Anime Blog Tracker

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…

psycho-cinematography

a day ago • Subscribe

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.

psycho-cinematography

3 days ago • Subscribe

XXXholic (2022) review

“An exquisite visual experience that is sadly held back by its unfitting manga-like moments.”

psycho-cinematography

5 days ago • Subscribe

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.

psycho-cinematography

7 days ago • Subscribe

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.

psycho-cinematography

10 days ago • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

13 days ago • Subscribe

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.

psycho-cinematography

16 days ago • Subscribe

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.

psycho-cinematography

19 days ago • Subscribe

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.

psycho-cinematography

22 days ago • Subscribe

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.

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a month ago • Subscribe

Missing (2022) review

Shinzo Katayama delivers one of the most satisfying drama-thrillers this year.

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a month ago • Subscribe

Rin (2019) review

An enjoyable but deeply flawed narrative.

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Jan 3, 2023 • Subscribe

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. 

psycho-cinematography

Dec 28, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 25, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 23, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 22, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 19, 2022 • Subscribe

Pinky

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…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 16, 2022 • Subscribe

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.

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Dec 13, 2022 • Subscribe

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.

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Dec 10, 2022 • Subscribe

Goodbye Cruel World (2022) review [Japannual 2022]

“A stylish exploration of the cruel call for destruction that structures the perverse criminal field.”

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Dec 7, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 4, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

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Dec 1, 2022 • Subscribe

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.

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Nov 28, 2022 • Subscribe

Noise (2022) review

A highly satisfying experience that delivers suspense as well as good dose of touching emotionality.

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Nov 25, 2022 • Subscribe

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.”

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Nov 22, 2022 • Subscribe

The Last Ten Years (2022) review

“A touching and satisfying tear-jerking experience.”

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Nov 19, 2022 • Subscribe

Ribbon (2022) review

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

psycho-cinematography

Nov 16, 2022 • Subscribe

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.”

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Nov 13, 2022 • Subscribe

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.”

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Nov 10, 2022 • Subscribe

Offbeat Cops (2022) review

Uchida delivers what very well might be the feel-good movie of the year.

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Nov 7, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

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Nov 4, 2022 • Subscribe

Grown-ups (2022) review

An intimate and touching account of the drama that romance and becoming a woman can be.

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Nov 2, 2022 • Subscribe

Occult Bolshevism (2018) review

Takahashi delivers a pleasing horror-narrative – any horror film-fan should check it out at least once.

psycho-cinematography

Oct 30, 2022 • Subscribe

Godzilla (1954) review

A timeless classic monster movie.

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Oct 28, 2022 • Subscribe

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.  

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Oct 26, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Oct 23, 2022 • Subscribe

Lake of Dracula (1971) review

A splendid and highly atmospheric homage to the gothic icon called Dracula.

psycho-cinematography

Oct 20, 2022 • Subscribe

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.”

psycho-cinematography

Oct 17, 2022 • Subscribe

School In The Crosshairs (1981) review

A heart-warming sci-fi flick that dazzles the spectator with its expressive and colourful effects.

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Oct 14, 2022 • Subscribe

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.

psycho-cinematography

Oct 11, 2022 • Subscribe

His Motorbike, Her Island (1986) review

Obayashi ensures that this narrative, after so many years, still succeeds in captivating and mesmerize the spectator.

psycho-cinematography

Oct 8, 2022 • Subscribe

Skeleton Flowers (2021) review

A serene narrative that touchingly explores the possibility of reaching each other as subject despite the misrecognition that structures speech.  

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Oct 5, 2022 • Subscribe

Suzuka

Bad City (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]

Sonamura delivers everything one expects from an action-thriller.

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Oct 2, 2022 • Subscribe

Riverside Mukolitta (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]

A highly touching narrative about re-finding social life.

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Sep 29, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Sep 28, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Sep 26, 2022 • Subscribe

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.”

psycho-cinematography

Sep 23, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Sep 20, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

psycho-cinematography

Sep 17, 2022 • Subscribe