Jason Maher reviews Riki Ohkanda's comedy-drama Random Call.
Apr 3, 2022 • Subscribe
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Random Call (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
Ohkanda’s narrative proves that one does not need a big budget to deliver a narrative that touches the spectator.
Howling (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews M Haris Sheikh's neo noir Howling.
Summer Wedding (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Azusa Hieda’s short film Summer Wedding.
Bagmati River (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Yusaku Matsumoto's short film Bagmati River.
Random Call (ランダム・コール, Riki Ohkanda, 2022)
A struggling Tokyo actor learns a few life lessons through randomly reconnecting with old friends in Riki Ohkanda’s heartwarming dramedy
North Shinjuku 2055 (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Daisuke Miyazaki's sci-fi short North Shinjuku 2055.
Melting Sounds (Japan, 2021) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Kahori Higashi's debut feature Melting Sounds.
Out of TOKYO 202x (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Akinori Ikuse's short film Out of TOKYO 202x.
OAFF 2022 Special
Hello everyone, In this special episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason discuss their favorite movies from the wonderful 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival. Timestamps:2:53 - Media Consumption19:12 - News23:42…
OAFF 2022 Special
Hello everyone, In this special episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason discuss their favorite movies from the wonderful 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival. Timestamps:2:53 - Media Consumption19:12 - News23:42…
OAFF 2022 Special
Hello everyone, In this special episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason discuss their favorite movies from the wonderful 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival. Timestamps:2:53 - Media Consumption19:12 - News23:42…
Random Call ランダム・コール Dir: Riki Ohkanda [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]
Random Call ランダム・コール Dir: Riki Ohkanda [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]
Melting Sounds (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“Kahori Higashi’s debut is impressive.”
Angry Son (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“An incredibly rich and deep narrative that not only delivers a satisfying coming-of-age story but also an elegantly delivered social commentary on some of the frictions marking Japanese…
JOINT (Japan, 2020) [OAFF 2021]
Jason Maher reviews Oudai Kojima’s debut feature JOINT.
Our House Party (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
Kawanobe delivers a very touching and emotional story about homosexuality in Japan.
Gotō-san (Japan, 2020) [OAFF 2021]
Jason Maher reviews Hiroshi Gokan's capitalist critique Gotō-san.
Short Movie Time: Outsourcing (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A very satisfying satirical short thta shows that, within the job-seeking process, only the image matters.”
Far Away, Further Away (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A beautiful film that elegantly explores the role the imaginary plays in marital failure as well as in the beginning of a new romantic bond.”
12 Random Japan School Life Tidbits
Let’s get into some random tidbits about school life in Japan.No rhyme or reason to them, these are mainly just quirks of school life here that weren’t really…
The Wonder Of a Summer Day (2022) [OAFF 2022]
“A visually pleasing narrative that underlines, in a charming and touching way, the importance for the subject to find the kind of signifiers that can unlock his/her deadlock.”
Short Movie Time: Bagmati River (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A beautiful poetic short that elegantly plays with the contrast between life and death.”
Sanka: Nomads of the Mountains (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A visually enticing narrative that elegantly explores the unresolvable tension between the societal Other and the subject.”
The Light Of The Spring (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“An experimental ‘dramamentary’ that succeeds to charm and touch the spectator with its rich mundane and genuine interactions.”
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Short Movie Review: Natsuko (2020) [OAFF 2022]
“A splendid debut by Shuna Iijima.”
8 Random Tidbits From Living in Japan
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Life in Japan: Random Acts of Kindness
Unfairly or not, Japanese people seem to have a reputation for being shy, especially when it comes to new social situations and meeting foreigners. I can’t tell you…
Life in Japan: Random Acts of Kindness
Unfairly or not, Japanese people seem to have a reputation for being shy, especially when it comes to new social situations and meeting foreigners. I can’t tell you…
Among Four of Us (Japan, 2020) [OAFF 2021/JAPAN CUTS 2021]
Jason Maher reviews Mayu Nakamura’s short Among Four of Us.
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Random Blog Post for 9/26/2022
In this blog post, I ramble about my New Years’ Goals, my normal craving for novelty, Cirno, and September 26, 2017.
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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.
Random post is random.
Once again, I’ll be in attendance at Montreal’s Otakuthon this weekend. My last (and first) time was in 2008; I was all set to go last year, but…
To Be Killed by a High School Girl (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“The effective interaction between his fluid composition, the great narrative structure, and the thematical exploration of trauma and perverse fantasies ensures that the film hits all the rig…
Straying (2022) review [Camera Japan 2022]
A pleasant and charming exploration of the fact that, within the game of love and romance and beyond, subjects often rely on acting-out to reveal to the other…
Short movie time: North Shinjuku 2055 (2021) review [OAFF 2022]
“A pleasant experimental short.”
Short Movie Time: Shall We Love You? (2022) [OAFF 2023]
A nice little heart-warming short that questions the connection between love and happiness.
Interview with Yusaku Matsumoto, Director of Bagmati River [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher talks to Yusaku Matsumoto about his short film Bagmati River.
Interview with Kasho Iizuka, Director of Angry Son [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher talks to Kasho Iizuka about his drama Angry Son.
The Girl on a Bulldozer (South Korea, 2021) [OAFF 2022]
John Atom reviews Park Ri-Woong's social drama The Girl on a Bulldozer.
Interview with M Haris Sheikh, Director of Howling (OAFF 2022)
Jason Maher talks to Howling director M Haris Sheikh.
Interview with Azusa Hieda, Director of Summer Wedding [OAFF 2022]
Azusa Hieda’a short film Summer Wedding received its World Premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022 where it was one of the few films to directly use the Covid-19…
Summer 2022 First Impressions – Call of the Night
Streaming: HIDIVE Episodes: 13 Source: Manga Episode Summary: Ko Yamori can’t sleep, so rather than stay home and keep trying to catch some elusive Zs, he decides to…
Japan Diary: April 2022
Between having a rough few months and the self-imposed deadline to fulfil my Japan travel goals approaching, I figured that having a few days away would be the…
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June started off the best way I know how: with plenty of opportunity to socialise.
Japan Diary: May 2022
While my first few days of May were very uneventful, Golden Week was about to kick off properly.
Japan Diary: July 2022
The start of July called for more organisation than I’m used to, but I was determined to hit the ground running. Time was running out to get things…
Japan Diary: February 2022
As much as I was hoping that February would bring more positivity… that didn’t exactly happen.