“Kahori Higashi’s debut is impressive.”
Apr 14, 2022 • Subscribe
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Melting Sounds (Japan, 2021) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Kahori Higashi's debut feature Melting Sounds.
Interview with Kahori Higashi, Director of Melting Sounds [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher talks to Kahori Higashi about her debut feature Melting Sounds.
An Interview with Kahori Higashi, Director of Melting Sounds [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]
An Interview with Kahori Higashi, Director of MOOSIC Lab affiliated film “Melting Sounds”. It is available in Japanese and English. [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]
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…
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.
Melting Sounds (ほとぼりメルトサウンズ, Kahori Higashi, 2021)
Displaced youngsters begin to find a new sense of place thanks to a warmhearted young woman and an old man’s ambient sound obsession in Kahori Higashi’s quirky drama
Melting Sounds ほとぼりメルトサウンズ Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]
Melting Sounds is a wonderfully incisive yet offbeat MOOSIC LAB film concerned with mortality and human connections. Higashi’s light touch delivers a profound, cute, and deeply humanistic pae…
Our House Party (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
Kawanobe delivers a very touching and emotional story about homosexuality in Japan.
Melting Sounds ほとぼりメルトサウンズ Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022] Rewrite
Melting Sounds is a wonderfully incisive yet offbeat MOOSIC LAB film concerned with mortality and human connections. Higashi’s light touch delivers a profound, cute, and deeply humanistic pae…
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…
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.”
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.”
Howling (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews M Haris Sheikh's neo noir Howling.
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.”
Short Movie Time: Bagmati River (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A beautiful poetic short that elegantly plays with the contrast between life and death.”
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.”
Short Movie Review: Natsuko (2020) [OAFF 2022]
“A splendid debut by Shuna Iijima.”
Angry Son (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Kashou Iizuka's drama Angry Son.
Random Call (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Riki Ohkanda's comedy-drama Random Call.
Bagmati River (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Yusaku Matsumoto's short film Bagmati River.
Summer Wedding (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Azusa Hieda’s short film Summer Wedding.
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.
North Shinjuku 2055 (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Daisuke Miyazaki's sci-fi short North Shinjuku 2055.
Manhwa Review | Melting Point by Chamji
Hyun has desperately been trying to get a job. He’s been trying to get a stable job since he graduated, and since he’s nearing his thirties, he’s more…
Out of TOKYO 202x (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Akinori Ikuse's short film Out of TOKYO 202x.
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…
Short movie time: North Shinjuku 2055 (2021) review [OAFF 2022]
“A pleasant experimental short.”
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.”
The Wonder of a Summer Day (Japan, 2022) [OAFF 2022]
John Atom reviews Yuka Obayashi's drama The Wonder of a Summer Day.
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.
Cafune (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
A very strong debut by Haruki Kinemura.
Suton (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
Rikako Watanabe’s narrative succeeds to echo the unvocalized ‘pandemic’ truth of many.
Amalock (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.
Goto-san (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“Gokan expertly reveals the position of the freeter as an attempt to escape the capitalistic machinery but also as a position that most easily falls prey to the…
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.
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.
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
More Clever than it Sounds – Rideback Spoiler Review
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… wait, I already used that intro last week? Um… Rideback! So, yeah, Rideback in extremely reductionist theory is another of…
Boy Sprouted (Japan, 2021) [OAFF 2022/Short Shorts and Asian Film Festival 2022]
Jason Maher reviews Yuko Watanabe's short film Boy Sprouted.
Side by Side (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
A peaceful dream-like visual experience that celebrates both the impact subjects have on each other as well as the manner in which the subject remains opaque to himself…
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.
Sweet Bitter Candy (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“An amazing exploration of the clash between a sweet youthful romantic desire and the bitter urge of a wounded subject to defend his subjective wounds.”
Interview with Riki Ohkanda, Director of Random Call [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher talks to Random Call director Riki Ohkanda.
Interview with Yusaku Matsumoto, Director of Bagmati River [OAFF 2022]
Jason Maher talks to Yusaku Matsumoto about his short film Bagmati River.
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.