Kasho Iizuka delivers a heartfelt demand to the spectator to go beyond the mere societal and ideological question of gender and consider the right of the subject to carve out his own singular space of ego-contentment.
Category: Award-winning
Anymart (2026) review [Nippon Connection 2026]
A darkly twisted comical horror narrative that exposes the dynamic of repressive societal violence and what the Japanese societal field seeks to refuse.
Two Seasons, Two Strangers (2025) review
A moody experience that explores the tension between one’s conscious discourse and one’s unconscious discourse with elegance and arresting beauty.
Kokuho (2025) review
A deeply moving experience that does not only offer the spectator a mesmerizing and deeply intimate celebration of the performative art of kabuki, but also unearths the radical subjective dimension of embodying and performing a role.
Desert of Namibia (2024) review [Japannual 2024]
Yoko Yamanaka delivers a cinematic masterpiece of subjectivity.
Gonza the Spearman (1986) review
“A fabulous narrative that offers a satisfying exploration of the tragedy of phallic ambition and the destructive potential of desire.”
Short Movie Time: Yamome (2018)
A pleasant short film that highlights that deception in romance finds its ultimate support in the subject’s desire to be loved.
Black Rain (1989) review
Imamura’s ‘Black Rain’ is, without a doubt, one of the most important films about the atomic bomb ever made and should be mandatory viewing for anyone who holds the promise of world peace dear.
Ito (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“A charming exploration about the way in which the other allows a drifting subject to moor his desire and find a direction for his subjectivity within the Other.”
Akitsu Springs (1962) review
With his artful composing hand, Yoshishige Yoshida paints how a romance unable to transform into an inter-subjective relation of love can impact the subjectivity and illustrate, in a subtle but sensible way, the Freudian truth that every Eros is, in the end, a death drive.
The Murders of Oiso (2019) review [OAFF 2020]
“Highly original and touching to boot. (…) highly recommended.”
Cry (2019) Review
“A strangely powerful narrative on life’s monotonous cyclicity.”
[Short Movie Time] A Japanese Boy Who Draws (2019) [Japannual 2019]
“A highly original narrative that communicates its powerful statement on art through its modulation of its eclectic art-style.”
Jesus (2019) review [Japan Camera Festival]
“A promising debut of Hiroshi Okuyama”.
short movie time: Breakers (2018)
“Minami Goto reveals her rich talent as writer and director, positioning herself in pole position to become a new strong voice in Japanese cinema.”