Kei Kumai directs a three-hour epic devoted to the sometimes brutal construction of the Kurobe Dam.
Mar 2, 2024 • Subscribe
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Gift of Fire (太陽の子, Hiroshi Kurosaki, 2020)
A conflicted scientist struggles to reconcile himself to the implications of his work while researching an atomic bomb in Kurosaki’s contemplative wartime drama
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Idealistic teen reporters have some questions to ask of mass media and the police in Kei Kumai’s true life drama.
Apart from Life (地の群れ, Kei Kumai, 1970)
Marginalised communities turn against each other while locked out of an increasingly prosperous society in Kei Kumai’s uncompromising post-war drama
The Rose on His Arm (太陽とバラ, Keisuke Kinoshita, 1956)
A frustrated young man’s exploitative relationship with the son of a wealthy factory owner provokes only violence and futility in Keisuke Kinoshita’s take on post-Sun Tribe youth drama
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A writer finds himself exploring an ethical dilemma after being guided to a cave containing luminous moss in Kei Kumai’s surreal psychological drama.
The Sand City in Manchuria (砂漠を渡る太陽, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1960)
An idealistic doctor stands alone against Japanese imperialist oppression in Manchuria in Kiyoshi Saeki’s wartime drama.
Willful Murder (日本の熱い日々 謀殺・下山事件, Kei Kumai, 1981)
A dogged reporter comes to the conclusion an industrialist was murdered but cannot say by whom in Kei Kumai’s searing exploration of the occupation and the economic miracle.
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An isolated woman begins to rediscover herself while hitchhiking to her estranged father’s funeral in Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s quietly moving road movie.
The Time of Reckoning / 不信のとき / Fushin no toki (1968)
Obscure Japanese Film #128 Jiro Tamiya and Ayako Wakao Asai (Jiro Tamiya) is an artist who designs advertising posters for a printing comp...
The Thief in Black (黒の盗賊, Umetsugu Inoue, 1964)
Twins separated at birth kick back against the samurai corruption and growing Tokugawa authoritarianism i Umetsugu Inoue’s politically charged jidaigeki.
The Last Gunfight (暗黒街の対決, Kihachi Okamoto, 1960)
A maverick cop finds himself at the centre of a moribund gang war in Kihachi Okamoto’s anarchic western-inflected crime drama
The Big Boss (暗黒街の顔役, Kihachi Okamoto, 1959)
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Prison Boss (獄中の顔役, Yasuo Furuhata, 1968)
A noble-hearted gangster finds himself at odds with an increasingly corrupt society in Furuhata’s manly yakuza drama
Interview with Tara Sands
So thanks to the wonderful people behind Chattanooga Comic Con I got to do an interview with a voice actress who has voiced many iconic characters for the…
Rainbow Over the Pacific (夜明けの二人, Yoshitaro Nomura, 1968)
An unserious man begins to grow up while chasing love in Hawaii in a cheerful if ultimately downbeat musical celebration of the centenary of Japanese migration to Hawaii.
Nanami: The Inferno of First Love (1968) review
“Hani’s narrative is not only be the best film of Susumu Hani, but also one of the best films of the sixties.”
The Women of Visual Kei – Ganglion
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It’s a fairly well known fact that Visual Kei doesn’t have too many all-women bands. There might be a bassist or guitarist here or there, but those bands…
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The coming of the railroad spells doom for one of the most prestigious geisha houses in Japan in Hideo Gosha’s adaptation of the Tomiko Miyao novel.
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皆さんは情報を発信する時、誰の目に留まるのか意識しているでしょうか？日本人と繋がりの深いユダヤ人から見た小林賢太郎のホロコーストコントに関する本音をお伝えします。(JPN edition of original English post.)
Between the White Key and the Black Key (白鍵と黒鍵の間に, Masanori Tominaga, 2023)
A jaded bar musician is confronted by his younger, more idealistic self in 1980s Ginza in Masanori Tominaga’s surrealistic adaptation of the memoirs of jazz musician Hiroshi Minami.
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Kumai Hitomi had a promising future. But she ended up running with the wrong crowd - and had to cheat and steal to save her own life.
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Going into a show with zero expectations always works wonders; and this show just blew my mind. I know who Takizawa Hideaki is, and I sorta know what…
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Kill! (斬る, Kihachi Okamoto, 1968)
An ambitious farmer and former samurai turned wandering yakuza are swept into intrigue when seven samurai arrive to bump off a corrupt lord in Kihachi Okamoto’s absurdist jidaigeki.
白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 3
In Volume 1 we met Shirakawa, top of her department in her office and Kuroda, a promising up-and-comer who threatens to take everything Shirakawa has built. They briefly…
白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 1
Content warning: The plot here is 100% manipulation, violence and sexual violence. Shirakawa Junko is beloved in her office. The younger employees look up to her with deep…
白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 2
In Volume 1, we met Shirakawa Junko and Kuroda Kayo two high-spec, elites in an international sales department, who are natural enemies. They don’t just fight…in fact, they…
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The Great Villains / 大悪党 / Dai akuto (1968)
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Three separated sisters find each other and pursue revenge on the bandits who killed their parents in Chen Hung-Min wuxia adventure
Freelance Samurai (桃太郎侍, Kenji Misumi, 1957)
An abandoned son resolves to wander Japan killing the “demons” of Edo-era society in Kenji Misumi’s adaptation of the popular novel by Kiichiro Yamate.
Black Rain (黒い雨, Shohei Imamura, 1989)
A small family finds itself contending with social stigma and a changing Japan in Shohei Imamura’s harrowing exploration of the legacy of the atomic bomb
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In an interesting piece of meta docufiction, Hiroshi Shimizu revisits the Beehive a few years later to find out how the orphans live now.
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An aloof alchemist finds himself at the centre of conspiracy when one of his colleagues is murdered in Shimako Sato’s visually striking fantasy.