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227 results, page 1 of 5
![Featured image for Joint (2021) review [The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230202/1675305011.52587.84943.jpg)
![Background image for Joint (2021) review [The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230202/1675305011.52587.84943.jpg)
Joint (2021) review [The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme]
Oudai Kojima proves, once again, that the yakuza genre is not dead and that, given the current societal constellation and the various currents within, engaging crime narratives can…


Short Movie Time: How Beautiful Japanese Morning Is (2011) review
By relying on silence to emphasize his elegantly created visual association, Suita succeeds in delivering a quite ironic exploration of the beauty of a Japanese morning.


XXXholic (2022) review
“An exquisite visual experience that is sadly held back by its unfitting manga-like moments.”
![Featured image for Mothra (1961) review [The Godzilla Project]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230127/1674810011.52207.84500.jpg)
![Background image for Mothra (1961) review [The Godzilla Project]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230127/1674810011.52207.84500.jpg)
Mothra (1961) review [The Godzilla Project]
By elegantly using the kaiju Mothra, Honda warns the Japanese spectator of the destructive societal effects that the blind adoption of unrestricted capitalism and wild consumption can cause.
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: Storage Man (2022) review [Skip City International D-Cinema Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230124/1674532811.52016.84282.png)
![Background image for Short Movie Time: Storage Man (2022) review [Skip City International D-Cinema Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230124/1674532811.52016.84282.png)
Short Movie Time: Storage Man (2022) review [Skip City International D-Cinema Festival]
Tetsuro Manno proves that he has mastered the drama-genre and shows off his ability to create a quite thematically dense experience.


Birds Without Names (2017) review
“Shiraishi is not only able to confront the spectator with the perverse side-effects of a patriarchal phallic societal Other – i.e. male opportunism, but also reveals, in an…
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: Long-Term Coffee Break (2022) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230118/1674030610.51452.83647.jpg)
![Background image for Short Movie Time: Long-Term Coffee Break (2022) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230118/1674030610.51452.83647.jpg)
Short Movie Time: Long-Term Coffee Break (2022) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]
Fuelled by great performances and a visually pleasant composition, Fujita confronts the spectator with the subjective weight of a symbolic commitment and the phantasmatic nature of marital harmony.
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: But It Did Happen (2022) [Skip City International D-Cinema Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230115/1673754610.51221.83375.png)
![Background image for Short Movie Time: But It Did Happen (2022) [Skip City International D-Cinema Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230115/1673754610.51221.83375.png)
Short Movie Time: But It Did Happen (2022) [Skip City International D-Cinema Festival]
Ruichi Suita offers a masterclass in using images as signifiers and concatenating them elegantly to sketch out the unaccepted truth that determines a subject’s signifiers and acts.
![Featured image for She is Me, I Am her (2022) review [Japan Society – Female Gaze]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230112/1673514610.51038.83152.jpg)
![Background image for She is Me, I Am her (2022) review [Japan Society – Female Gaze]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230112/1673514610.51038.83152.jpg)
She is Me, I Am her (2022) review [Japan Society – Female Gaze]
Nakamura elegantly unpacks how the corona situation disturbs the field of desire as well how important the presence of bodies is within the societal field driven by desire.


Onpaku (2022) review
While Fujii does not re-invent the J-horror genre with Onpaku, he does prove the horror-frame can still be exploited to deliver satisfying horror narratives.


Missing (2022) review
Shinzo Katayama delivers one of the most satisfying drama-thrillers this year.


Rin (2019) review
An enjoyable but deeply flawed narrative.
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: Two Of Us (2019) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221228/1672210810.49975.81915.png)
![Background image for Short Movie Time: Two Of Us (2019) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221228/1672210810.49975.81915.png)
Short Movie Time: Two Of Us (2019) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]
Negishi proves that she is ready to tackle the daunting task of making a feature film.


Wandering (2022) review
With his poetic sensitivity, Sang-il Lee delivers a rich tapestry of genuine emotionality and a powerful affirmation of the fact that the affirmation of the subject lies beyond…


Top 15 Japanese Films of 2022
As this year comes to a close, it is finally time to look back to the Japanese cinematic year. Despite the doom and gloom that easily escapes the…
![Featured image for King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) review [The Godzilla Project]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221222/1671692410.49612.81479.png)
![Background image for King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) review [The Godzilla Project]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221222/1671692410.49612.81479.png)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) review [The Godzilla Project]
A splendid Godzilla narrative that delivers thrilling kaiju action while elegantly exploring the impact of the rise of capitalism and consumerism on Japanese society and the traumatic truth…


Terrifying Girls’ High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group (1973) review
“A film that does not give the male spectator the chance to satisfy his gaze but shockingly confronts him with violence that is born from the corrupted phallic…
![Featured image for The Nighthawk’s first Love (2022) review [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221216/1671168610.49196.80986.jpg)
![Background image for The Nighthawk’s first Love (2022) review [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221216/1671168610.49196.80986.jpg)
The Nighthawk’s first Love (2022) review [Female Gaze – Japan Society]
An understated and moving exploration of the impact the demand for the other’s love has on the subject’s ‘relational’ signifiers and acts and of the importance of one’s…
![Featured image for Wedding High (2022) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221213/1670901010.48829.80585.jpg)
![Background image for Wedding High (2022) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221213/1670901010.48829.80585.jpg)
Wedding High (2022) [Female Gaze – Japan Society]
Akiku Ohku might not only have delivered her best narrative yet, but one of the best comedy narratives of this year.
![Featured image for Tamano Visual Poetry: Nagisa’s Bicycle (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221210/1670640010.48671.80384.jpg)
![Background image for Tamano Visual Poetry: Nagisa’s Bicycle (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221210/1670640010.48671.80384.jpg)
Tamano Visual Poetry: Nagisa’s Bicycle (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]
Despite delivering three engaging and visually beautiful narratives, the short nature of overall narrative undercuts the impact the movie could have had.
![Featured image for Goodbye Cruel World (2022) review [Japannual 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221207/1670402410.47989.79429.jpg)
![Background image for Goodbye Cruel World (2022) review [Japannual 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221207/1670402410.47989.79429.jpg)
Goodbye Cruel World (2022) review [Japannual 2022]
“A stylish exploration of the cruel call for destruction that structures the perverse criminal field.”
![Featured image for In The Distance (2022) review [Japannual 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221204/1670140810.47841.79244.jpg)
![Background image for In The Distance (2022) review [Japannual 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221204/1670140810.47841.79244.jpg)
In The Distance (2022) review [Japannual 2022]
“A very pleasant slice-of-life narrative that elegantly shows that bonds between subjects are that much more genuine if they are grounded in the acceptance of the other’s radical…
![Featured image for Dreaming of The Meridian Arc (2022) review [The Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221201/1669862410.47679.79041.jpg)
![Background image for Dreaming of The Meridian Arc (2022) review [The Female Gaze – Japan Society]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221201/1669862410.47679.79041.jpg)
Dreaming of The Meridian Arc (2022) review [The Female Gaze – Japan Society]
Introduction While Yoshiko Morishita devotes her time mostly at writing screenplays for drama series (e.g. Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (2004), Tonbi (2013)), she…


Godzilla Raids Again (1955) review
Thsi sequal lacks the impact of Honda’s classic, but Oda’s narrative does deliver enough action and destruction to satisfy any Kaiju fan.


Noise (2022) review
A highly satisfying experience that delivers suspense as well as good dose of touching emotionality.
![Featured image for Two On The Edge (2022) review [Japannual 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221122/1669105210.47219.78478.jpg)
![Background image for Two On The Edge (2022) review [Japannual 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221122/1669105210.47219.78478.jpg)
Two On The Edge (2022) review [Japannual 2022]
“A touching experience that highlights that the desire to be loved, for better or worse, is the ulitmate guide the neurotic subject within the societal field.”


The Last Ten Years (2022) review
“A touching and satisfying tear-jerking experience.”


Ribbon (2022) review
Non, in short, proves with her first feature film that she has a future as screenwriter and director.


The Midnight Maiden War (2022) review
“A visually exciting experience that shows that the only revolutionary thing that can give life its worth is desire that remains desire.”


Rageaholic (2022) review
“A great dystopian narrative that clearly gives expression the director’s fear of certain right-wing tendencies that linger within Japanese society.”


Offbeat Cops (2022) review
Uchida delivers what very well might be the feel-good movie of the year.


Love Nonetheless (2022) review
A modern classic about the beauty of being in a state of desiring and the impact a phallic injury can have on the ability of a subject to…


Grown-ups (2022) review
An intimate and touching account of the drama that romance and becoming a woman can be.


Occult Bolshevism (2018) review
Takahashi delivers a pleasing horror-narrative – any horror film-fan should check it out at least once.


Godzilla (1954) review
A timeless classic monster movie.


Lesson In Murder (2022) review
In Shiraishi’s talented hands the narrative transforms into a visual elegant and compelling examination of the desire that drives us all.


Pulse (2001) review
“An extra-ordinary apocalyptic horror narrative that explores, in a refined way, the destructive impact of consumption – the pulsating attraction of injecting solitary enjoyment by enga…


Lake of Dracula (1971) review
A splendid and highly atmospheric homage to the gothic icon called Dracula.


The Island Closest To Heaven (1984) review
“This might be the purest idol-film Obayashi made and the clearest example of how Kadokawa wanted to exploit the audio-visual medium.”


School In The Crosshairs (1981) review
A heart-warming sci-fi flick that dazzles the spectator with its expressive and colourful effects.


The Girl Who Leaped Through Time (1983) review
The film does not merely celebrate the beauty of the transiency of being-in-love, but also powerfully stages the tragedy of the missed encounter.


His Motorbike, Her Island (1986) review
Obayashi ensures that this narrative, after so many years, still succeeds in captivating and mesmerize the spectator.


Skeleton Flowers (2021) review
A serene narrative that touchingly explores the possibility of reaching each other as subject despite the misrecognition that structures speech.
![Featured image for Bad City (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221002/1664677740.44583.75247.jpg)
![Background image for Bad City (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221002/1664677740.44583.75247.jpg)
Bad City (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]
Sonamura delivers everything one expects from an action-thriller.
![Featured image for Riverside Mukolitta (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220929/1664422740.44416.75044.jpg)
![Background image for Riverside Mukolitta (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220929/1664422740.44416.75044.jpg)
Riverside Mukolitta (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]
A highly touching narrative about re-finding social life.


Parallel (2022) review
A fabulous narrative that does not only delivers a thrilling slasher-like experience, but offers a touching romance between two people that are, in their own particular way, deeply…
![Featured image for Nagi’s Island (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220926/1664187540.44263.74861.jpg)
![Background image for Nagi’s Island (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220926/1664187540.44263.74861.jpg)
Nagi’s Island (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]
The power of Nagasawa’s narrative does not simply lie in the engaging emotional rhythm, as dictated by the musical decorations, but in the genuineness that oozes from every…
![Featured image for Prior Convictions (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220923/1663925340.44111.74687.jpg)
![Background image for Prior Convictions (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220923/1663925340.44111.74687.jpg)
Prior Convictions (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]
“A very relevant exploration of the fact that the criminal act is, in many cases, born from an antagonistic relation between the subject and the Other.”
![Featured image for Alivehoon (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220920/1663643940.43949.74496.jpg)
![Background image for Alivehoon (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220920/1663643940.43949.74496.jpg)
Alivehoon (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]
Shimoyama hits all the common beats of the sports-genre, but succeeds in elevating his exploration of the art of drifting by framing the battling cars in an exciting…
![Featured image for It’s All My Fault (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220917/1663403340.43797.74307.jpg)
![Background image for It’s All My Fault (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220917/1663403340.43797.74307.jpg)
It’s All My Fault (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival 2022]
A touching narrative that explores how difficult it is for subject to assume a place for himself, a place from where he/she can desire, without the structuring influence…