An experience that will stir the spectator’s unconscious and affect his heart.
Category: Directors
A Madder Red (2021) review [Nippon Connection 2022]
Machiko Ono and Yuki Katayama breathe extra-ordinary life and realism into the pain, the hopes, the white lies, the tears, the smiles, and the anger of contemporary female subjects subjected to a phallically-structured societal system. Highly recommended.
Journey To The Shore (2015) review
“An elegant and touching exploration of arrested mourning, unresolved subjective regrets, and the impact of unfinished business on the deceived or the living subject.”
Punk Samurai Slash Down (2018) review
“Ishii’s narrative meanders a bit too much, but it luckily never outstays its welcome.”
Crazy Thunder Road (1980) review
“A nihilistic and wild exploration of the self-destructive nature of a relentless search for a dose of pleasure.”
Drive My Car (2021) review
“A meditative and intimate masterpiece with a rich but challenging intertextuality.”
Suicide Forest Village (2021) review
“A mystery-horror experience that is, in all aspects, better than ‘Howling Village’.”
Talks with directors: Edmund Yeo
We interview Edmund Yeo, the director of one the most pleasant romance narratives of this year.
Irezumi (1966) review
“Masamura delivers a phenomenal narrative, a true post-war classic.”
Last Of The Wolves (2021) review
“Kazuya Shiraishi delivers, with his sequel, another amazing and highly entertaining yakuza/police thriller.”
Hiroku The Goblin (1991) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
‘A classic that offers an unforgettable experience that is as touchingly lighthearted as is it disturbingly horrifying.’
The Great Yokai War – Guardians (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
“A pleasant and truly satisfying ride for the whole family.”
A Beast In Love (2020) review [JFFH 2021]
“A divisive exploration of the various sides of the crazy little thing called love decorated with a demented finale, which is as disturbingly violent as it is shockingly romantic.”
Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) review
A heartwarming and lighthearted narrative that shows how women, within the societal device of arranged marriage as well as within the modern device of marriages out of love, can find subjective happiness.
My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (2021) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“A great narrative, due to its emotionally gripping finale and the crystal-clear manner by which Sabu explores and uncovers the impact of a vicious environment on the way the subject inscribes itself into the social fabric.”