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410 results, page 1 of 9
The Box Man (2024) review [Camera Japan Festival]
An incredible satisfying cinematic experience, one that enthrals the spectator from start to finish
Afternoon Angler’s club (2023) Review [Camera Japan Festival]
Hideo Jojo’s heartwarming tale of subjective growth and salt-water fishing is a pleasant watch.
Bushido (2024) review [Camera Japan Festival]
Kazuya Shiraishi proves that the frame of the samurai and the Edo society can still be utilized to deliver refreshing narratives.
Shinobi no Mono 2: Revenge (1963) review
Satsuo Yamamoto reveals the frailty and replaceability of the capitalistic father in an engaging way.
Shinobi no Mono: Band of Assassins (1962)
Yamamoto expertly utilizes the game of disguises, traps, gadgets, concealed passages, hidden stairs, and trapdoors, to offer an allegorical tale of the post-war subject’s conundrum
Six Singing Women (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
A great narrative, yet one that stumbles over its own thematical fixation
The Shape of Night (1964) review
This filmic narrative needs to be counted among the classics of Japanese cinema
House of Sayuri (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
The thoughtful manipulation of this atmospheric field is integral to create an effective and engaging genre-blend.
Baby Assassins: Good Days (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
Yugo Sakamoto successfully mixes up the formula that structured his previous two action narratives. Highly Recommended.
Kizumonogatari – Koyomi Vamp – (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival 2024]
An evocative experience that succeeds in giving the vampire and the well-explored themes a fresh coat of drama and sexiness.
Fly Me To The Saitama: From Biwa Lake with Love (2023) review [Fantasia Film Festival 2024]
A fun romp that works well as an introduction to the cultural diversity that enriches the Japanese archipelago.
All The Long Nights (2024) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
A splendid drama that shows how symptoms can disturb a subject’s life and how the social field attains its cruel complexity due to the riddle of desire.
Short Movie Time: Social Circles (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
A highly experimental and conceptual experience that might not be for everyone
Short Movie Time: Nezumikozō Jirokichi (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
The mix of elements supports the film’s aim well, that is to entice spectators to seek out the three films that remain from this somewhat forgotten master
Fantasia 2024: 6 Japanese films you should not miss.
n this short article, we want to introduce two of our recommendations and four films we look forward to and you should do.
I Was Born, But … (1932) review
What allows Ozu’s exploration of parental failure to retain its power to charm and engage is the very fact that every child needs to go through such phase.
Kubi (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
One of best period dramas in recent years.
City Hunter (2024) review
A fun but very forgettable experience.
Short Movie Time: Bottle George (2024) [Japan Cuts 2024]
An instant stop-motion classic
Short Movie Time: Hail Mary (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
Nakamura succeeds in making the spectator care for Maria and impact him/her emotionally with her tragedy.
Secret: A Hidden Score (2024) review [Nippon connection 2024]
Spectators who like piano and pianists might find something to enjoy in this emotionally impotent narrative.
Penalty Loop (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]
The way Araki resolves the narrative’s thematical questions concerning vengeance and the working-through of trauma will divide spectators
18×2 Beyond Youthful Days (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]
Fujii proves that the tropes of the romance genre can still be exploited in a refreshing and emotionally satisfying manner.
Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween – decisive battle (2023) review
Hanabusa can finally do what he does well: deliver dramatic moments whose origin lie in narrative twists or in unexpected turns in the bursts of violence.
Yin Yang Master Zero (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]
A fantastical visual experience like no other.
A Story Written With Water (1965) review
An exquisitely layered psychological drama that unveils how a subject’s fixation on a phantasmatic image disrupts his ability to commit himself romantically to the female other
Black Tight Killers (1966)
A stylish and visually dazzling romp with lots of action and sensuality
Yoko (2023) review
A complex full-bodied filmic wine that cannot but stir the spectator’s emotions.
Bad Lands (2023) review
The incredibly well-crafted narrative structure, fuelled by Sakura Ando’s extremely satisfying performance, ensures that the spectator remains engaged from start and finish
Undercurrent (2023) review
Imaizumi delivers an engaging but understated emotional experience that explores the deceptive nature of imaginary veil that binds two subjects together.
Kisaragi Station (2022) review
Thanks to a good narrative structure and pleasant performance this low-budget horror film succeeds in engaging and satisfying the spectator.
Performing Kaoru’s Funeral (2023) review [OAFF 2024]
Yuasa’s narrative shows that the unavoidable presence of death during a funeral can allow a subject to re-route his own trajectory.
Faraway Family (2023) review [OAFF 2024]
A very touching narrative that explores the frail position of the father and how his structural failure can cause subjective struggles and inhibitions.
Blue Imagine (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A powerful reminder of the sexual transgressions that structurally plague the Japanese film industry
Snowdrop (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A complex character portrait that touchingly illustrates how easy it is to misrecognize the logic of the subject-supposed-to-be-in-need.
Short Movie Time: Perfect・Nervous (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
An exquisitely crafted narrative that touchingly shows that a simple encounter, a simple exchange of signifiers, can turn a wish to die into a desire to life.
Wash Away (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A pleasant narrative that offers a fresh but familiar exploration of the subject’s fundamental desire for recognition/love and the problematic yet medicative function of consumption.
Short Movie Time: On a Boat (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
The exploration of the frail stability of an obsessional neurotic does not miss its impact on the spectator.
Amalock (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.
Sumiko 22 (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A subtle but playful narrative about a subject who slowly tries to crawl out the hole of emptiness and diminished self-worth.
Short Movie Time: Ririka of the Star (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that does not merely emphasize the beauty of moving female body, but reveals that such beauty can change subjects.
Memories of this Scent (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
An endearing and fragrance rich tale of subjective change.
Ask For The Moon (2022) review [OAFF 2024]
A satisfying narrative that illustrates how the subject’s ego is but a response to his complexes and struggles.
Suton (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
Rikako Watanabe’s narrative succeeds to echo the unvocalized ‘pandemic’ truth of many.
Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween Destiny (2023) review
A prime example of a cinematic narrative that is solely made for the fans of the manga and the anime.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters (1968) review [The Godzilla Project]
Honda delivers another narrative in which Otherness is feared and a deceptive imaginary sense of societal harmony is subtly celebrated.
Kingdom III: Flame of Destiny (2023) review
A straightforward action-epic that delivers everything fans of the manga and the anime desire.
Monster (2023) review
Kore-eda succeeds in delivering an utterly engaging narrative about the fundamental misunderstanding that underpins our fabrication of our truth.
Immersion (2023) review
Spectators looking for something new and fresh will find little to like about Shimizu’s latest.
The Fall Of Ako Castle (1978) review
Fukasaku has crafted a period piece that, due to its impeccable dramatic pacing, has to be counted among the best