“A pleasant narrative – full of lighthearted, romantic, and familial moments – that could have been better.”
Day of destruction (2020) review [Camera Japan Festival 2020]
“A truly pleasing audiovisual experience but also a powerful poetic exploration of the ills of Japanese society and the need to change it for the better.”
Be My Baby (2013) review
While the narrative has subtle comical flair, “Be My Baby” does not fail to confront the spectator with the two most important obstacles to romantic happiness: the refusal to take one’s own and the other’s subjective position into account and the unquenchable power of sexual desire.
To The North (2020) review [JFFH 2020]
A feel-good movie full of genuine emotions and satisfying romantic moments that also succeeds in delivering an important message to young adults.
Understanding ‘Cuties’ from a psychoanalytical perspective
“Even though I stated above that Amy’s identification with the hypersexualized image of femininity needs to be understood as a refusal, I think that it is even more correct to understand her behaviour as an acting-out directed to the Islamic Other.”
Fuku-chan of Fukufuku Flats (2014) review [Fantasia 2020]
“With his low-key dramedy, one will laugh, one will tear up, but above all, one will come to understand that matters of romance always require a leap of faith.”
Kakegurui (2019) review [Fantasia 2020]
“A narrative that will not only please long-time fans of the series, but also convert many newcomers into kakegurui’s enthusiasts.”
Wotakoi: love is hard for Otaku (2020) review [Fantasia 2020]
Fukada offers plenty of comical moments, a myriad of pleasing musical sequences, and endearing romantic segments but fails to deliver the emotional powerful moment the narrative needed.
Hentai Kamen: Abnormal Crisis (2016) review [Fantasia 2020]
“Despite offering plenty of fun moments and tons of silliness, the sequel fails to truly surprise and explore the thematic riddle of the structural role perversion plays in human subjectivity in a truly meaningful way.”
Milocrorze: A Love Story (2011) review [Fantasia 2020]
“What makes Milocrorze: A Love Story truly wonderful is that Ishibashi, beyond offering a highly absurd narrative and rich visual ride, also delivers an exquisite commentary on the imaginary dimension in subjective functioning.”
Project Dreams – How to Build Mazinger Z’s Hangar (2020) review [Fantasia 2020]
“A more daring approach could have made ‘Project Dreams’ into an even more powerful celebration of technology and the inspiring power of anime.”
Woman of the Photographs (2020) review [Fantasia 2020]
“A powerful reminder that what truly counts is not the relation to the imagined Other, an Other who might or not desire the subject, but a relation to another subject.”
Crazy Samurai Musashi (2020) review [Fantasia 2020]
“Sakaguchi reveals that what truly stirs the imagination of the spectator is not shining special effects, but true skill and physicality of the actor’s presence.”
Seafood Monster Wars (2020) review [Fantasia 2020]
“A silly Kaiju narrative that explores the selfish desires orienting male subjects, the centrality of the oral drive in the subject’s circuit of enjoyment, as well as the causal role human desires and drives play in the birth of (super-)natural disasters.”
Fantasia Film Festival: 8 Japanese film recommendations
“While there are many Japanese films to discover at the festival – even for us, we can already provide eight recommendations for this year’s festival.”
