Yu Irie delivers a samurai narrative that, while not able to match the masterpieces of the genre, offers everything fans have come to expect from the genre.
Category: Based on Novel
Lumberjack the Monster (2023) review
A great example of a filmic experience that is helmed by a director that is uninvested in the material and, consequently, merely does his bare minimum
Teki Cometh (2024) review [Camera Japan Festival]
A vivid and mesmerising experience that does not only illustrates the subjective impact of increased isolation on giving meaning to one’s own life – on the stability of the frame of one’s ego.
A Bad Summer (2025) review [Japannual 2025]
Hideo Jojo offers a compelling exploration of poverty within the Japanese societal field as well as the the structural possibility of exploiting the welfare system for one’s own gain.
Anime Supremacy (2022)
A light-hearted glance at the inner-workings of the anime-machine.
Revolver Lily (2023) review
A very enjoyable action-thriller that succeeds in satisfying the spectator thirsting for exciting action-pieces.
Rewrite (2025) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
Daiga Matsui’s narrative ultimately develops into something that expands beyond mere romance, a surprising and highly satisfying time-loop drama.
Mukoku (2017) review
Kumakiri offers a fresh breath in the Japanese sports genre by focusing on trauma, the ill-fitting of the subject within the societal Other, and the importance of forming bonds with the other.
Shinobi no mono: Resurrection (1963)
A satisfying conclusion resolves the thematical exploration of destructive capitalistic pleasure in a satisfactorily yet maybe somewhat naive way.
The Box Man (2024) review [Camera Japan Festival]
An incredible satisfying cinematic experience, one that enthrals the spectator from start to finish
Afternoon Angler’s club (2023) Review [Camera Japan Festival]
Hideo Jojo’s heartwarming tale of subjective growth and salt-water fishing is a pleasant watch.
Shinobi no Mono 2: Revenge (1963) review
Satsuo Yamamoto reveals the frailty and replaceability of the capitalistic father in an engaging way.
All The Long Nights (2024) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
A splendid drama that shows how symptoms can disturb a subject’s life and how the social field attains its cruel complexity due to the riddle of desire.
Kubi (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
One of best period dramas in recent years.
A Story Written With Water (1965) review
An exquisitely layered psychological drama that unveils how a subject’s fixation on a phantasmatic image disrupts his ability to commit himself romantically to the female other
psychocinema 