“A very relevant exploration of the fact that the criminal act is, in many cases, born from an antagonistic relation between the subject and the Other.”
Alivehoon (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival]
Shimoyama hits all the common beats of the sports-genre, but succeeds in elevating his exploration of the art of drifting by framing the battling cars in an exciting and mesmerizing way.
It’s All My Fault (2022) review [Camera Japan Festival 2022]
A touching narrative that explores how difficult it is for subject to assume a place for himself, a place from where he/she can desire, without the structuring influence of motherly love.
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 what they cannot put into signifiers.
A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse (1975) review
It is via the splatter of blood, the concatenation of sexual acts, and the ghostly revenge that Yamaguchi presents the male spectator his truth: that he, beyond fantasy and desire, is a merely castrated being.
Summer Time Machine Blues (2005)
A fantastic time-travel narrative that will not only please sci-fi fans but also please spectators who love Japanese comical narratives.
Dancing in Her Dreams (2019)
“A wonderful experience that does not only present a touching exploration of the pain of longing but also functions as an exquisite and elegant celebration of the art of stripping.”
In Another Language (2021) review
An enjoyable indie romance narrative that elegantly plays with the fact that lie and truth are fundamentality interwoven within a subject’s speech.
A Girl On The Shore (2021) review
“Ueda’s engaging film is all about two subjects trying to escape their phantasmatic identification with the notion of trash.”
Pale Flower (1964) review
“A ‘seductive’ nihilistic masterpiece that explores the unescapable subjective problems created by the rhythmic capitalistic machinery.”
Short movie time: Laundromat on the Corner (2020)
“A very pleasant horror-romance short narrative.”
The Women (2021) review
“A narrative with many beautiful touching moments but not a satisfying whole.”
Shaman’s Daughter (2022) review [JFFH 2022]
A genre mish-mash – a cocktail of light-hearted comedy, family drama, bloody thriller, and ghostly romance – that is not only pleasant but offers the spectator a rich emotional fabric to savour.
The Vampire Doll (1970) review
“Sounds, music, performances, and darkish visuals all blend beautifully together to deliver an unsettling but enchanting account of vampirism in Japan.”
My Broken Mariko (2022) [Fantasia Film Festival]
Tanada offers a compelling exploration of the emotional turmoil a female subject caused by the sudden death of someone important.
psycho-cinematography 