute, Quintela establishes the parallels between nature and humans. And for the next eighty minutes, he tries to explore the complex human condition through an examination of nature’s mysteries.

The Wolves of the East is screening at Black Movie

The story unfolds around an aged hunter, Akira Nimura, who is forced to step down from his presidential position in the local hunters’ association. Nimura believes that the wolves are not extinct. To search for them, he uses the association’s funds to buy cameras without getting any approval from the others. Nimura...

In 2002, the hype for Japanese horror films was declining rapidly, as the sequels to series like “Ring” or “The Grudge” were commercially and critically unsuccessful. Even though directors such as Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu came to Hollywood to helm the remakes to their films or their sequels, Hollywood had already adapted J-horror tropes to its own productions. As Jerry White points out, one of the perhaps most disappointing entries in the J-horror remakes was Jim Sonzero’s version of Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s “Pulse” (2001). Perhaps it was this particular experience which made Kurosawa change genres with his next project “Bright Future”.

Bright Future is screening at Black Movie

In general, Kurosawa is best known for his unique horror films such as “Pulse” or “Cure”, films which years after their release now unfold their true impact. At the same time, the director has also repeatedly explored the gap between youth and adults,...

Takashi, an actor based in Tokyo, receives troubling news about his father Yohji while preparing for a new role. Yohji, whom Takashi has been estranged from for years, lives alone in southern Japan. However, when the police respond to a call at Yohji’s home, they find the elderly man confused and his longtime partner Naomi missing.

Reluctantly, Takashi and his wife Yuki, who supports his career, travel to see Yohji. They discover he has dementia and must now live in a care facility. But questions remain around Naomi’s disappearance. As Takashi searches for clues with Yuki’s help, he also reflects on the broken bond with his father.

The mystery is just one thread in director Kei Chikaura’s tapestry. His nonlinear narrative unfolds the family’s history through flashes of memory. This structure mirrors the disorienting reality of dementia. Acclaimed actors like Mirai Moriyama as Takashi and...

Based on a story by Leonard Schrader, who also wrote “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” and “The Man Who Stole the Sun”, “P.P. Rider” shares many similarities with “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun” particularly in the way it combines school students with yakuza. It is also worth mentioning that Somai's initial cut was four hours long, but he had to cut it in half in order to be presented as a double feature with “Urusei Yatsura: Only You”.

P. P Rider is screening on Metrograph

The film starts with a rather impressive long sequence which introduces us to the main characters and the event that the story centers on, with the chaos that ensues from the beginning essentially setting the tone for the whole movie. Nobunaga Deguchi seems to be the most obese kid in his classroom in highschool, but he also happens to be its bully, as...

Metrograph presents Shinji Sômai x 3, a program of recent restorations anchored by a week-long run of Moving, the latest of Sômai's films to be restored and re-released, beginning August 2 at Metrograph In Theater. P. P. Rider and Typhoon Club round out the series, with both of Sômai's earlier works arriving on Metrograph At Home on August 9.

“I can say with absolute conviction that no Japanese filmmaker makes a film without being conscious of Shinji Sômai's existence… [Sômai] convinced the Japanese audience at the time that ‘cinema is not dead yet.'… For anyone who wants to see a movie that has the power to change and sustain your life, I urge you to see Shinji Sômai's films.” —Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Shinji Sômai's tragic death at age 53 in 2001 robbed Japanese cinema of one of its foremost talents, a poet of alienation, frustration, and youthful revolt whose 13 films show a distinct and compassionate perspective,...

Independents look solid this weekend with Vertical’s Widow Clicquot nice alternative programming amid summer blockbuster season, IFC Film horror Oddity off to a fine start, and Thelma, one of the year’s biggest specialty hits, passing $8 million. New films and holdovers in limited release did business.

Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot is looking at an estimated 3-day box-office gross of $190k on about 100 screens. Haley Bennett stars as Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot in the true story of a 20-year-old woman who flouts convention by — after her husband dies — taking the reins of their wine business. Clicquot (1777–1866) defied her critics and ultimately revolutionized the champagne industry one of the world’s early, great businesswomen. (‘Veuve’ is French for widow.)

The R-rated drama, screenplay by Erin Dignam, is 88% with critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, a good sign for an extended run. Top five opening markets include LA, NY, San Francisco, Washington D.

It’s busy and Twister-y at the box office this weekend, but a few indies are hoping to catch a breeze with very well-reviewed Oddity looking to expand the market for high-end horror and Widow Clicquot to attract fans of good period films and bubbly.

Oddity from IFC Films, is a supernatural home-invasion horror from writer-director Damian McCarthy (Caveat). It opens on 790 screens, the widest new indie release this week. Carolyn Bracken stars as Dani, who is restoring an old castle in rural Cork County, Ireland, with her husband Ted (Gwilym Lee), a doctor at a facility for the criminally insane. When Dani is brutally murdered, her blind occultist twin sister Darcy (also Bracken) goes after those responsible using inherited haunted items as her tools of revenge. Premiered in SXSW’s Midnighter section, taking the Audience Award. At 98% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Vertical’s Indie drama Widow Cliquot is...

It could be argued that the closest relative to films about dementia is the murder mystery. There are certainly many common features: a victim and an enigmatic killer; false memories and red herrings; clues from which an identity must be pieced together; and a (usually jubilant) resolution in which said identity is revealed, if only briefly. In this sense, Kei Chika-ura’s latest feature, Great Absence, is not natural and convincing in spite of its thrilling (if not always successful) blend of Florian Zeller’s The Father and Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder, but because of it.

After a workshop of Ionescu’s Exit the King, Takashi (Mirai Moriyama), an actor of moderate fame, receives a call from the police. His father Yohji (Tatsuya Fuji), whom he hasn’t seen for some twenty years, has just been detained by local authorities after placing a phony distress call that resulted...

Up-and-coming filmmaker Kei Chikaura unveils a second impressive feature film with “Great Absence.” Where his previous movie, “Complicity,” focused on cross-cultural communication, for his newest project, Chikaura utilizes personal experiences in a co-written effort with Keita Kumano to tell a story of family reconciliation. Collaborating with the director again is legendary actor Tatsuya Fuji, best known internationally for starring in Nagisa Oshima's films “In the Realm of the Senses” and “Empire of Passion.”

Great Absence is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Takashi is an actor based in Tokyo preparing for his latest role, with guidance from his producer, Yuki, who also happens to be his wife. While rehearsing, he is summoned by law enforcement to receive news that his father, Yohji, whom he has an estranged relationship with, had his home raided following a distress call. Reluctant due to personal resentment toward his parent, he eventually decides to...

When memory slips away, what do we know to be real anymore?

That’s the question asked by “Great Absence,” a new film that sees legendary Japanese actor Tatsuya Fuji return to the big screen in a father-son drama about life, death, mortality, and morality. Filmmaker Kei Chika-ura writes and directs the feature which centers on a rekindled family amid an Alzheimers diagnosis and a suicide.

The official synopsis reads: Distanced from his father Yohji (Tatsuya Fuji) for twenty years, actor Takashi (Mirai Moriyama) is brought back home by a jarring police call. Yohji has disconnected from reality due to dementia, and his second wife Naomi (Hideko Hara) is missing. Asked where she is, the old man replies that she committed suicide. While trying to find out about the stepmother, Takashi traces the past of Yohji he has never been able to accept. And since Yohji abandoned his family 20 years ago for Naomi,...

July 10–21, 2024 · Japan Society · New York, NY

North America's largest Japanese film festival presents two weeks of contemporary premieres, including new films from Kei Chika-ura, Takeshi Kitano, Gakuryu Ishii, Shunji Iwai, Sho Miyake and Shinya Tsukamoto

31 films including 5 International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, 4 U.S. Premieres, 2 East Coast Premieres and 7 New York Premieres

Includes the International Premiere of Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic

Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic © 2016,2023 Toho Co., Ltd

New York, NY—Japan Society announces the full lineup of the 17th annual Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film, the largest festival of its kind in North America. Set for July 10–August 21 in New York City, this year's edition will present over 30 films spanning 12 days across Feature Slate, Next Generation, Classics and Short Film sections. Among the festival's lineup are five International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, four U.S. Premieres, two East Coast Premieres and seven New York Premieres. Additionally, Japan...

Comprising international premieres, short programs, and some of the country’s finest-ever films in new restorations, 2024’s Japan Cuts––running July 10-21 at New York’s Japan Society––has been unveiled. It’s in the festival’s nature that numerous works and directors are lesser-known on American shores, though a cursory search has one regularly stopping: new films by Takeshi Kitano (Kubi), Shunji Iwai (Kyrie), Shinya Tsukamoto (Shadow of Fire), and Gakuryu Ishii (The Box Man) populate the selection. Meanwhile, Hideaki Anno’s modern classic Shin Godzilla debuts in a new, black-and-white cut Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic.

Its classics section is three-for-three: Ishii’s August in the Water, Shinji Somai’s Moving, and Toshiharu Ikeda Mermaid Legend, which is more or less one of the greatest films ever made. One can anticipate at least a couple of Japan Cuts’ current unknowns are tomorrow’s figureheads.

See the full lineup below:...

In the wake of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest Oscar win for “The Boy and the Heron” and the VOD dominance of “Godzilla Minus One,” Japanese cinema continues to be as vital as ever to American audiences. That should make the upcoming edition of Japan Cuts, the annual film festival celebrating Japanese cinema co-produced by Japan Society, one of the most exciting events on New York cinephiles’ summer calendars.

The lineup, which IndieWire can exclusively reveal, contains a mix of American and New York premieres alongside a curated selection of newly restored classics. Notable titles include “Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic,” a new black-and-white version of Hideaki Anno’s 2016 kaiju blockbuster; and “Shadow of Fire,” the war drama from “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” director Shinya Tsukamoto that premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.

“We couldn’t be more amazed by this year’s festival,” Peter Tatara, director of film at Japan Society, who...

At the Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Udine, Italy, Mitsuhiro Mihara’s Takano Tofu clinched the Golden Mulberry prize, the top honor at the festival’s audience awards.

Family drama Takano Tofu follows a father and daughter as they run a tofu shop in a small town, and stars Tatsuya Fuji and Kumiko Aso. The title also won the Purple Mulberry Award, chosen by users of Italian film fan platform MYmovies.

Feff hosted a parallel online component through the MYmovies One platform, where Takano Tofu came in as the second most-streamed film after Korean film Alienoid.

Taking second prize at the audience awards was another Japanese film, Confetti, directed by Naoya Futjita. The coming-of-age film follows Yuki (played by Matsufuji Shion), who takes on female roles for his father’s traveling theater troupe. Hong Kong film Time Still Turns the Pages by Nick Cheuk came in third.

The White...

Mitsuhiro Mihara’s Takano Tofu won two awards including the top Golden Mulberry prize at the closing of Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Udine, Italy, where the honours were dominated by titles from Japan and South Korea.

The family drama centres on a father and daughter who run a tofu store, and stars Tatsuya Fuji and Kumiko Aso. It received its European premiere at Feff, where director Mihara accepted the award, decided by audience votes, on Thursday (May 2).

The film also won the Purple Mulberry Award, selected users of Italian film fan platform MYmovies. The online component of Feff,...

On a big night for Japan, Mitsuhiro Mihara’s Takano Tofu took home the top prize at the 26th Far East Film Festival (Feff), which concluded on Thursday night in the northern Italian city of Udine. The family drama, which stars Tatsuya Fuji and Kumiko Aso as a father and daughter who run a tofu store in a small town, won Feff’s coveted Golden Mulberry Audience Award. Takano Tofu also won the Purple Mulberry Award, which is selected by users of MYmovies, Italy’s leading film fan platform.

It was a one-two for Japan in the main audience awards, as Naoya Fujita’s youthful drama Confetti came second place. In third was the Hong Kong film Time Still Turns the Pages, a devastating drama from Nick Cheuk who scored best director wins at the Asian Film Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards for the same film.

Feff’s Black...

Director Mitsuhiro Mihara has outlined a few characters around the idea of the grumpy, ageing artisan, last bastion of some sort of art or tradition that is destined to vanish in the modern world and Tatsuya Fuji seems to be his default choice to flesh out those characters. He was an old-school family photographer in “Photo Album of the Village” (2004), a skilled Chinese chef in “Flavor of Happiness” (2008) and he is a committed tofu maker in his latest effort, “Takanu Tofu”.

Takano Tofu is screening at UdineFar East Film Festival 2024

Tatsuo Takano (Tatsuya Fuji) and his daughter Haru (Kumiko Aso) run a small artisanal tofu production with attached shop, in their town of Onomichi, in the Hiroshima Prefecture. To tell the truth, after many years of working together, Takano is still the craftsman and Haru the helper; the art of making his wonderful and unique tofu is a jealously kept...

Director Mitsuhiro Mihara has outlined a few characters around the idea of the grumpy, ageing artisan, last bastion of some sort of art or tradition that is destined to vanish in the modern world, and Tatsuya Fuji seems to be his default choice to flesh out those characters. He was an old-school family photographer in “Photo Album of the Village” (2004), a skilled Chinese chef in “Flavor of Happiness” (2008) and he is a committed tofu maker in his latest effort, “Takano Tofu”.

Takano Tofu is screening at Asian Pop Up Cinema

Tatsuo Takano (Tatsuya Fuji) and his daughter Haru (Kumiko Aso) run a small artisanal tofu production with attached shop, in their town of Onomichi, in the Hiroshima Prefecture. To tell the truth, after many years of working together, Takano is still the craftsman and Haru the helper; the art of making his wonderful and unique tofu is a jealously kept...

Beyond the fact that both films star Sonny Chiba taking revenge against the Yakuza, Yakuza Wolf 2: Extend My Condolences (Ôkami Yakuza: Tomurai Ha Ore Ga Dasu) has almost nothing to do with Yakuza Wolf 1: I Perform Murder.

While imprisoned, Ibuki (Chiba) befriends Goro Yuki (Tatsuya Fuji). Ibuki and his new buddy plot escape and a heist that will avenge his betrayal by the Yakuza. On the cusp of the prison break the pair are comically and unexpectedly released. Shortly after gaining their freedom, they are saved from assassination by an old friend. Undeterred, they go about putting together a crew for the heist.

As a movie, Yakuza Wolf 2 feels somewhat confused as to what it is. Is it a buddy comedy, a crime caper or a WW2 style men on a mission film? It tries to cram in a bit of everything. The film's construction is also a.

San Sebastián, Spain, native Jaione Camborda took the top prize, the Golden Shell for best film, at the 71st San Sebastián Film Festival, for her The Rye Horn, a 1970s-set drama about a midwife forced to flee Galicia, Spain, to Portugal when, after a tragedy strikes, a teenage mother asked her for an abortion.

The audience award for best film went to J.A. Bayona’s Netflix real-life survival thriller Society of the Snow, while San Sebastián viewers voted Matteo Garrone’s migration drama Io Capitano the best European film at the festival. Both Society of the Snow and Io Capitano are in the running for the 2024 Oscar in the best international feature category.

The best performance award went to both Marcelo Subiotto for his performance as a philosophy teacher at the University of Buenos Aires battling a bitter rival over a professorship position in the dramedy Puan and Tatsuya Fuji...

Janet Novás in The Rye Horn Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival Jaione Camborda's The Rye Horn took the top award of the Golden Shell as San Sebastian Film Festival drew to a close last night. The San Sebastian-born director's second film is set in 1970s Galicia and relates the struggles of a woman who finds herself forced to flee on a smugglers' route between Spain and Portugal.

The Best Director Silver Shell went to to Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang for Taiwanese film A Journey In Spring and the Silver Shell for Best Screenplay went to María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat for Argentinian comedy Puan. Its star Marcelo Subiotto also won a Silver Shell for his portrayal of the hapless philosophy professor at the film's heart, which he shared, ex-aequo, with Tatsuya Fuji for his role in Japanese dementia drama Great Absence.

Jaione Camborda with her Golden...

The San Sebastian Film Festival awarded O Corno (The Rye Horn) with the Golden Shell for Best Film. San Sebastián native Jaione Camborda took the top prize of the night for the feature she directed.

Additionally, the jury gave the Silver Shell for Best Director to Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang for Chun xing / A Journey in Spring (Taiwan), while the Best Screenplay Award went to María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat for Puan (Argentina-Italy-Germany-France-Brazil).

The Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance fell ex aequo upon Marcelo Subiotto and Tatsuya Fuji for their respective roles in Puan, by Alché and Naishtat, and Great Absence (Japan), by Kei Chika-ura, while the Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance went to Hovik Keuchkerian for his character in Un amor (Spain) by Isabel Coixet.

Check out the full list of winners below.

San Sebastian 2023 Award Winners List Golden Shell For Best Film

O Corno (The Rye Horn...

Spanish director becomes the fourth consecutive woman director to win the festival’s top prize

The Rye Horn (O Corno), the second feature by Jaione Camborda, has won the top prize, the Golden Shell, at the 2023 San Sebastian Film Festival.

Set on an island off the coast of Galicia in 1971, the film tells the story of a woman who earns a living harvesting shellfish. She is also known on the island for helping other women in childbirth but has to flee and try to cross the border into Portugal after an unexpected event.

Camborda, who was born in San Sebastian,...

A predictably spectacular sunset spreads streaks of pink and orange across a northern Spanish late September sky, heralding the end of another packed edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival, where at the closing gala, “The Rye Horn” the second feature from Spanish director Jaione Camborda has just been handed the Golden Shell, the festival’s top award.

It is perhaps a surprising win, but does now mark the fourth consecutive year that the festival’s most prestigious prize has gone to a female director. But in another way it has to be a first: the international jury, comprising French director Claire Denis, alongside Chinese actor and producer Fan Bingbing, Colombian producer-director Cristina Gallego, French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, Spanish actor Vicky Luengo, Canadian producer and distributor Robert Lantos and German director Christian Petzold, has chosen to award not just a Spanish film, but one from a female director who was...

Tatsuya Fuji, Mirai Moriyama star.

Gaga Corporation has acquired international sales rights excluding Japan on Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Platform entry Great Absence ahead of its European premiere in San Sebastian later this month.

Tatsuya Fuji and dance artist Mirai Moriyama star in the recent TIFF world premiere, which marks director Kei Chika-ura’s second feature after Complicity premiered at 2018 TIFF.

Great Absence is inspired by Chika-ura’s own experiences and centres on Takashi, a man who has been estranged from his father Yohji for 20 years and returns home with his wife after receiving a call from the police...

Great Absence, the second feature film from Japanese director Kei Chika-ura, is receiving its world premiere in Toronto International Film Festival’s Platform section.

Inspired by Kei’s real-life experiences, the film tells the story of an actor living in Tokyo who is forced to travel home when the police call to say his father is suffering from dementia and has lost touch with reality. Making matters worse, his father’s second wife appears to be missing.

The actor makes the trip home with his own wife, full of conflicted emotions over a man who left the family when he was still a child, and starts an exploration into the mysteries of his father’s life. Along the way, the film touches on themes including time and memory, familial obligation and the role that women play in male-dominated Japanese society.

Veteran actor Tatsuya Fuji (In The Realm Of The Senses) plays the father,...

In the last decade, there has been a flourishing of films in which ageing heroes demonstrate that there is more than petanque and bingo in post-retirement life. Franchises like “Red” and “The Expendables” satisfy the collective desire to stay active and fit and never get old, and are also a vehicle for recycling old and beloved stars. But Kitano’s old bad guys of his “Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen” are more “amiable losers” than their Hollywood heroic counterparts.

on Amazon

Ryuzo is a non-affective grandfather, with a turbulent past as a member of a Yakuza “family” who is not ready yet to stay calm and sit on an armchair. When not terrorizing the children of the neighborhood and insulting his daughter-in-law, Ryuzo spends his time wearing a “wife-beater” vest showing off his gang tattoos in plain sight and training with the bokken (the wooden katana) under...

When discussing Meiko Kaji, it is difficult not to rely on the word ‘iconic’. After all, what better term is there to describe a performer whose work has influenced and inspired countless filmmakers and who was once the face of female empowerment in Japanese cinema? First gracing the screen billed under her birth name, Masako Ota, Kaji has over a hundred acting credits to date and has also enjoyed a successful music career. However, her golden period undoubtedly came during the height of the exploitation boom in Japan, a time when cheap films characterised by sex and violence were produced en masse in an attempt to pry audiences away from their television sets. It was during this era that the feisty young actor earned herself a lasting place in the history of cult cinema.

Kaji had already appeared in over thirty feature films for Nikkatsu when she starred in what...

The swan song of the series is a whole other animal, since Meiko Kaji has a distinctly secondary role as Ruriko while the social commentary of the rest of the movies has given its place to intense action, which frequently feels and looks a bit too much like a western.

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The story begins literally in the bushes, where Ruriko and her boyfriend Ryumei attempt to have sex in hiding. Unfortunately, even before they have taken off their clothes, a biker gang headed by The President appears and beats them up, despite the latter’s effort to resist. However, Ryumei manages to stab one of them to death, before the gang takes him with them after the instructions of a yakuza, who even proceeds in putting the murder weapon in Ruriko’s hands. The unconscious girl is arrested and sent to prison; however, after her release a few months later,...

The fourth entry of the series changes its focus from racism to drugs, while retaining the same, music promoting (the film also features Meiko Kaji’s sister Tomoko Arisawa giving a performance), exploitation/action premises that characterizes the whole series. At the same time though, it becomes obvious that the peak of the collection, had already been met in “Sex Hunter”, and there was nowhere but down to go from there.

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Maya is the leader of a gang of girls who have teamed up with a motorcycle gang of men, the Dragons, led by Sakura, in order to have fun doing drugs and listening to music in clubs but also to terrorize the area they spend their time in. One day, they encounter two “country bumpkins”, Nobo and Sabu, and they proceed on harassing them for no reason, particularly for not being from Tokyo. A bit later,...

Shot at the same time with “Wild Jumbo” (and premiering just one month later), Yasuharu Hasebe saw his protagonists shuttling between the two sets. However, while they seemed to mostly have fun in Fujita’s film, they reserved their more serious work for “Sex Hunter”, which emerges as the best part of the series.

The film revolves around two delinquent gangs; one all-female, named “Alleycats” and led by Mako, and one all-male, named “Eagles” and led by The Baron. The two crews have a peculiar relationship, since there is a definite attraction between the two leaders, but things take a turn for the rather worse, when Alleycat Mari turns down the advances of Eagle Susumu, in favor of a half-Japanese, half-African American named Ichiro. Her attitude enrages the Eagles and especially the Baron, whose sister was raped by a half-breed American Japanese man many years ago, with...

After the success of “Delinquent Girl Boss”, Nikkatsu released the sequel only three months later, a decision that took its toll on the film, since Fujita barely had time to shoot it, much less writing it, which resulted in a script that hardly holds itself together.

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The story revolves around a group of delinquents, namely C-ko, Taki, Gani-shin and Jiro, who hang around mostly riding around in a buggy playing pranks to people, with no particular purpose. Another member however, Debo, who seems half-mad, spends most of his time digging holes during the nights in a school yard obsessively, to the point that his “work” eventually is even featured in the papers. Meanwhile, a gang of rich youths who spend the time much like the protagonists, provide an arch-enemy, with the feud eventually escalating to violence.

Two events change the story however. The appearance of Asako, a...

The “Stray Cat Rock”-series was designed by Nikkatsu to compete with Toei’s “Delinquent Boss”-series, in an effort of the company at the time, to attract more youth audiences to its movies, an approach that also included the appearances of pop idols and rock bands, as either themselves or playing supporting character. The first film of the series, “Delinquent Girl Boss”, was co-produced by talent agency Horipro, that also represented the protagonist, pop singer Akiko Wada. However, the one who truly shined in the film was Meiko Kaji, who became the protagonist of the remaining four films of the series.

Mei is the hard-nosed leader of an all girls gang, the Stray Cats, who, as the film begins, are about to have a fight with similar group. Mei, who has just before met girl biker Ako, emerges victorious, even slashing the opponents’ leader with her knife,...

Many have probably heard about the scandal surrounding Nagisa Oshima’s 1976 feature “In the Realm of Senses”, a story based on an incident involving a woman named Abe Sada, which has been adapted many times in the past as the case sparked quite a lot of controversy at the time. Knowing the film industry of his home country all to well, especially its link to the censors, Oshima decided early on to find producers outside of Japan, and eventually found them in France in order to make his vision of the story, which, upon its release and screening during international film festivals, was banned in many countries due to its explicit sex scenes. However, if one was to approach this feature, it is necessary to look beyond singular scenes or images and take a look at the context, the deeper message Oshima is after, since “In the Realm of Senses...

Two years after the release of “In the Realm of the Senses”, arguably his most notorious work given the scandal it caused in many countries, Nagisa Oshima made “Empire of Passion”, which was advertised as a spiritual successor to his last work. Based on a novel by Itoko Nakamura “Empire of Passion” shares the idea of a fatal affair, emphasizing the link between devotion, passion and violence, but in the end is quite a different movie, especially due to its horror elements, which caused many to regard it as one of the inspirations for Hideo Nakata’s “Ringu”. You might even go one step further by not just calling it a different, but in many ways also a much more refined and better feature than its predecessor, telling the story of a small community whose deeply-rooted blend of superstition and predilection for gossip make it a very bitter portrayal of Japanese society and politics.

I have to admit here, Yuki Tanada is one of the my favorite representatives of the contemporary Japanese indie, with films being like “Moon & Cherry”, “Ain’t No Tomorrows” and “One Million Yen and the Nigamushi Woman” being among the main reasons I enjoy the category so much. “My Dad and Mr Ito” follows in same footsteps as the above films.

“My Dad and Mr Ito” screened at Japan Cuts

Aya is a 34-year-old woman, who, by the standards of the male-dominated, conservative Japan of the past (?), is the epitome of unsuccessfulness: she has a part-time job at a bookstore, she is not married or has any children, and she lives an unambitious but happy life with a man 20 years older than her, Mr Ito. The aforementioned standards come crashing upon her when her father decides to stay with the couple, after driving Aya’s sister-in-law insane with his stubborn and very demanding attitude,...

A nightmare for many, a relief for others, having a parent (or both) cohabiting is, inevitably, a disruption of a couple’s privacy. However, it is something that many family-based cultures expect, especially from daughters. Adapted by Hisako Kurosawa from a novel by Hinako Nakazawa and directed by Yuki Tanada’s ,“My Dad and Mr. Ito” explores these familial dynamics, unraveling within an unconventional clan.

“My Dad and Mr. Ito” is screening as part of Father’s Day Cheer on Asian Pop Up Cinema

In few words at the beginning of the narration, Aya (Juri Ueno) describes Mr. Ito (Lily Franky), who for a short time was her co-worker at a combini (convenience store), as someone she would never go out with. Guess what? They are a couple now and live together. Yes, he is ambition-less and a bit childish even if 20 year older than her, but they both seem...

My thoughts and admiration for Mark Schilling’s work have already been shared in the review of “Art, Cult and Commerce“. In that regard, continuing with his bibliography was inevitable, and the fact that the present book deals with the oldest Japanese motion picture studio, and particularly its Action Cinema period, made its appeal even more intense. Even more so, since, during the latest years, there seems to be a renewal of interest regarding the genre, especially through the home video releases of companies like Arrow and Eureka.

The book begins with the history of Nikkatsu, focusing on the period from the late 50s until the early 60s, when the Nikkatsu Action genre started, flourished and declined. The second part deals with the main male protagonists of those movies, presenting detailed biographies of Yujiro Ishihara, Akira Kobayashi, Keiichiro Akagi and Tetsuya Watari, highlighting the concept of the...

Yukiko (Chieko Baisho) and Masaru (Tatsuya Fuji) have been married for 5 decades. However, despite this impressive persistence, it seems that there is not much life left in their marriage. Yukiko, a dutiful obedient wife, silently takes care of her husband like the loyal servant, while he doesn’t seem to care. He is semi-retired, so if he wished, he could spend quality time with his spouse, but instead, he prefers to visit a shogi club. Whenever the fateful couple is together, Masaru hardly notices Yukiko’s presence and doesn’t bother to listen to her, while she is trying to connect with him. He also takes Yukiko’s commitment for granted – as if she were a piece of furniture in their apartment. It is just obvious for him she is there, doing the chores and preparing meals. Their estrangement is loud and clear, and watching the pair is somehow a painful experience.

In the perhaps golden period of Miike at the beginning of the second millennium, where he already consolidated his cult following, comes “Man in White”, divided into two parts: “Bloody Battle of Lions” and “Requiem for the Lion”. There is a single international cut condensed in 150 minutes, but make sure to watch the first and second parts separately to delve deeper into the film and the characters that are presented to us.

The protagonist, Asuza, is a yakuza – always dressed in white – raised in the streets in a setting of tragedy marked by the death of his parents. The father is killed by his stepbrother, and the mother subsequently commits suicide. The feeling of guilt tortures Azusa while leaning on the father figure of his boss. Sadly, fate will play tricks again, when his superior dies suddenly murdered in his presence. The man in white will search the killer obsessively,...

“I’ve always had lots of dreams when I sleep. The dreams have always been about the future.”

In 2002, the hype for Japanese horror films was declining rapidly, as the sequels to series like “Ring” or “The Grudge” were commercially and critically unsuccessful. Even though directors such as Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu came to Hollywood to helm the remakes to their films or their sequels, Hollywood had already adapted J-horror tropes to its own productions. As Jerry White points out, one of the perhaps most disappointing entries in the J-horror remakes was Jim Sonzero’s version of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Pulse” (2001). Perhaps it was this particular experience which made Kurosawa change genres with his next project “Bright Future”.

In general, Kurosawa is best known for his unique horror films such as “Pulse” or “Cure”, films which years after their release now unfold their true impact. At the same time,...

The Japanese film producer / writer / director Kei Chakaura tackles the topics of immigration, integration, sense of family and food in his feature debut “Complicity”. The film premiered last year in the Discovery competition of Toronto, was shown in Busan and won the audience award at Tokyo FILMeX before its European premiere at the Culinary Cinema sidebar of this year’s Berlinale.

“Complicity” is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia 2019

Immigrating to Japan sounds like a better idea than it actually is. The economy is basically stagnating for a very long period of time and the immigration and integration policies are quite strict. Most of the people from the neighbouring countries interested in living and working there stand no chance to obtain a visa so, if they want to, they have to explore some illegal options like using a fake identity.

One of those people is a Chinese citizen Cheng-liang (Lu Yulai...

Kei Chikaura was born in Japan in the year 1977. and before he got into filmmaking he majored in economics at the University of Osaka, while studying also film history. He learned the filmmaking trade while working for various production companies. Later on, Chikaura founded a production company through which he developed his shorts, some of them screened at the most prestigious film festivals.

His first feature film “Complicity” premiered in Toronto and was shown in Busan before its European premiere at Berlinale where we got the chance to have a quick chat about the film, food and its importance, soba and other topics.

“Complicity” is screening at Berlin Film Festival

“Complicity” is your feature debut. Can you tell me the difference regarding working on a feature versus working on a short film?

At first I thought that a feature film is a six-piece set of short films. Later, I found out I was totally wrong.

The Japanese film producer / writer / director Kei Chakaura tackles the topics of immigration, integration, sense of family and food in his feature debut “Complicity”. The film premiered last year in the Discovery competition of Toronto, was shown in Busan and won the audience award at Tokyo FILMeX before its European premiere at the Culinary Cinema sidebar of this year’s Berlinale.

Immigrating to Japan sounds like a better idea than it actually is. The economy is basically stagnating for a very long period of time and the immigration and integration policies are quite strict. Most of the people from the neighbouring countries interested in living and working there stand no chance to obtain a visa so, if they want to, they have to explore some illegal options like using a fake identity.

Complicity is screening at Berlin Film Festival

One of those people is a Chinese citizen Cheng-liang (Lu Yulai...

Review by Roger Carpenter

Director Yasuharu Hasebe was a well-known director in Japan right up until his death in 2009. He directed most of the Stray Cat Rock series of films in the early 1970s as well as the final installment of the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song. He became known as the “Father of Violent Pink,” after directing a series of graphically violent and sexually sadistic films for Nikkatsu Studios with titles such as Rape!; Assault! Jack the Ripper; Rape! 13th Hour; and Secret Honeymoon: Rape Train. These films proved to be both highly controversial and very lucrative for Hasebe and Nikkatsu but, typical of Nikkatsu, the studio execs got cold feet after much bad press and began toning down their series of violent pink films.

But before all this, Hasebe cut his teeth as an assistant director for the great Seijun Suzuki, himself a...

While Naomi Kawase‘s cachet stateside hasn’t necessarily increased in the last few years, her last film, Sweet Bean, did manage to get a U.S. release. The Japanese filmmaker is now returning with her follow-up, Radiance (aka Hikari), which is set for a Japanese release at the end of May, hinting at a likely return to the Cannes Film Festival.

The first teaser trailer has landed, which previews the story of a film writer who meets a photographer who is losing his eyesight. Starring Masatoshi Nagase (last seen at the end of Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson), Ayame Misaki, and Tatsuya Fuji, check out the trailer below (via Cine Maldito), which is currently without subtitles, but we’ll update if they arrive.

Misako is a passionate writer of film versions for the visually impaired. At a screening, she meets Masaya, an older photographer who is slowly losing his eyesight.

We just debuted our list of the movies we’re hoping will hit Cannes, and while Naomi Kawase‘s “Radiance” didn’t make the main list, that doesn’t mean we’re not still eagerly awaiting what the Japanese filmmaker has on the horizon. And now we have our first taste.

Starring Masatoshi Nagase, Ayame Misaki, and Tatsuya Fuji, the film details the relationship that develops between a filmmaker and an older photographer, who is starting to lose his eyesight.

Continue reading First International Trailer For Naomi Kawase’s ‘Radiance’ at The Playlist.

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Bright Future is playing May 20 - June 19, 2016 in the United States.As cinematic monsters go, a jellyfish—luminescent red but home-aquarium-sized—is a perverse choice. Left alone, it floats in a saltwater ecosystem resistant to humans on a large scale; only when poked does it react with precognitive venom. But Bright Future (2003) is another of Kiyoshi "No Relation" Kurosawa's piecemeal apocalypses, where the destructive force presents itself anew to all victims. Unlike the planetary threats of kaiju, alien armies, or environmental collapse, Kurosawa imagines society's end as something closer to mass suicide than massacre. It requires individual complicity. Coming after his definitive J-Horror entry Pulse (2001), for which Kurosawa is probably best known, Bright Future was somewhat off-handedly derided for a category error about objects of fear: small things in aquariums are only as threatening as observers are stupid. However,...

Writer/ Director Takeshi Kitano returns to Japanese underworld with this juvenile Yakuza outing that replaces the brutality of his earlier work (Zatoichi, Brother, Sonatine) with blithe and bungled comedy. After opening with a colourful credit sequence, tiny sized letters exploding on a black backdrop, we are introduced to Ryuzo (Tatsuya Fuji): a doddery ex-Yakuza turned

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