Japanese Cinema
A list of Japanese films that I have enjoyed and/or admired for whatever reason(s). No order.
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- DirectorShigeru TamuraStarsHiroyuki AokiEric JacobsenNoboru MitaniOn what apparently is a parallel world, time flows in a much slower pace than normal. The ocean remains on a solid state of matter as the eccentric individuals who inhabit this land casually wander over it.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsFumio WatanabeTatsuya NakadaiIneko ArimaA love triangle develops between a benevolent student, his innocent girlfriend, and a cruel petty criminal, all as a point of diagnosis of a social disease that had Japan slowly succumbing to lawlessness during the post-War era.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoMaiko KawakamiMakoto AshikawaA violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsJun KunimuraMachiko OnoSachiko IzumiDepicts the dissolution of a small family in a remote Japanese timber village.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMakiko EsumiTakashi NaitôTadanobu AsanoA young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant.
- DirectorKihachirô KawamotoStarsTetsunojo KanzeA solitary maiden recounts the story of Unai-Otome, a pure maid who lived 500 years ago and had two suitors, a poet and a warrior.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsKirin KikiMasatoshi NagaseKyara UchidaBurdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKazuo HasegawaFujiko YamamotoAyako WakaoYukinojo, a Kabuki actor, seeks revenge by destroying the three men who caused the deaths of his parents. Also involved are the daughter of one of Yukinojo's targets, two master thieves, and a swordsman who himself is out to kill Yukinojo.
- DirectorKôji YamamuraStarsKotaro TsukamotoA surreal piece that shows how small children may see the world and themselves.
- DirectorHiroshi HaradaStarsMinako NakaNorihiko MorishitaKeinosuke OkamotoThe story based off of the controversial manga by Suehiro Maruo takes place where a little orphaned girl joins a freak-show circus troupe whose members rape and abuse her. She then finds a glimmer of hope in the enigmatic magician who joins the group.
- DirectorKôji YamamuraStarsPeter BarakanA very old crocodile is shunned by his family after eating one of them.
- DirectorKôji YamamuraA surreal tribute to Muybridge, one of the early pioneers of the motion picture.
- DirectorKôji YamamuraStarsTakeharu KunimotoBruno MetzgerA sad rakugo of a stingy old man experiencing the unforeseen consequences of eating a few cherries whole, without throwing the pits away.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMasaharu FukuyamaKoji YakushoSuzu HiroseA courtroom drama centered around the murder of a factory president.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsHideki SasakiMasashi AmenomoriKeiko YokozawaA cellist in a small orchestra receives help from animals to help him practice his music.
- DirectorAkira InoueStarsShintarô KatsuNorihei MikiMikiko TsubouchiAfter Zatoichi learns of his sensei's murder he uncovers a horrible conspiracy involving the local government and crime family.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuMiwa TakadaEiko TakashiroThe blind swordsman tries to locate a girl's missing father.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsYûta SoneKimika YoshinoShohei HinoA yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHiroshi AbeYui NatsukawaYouA family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
- DirectorKihachirô KawamotoA man who is on a pilgrimage spends the night with a woman. After they share a moment of passion, he runs away and she chases him.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuSaburô DateKôji FujiyamaWhen Zatoichi witnesses the murder of a young mother he promises to deliver the baby to the father. Along the way he gains the help of a reluctant criminal.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuTatsuo EndôTakashi EtajimaAfter being wounded in a fight, Zatoichi is nursed to health by a young woman and her father. Now indebted to the family, he works to protect their ferry business from local thugs.
- DirectorEiichi KudôStarsRyûtarô ÔtomoMinoru ÔkiHizuru TakachihoThis is a classic early Japanese Ninja movie. The Iga ninjas are a dying breed as Toyotomis rule allows Japan to experience some peace. Juzo, an Iga ninja who had vowed revenge for the death of his family, is hired by a rich weapons merchant to assassinate Toyotomi, restarting his quest for blood. In his way are rival ninja, and his once best friend who has decided to become a government vassal. The main plot centers around the conflicts that confront Juzo. The largest of these is the conflict between Juzo and his oldest friend, Gohei. Then there is the conflict each of these characters has with their respective women, whom are also Ninja in their own right. Finally Juzo is faced with the ultimate conflict between duty and happiness. Can he complete his mission of assassinating Toyotomi? Or will he choose a life of happiness and fulfillment with his woman? There was a remake of this classic in 1999 entitled Owl's Castle, but for people that have seen both versions, this first version, Castle of Owls, stands as the penultimate adaptation of the classic Ryotaro Shiba novel "Ninja hicho fukuro no shiro".
- DirectorNaoko KusumiMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAkio ÔtsukaAtsuko TanakaTamio ÔkiIn the year 2032, Batô, a cyborg detective for the anti-terrorist unit Public Security Section 9, investigates the case of a female robot--one created solely for sexual pleasure--who slaughtered her owner.
- DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.