“A political satire that will not fail to please audiences, but lacks the thematical punch to make a statement that will long linger in the spectator’s mind.”
Jun 10, 2022 • Subscribe
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Intolerance (2021) [22nd Nippon Connection]
Yoshida’s narrative hits all the right emotional notes for the audience and that its message will long linger in the spectator’s mind.
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Backlight (2021) [22nd Nippon Connection]
An elegantly constructed and highly impactful exploration of the inhibiting fear of being rejected by one’s beloved.


22nd Nippon Connection: Recommendations
This list does not only reveal the variety of unique perspectives that mark Japanese Cinema, but also echoes that what directors, from a cinematic perspective, put into question…
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Popran (2022) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“A great narrative that questions in a light-hearted way the relation between the male subject and his member as well as the role the real member plays within…
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Just Remembering (2022) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
An experience that will stir the spectator’s unconscious and affect his heart.
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Any Crybabies Around? (2020) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“A great drama that sketches out the destructive effect of the gap between one’s signifiers and one’s acts on others and shows the spectator that what the marital…
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The End Of The Pale Hour (2021) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
Matsumoto delivers an amazing narrative that allows the spectator to realize that imaginary pleasure offers little protection against the oppressing demands of the society and imaginary injuries de…
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Bolt (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“A great narrative by Kaizo Hayashi that explores, via the structure fiction, the truth of three different affects – responsibility, guilt, and sadness through loss – during and…
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His (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
A touching and heartwarming romance drama that captivates the spectator not only because it’s driven by romantic feelings feel genuine, but also because the truth of love is…
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What she Likes (2021) review [22nd Nippon Connections]
“Kusano succeeds in delivering a quite atypical romance narrative.”
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My Brother, The Android and Me (2022) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“A compelling exploration of how certain subjects, psychotically structured, attempt to mend the problematic nature of the symbolic and the imaginary.”
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They Say Nothing Stays the Same (2019) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
An exquisitely shot meditation about the impact change has on society and subjectivity.


Nippon Connection 2021: our recommendations
“While we of course encourage the audience to explore the many films this rich festival has to offer, we do want to introduce our recommendations, films that we…
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Stormy Family (2019) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“A great narrative that succeeds in exploring the very way that imaginary injuries and resentments erode family bonds, by causing a subjective blindness for the suffering of the…
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Wonderful Paradise (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
A great experiment of the absurd, but its full potential to satisfy the spectator is hindered by its somewhat lackluster composition.


A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021: Nippon Cinema
A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021: Nippon Cinema: Can’t Stop the Dancing, The Day of Destruction, To the Ends of the Earth, Under the Open Sky, A Girl Missing,…


A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021: Nippon Cinema
A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021: Nippon Cinema: Can’t Stop the Dancing, The Day of Destruction, To the Ends of the Earth, Under the Open Sky, A Girl Missing,…


A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021: Nippon Visions
A preview of Nippon Connection 2021: the films of the Nippon Visions section – Company Retreat, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes , Daughters, It’s a Summer Film, Sasaki…


One Day, You will reach the Sea (2022) review (22nd Nippon Connection)
A splendid experience whose themes of loss, failed encounters, and unresolved desires do not fail to touch the spectator deeply.
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A Madder Red (2021) review [Nippon Connection 2022]
Machiko Ono and Yuki Katayama breathe extra-ordinary life and realism into the pain, the hopes, the white lies, the tears, the smiles, and the anger of contemporary female…
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The Promised Land (2019) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
A beautifully composed and highly relevant narrative about destructive kinds of social violence, a social violence against the Otherness present in the community and an ostracizing violence to…
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Beyond the two infinite minutes (2021) review [Nippon connection 2021]
“A highly entertaining and cleverly constructed sci-fi film that not only underlines the power of romantic desire, but also reveals how tricky knowing the future can be.”
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December (2023) review [Nippon Connection]
A highly moving and emotionally powerful narrative that explores the struggle of a subject to shake of the winter of his subjectivity.
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Under The Open Sky (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“A (damning) look at the vicious and unforgiven nature of the judgmental Other as well as heartwarming emotionally rich exploration of the importance of supportive inter-subjective social bon…
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The Town of Headcounts (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“His dystopian ‘thriller’ does not only masterly highlight, in a chilling way, the various ills that marks contemporary society, but also shows, that within such dystopian world, a…
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Extraneous Matter – Complete edition (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“A great erotic sci-fi narrative that explores, in an engaging way, the need for a certain amount of sexual desire to make the dynamic of a romantic relation…
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Sasaki In My Mind (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“Uchiyama delivers a great and finely composed narrative that explores the ephemeral character of relationships that find their sole strength in the imaginary, in the thirst for gaining…


A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021: Documentaries
A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021 – The full line-up of Documentaries: Ainu Neno An Ainu, I Quit, “Being Friends”, Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams, Me and the…


A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021: Animation
A Preview of the Animated Films at Nippon Connection 2021: On-Gaku: Our Sound, Seven Days War, Sumikkogurashii: Good to Be in the Corner


A Preview of Nippon Connection 2021 – Highlights
A preview of Nippon Connection 2021 that offers some highlights: Dance With Me, To the Ends of the Earth, Under the Open Sky, The Day of Destruction, Beyond the…
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Egoist (2022) review [Nippon Connection 2023]
Matsunaga’s heartfelt and heart-breaking narrative goes beyond the gay-dynamic to show that the lack that injures the subject complicates and radically determines the way he approaches the object…
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My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (2021) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“A great narrative, due to its emotionally gripping finale and the crystal-clear manner by which Sabu explores and uncovers the impact of a vicious environment on the way…
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Penalty Loop (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]
The way Araki resolves the narrative’s thematical questions concerning vengeance and the working-through of trauma will divide spectators


NIPPON CONNECTION ’12 REVIEW: Die! Directors, Die!
死ね ! 死ね ! シネマ (Shine! Shine! Shinema) Released: 2011 Director: Makoto Shinozaki Starring: Kyoko Mori …


Festival Report: Nippon Connection 2012
by Marc Saint-Cyr Those initially scanning the program for the 12th Nippon Connection film festival , hosted in Frankfurt, Germany from...


NIPPON CONNECTION ’12 REVIEW: The Sound of Light
ひかりのおと (Hikari no oto) Released: 2011 Director: Juichiro Yamasaki Starring: Yoshitomo Fujihisa …


NIPPON CONNECTION ’12 REVIEW: About the Pink Sky
ももいろそらを (Momoiro sora o) Released: 2011 Director: Keiichi Kobayashi Starring: Ai Ikeda Ena…


NIPPON CONNECTION ’12 REVIEW: Come as You Are
ソーローなんてくだらない (Sôrô nante kudaranai) Released: 2011 Director: Kôta Yoshida Starring: Tateto Serizawa…


A Preview of Nippon Connection 2024
Nippon Connection takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from May 28 to June 2, and there are expected to be around 100 shorts and features programmed. Here…


Early Announcements for Nippon Connection 2024
Nippon Connection takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from May 28 to June 2, and there are expected to be around 100 shorts and features programmed. Here…
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A Look at Nippon Connection 2024 with Florian Höhr, the Festival’s Programmer [Nippon Connection 2024]
A Look at Nippon Connection 2024 with Florian Höhr, the Festival’s Programmer [Nippon Connection 2024] The festival takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from May 28 to…
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Yin Yang Master Zero (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]
A fantastical visual experience like no other.
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Secret: A Hidden Score (2024) review [Nippon connection 2024]
Spectators who like piano and pianists might find something to enjoy in this emotionally impotent narrative.
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Baby Assassins: 2 babies (2023) review [Nippon Connection 2023]
Sakamoto’s latest film has such a irresistible charm that even those who normally shy away of action or comedy narratives will leave satisfied.


NIPPON CONNECTION ’12 REVIEW: The Woodsman and the Rain
キツツキと雨 (Kitsutsuki to ame) Released: 2011 Director: Shûichi Okita Starring: Kôji Yakusho …


Ninja Girl (シュシュシュの娘, Yu Irie, 2021)
An ordinary young woman gains the courage to stand up to injustice after discovering her ninja heritage in Yu Irie’s absurdist political satire
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Thorns of Beauty (2023) [Nippon Connection 2023]
Hideo’s latest uncovers the deep marks that the thorns of phallic beauty have left on contemporary society.


Nippon Connection Confirms Full Lineup for 2024
In Frankfurt 28th May 2nd June


Nippon Connection Confirms Full Lineup for 2023
In Frankfurt 6th to 111th.


Nippon Connection Confirms Full Lineup for 2022!
In Frankfurt 24th – 29th May and online 30th May to 6th June