Matsunaga delivers a beautiful and highly emotional experience that will leave no one unaffected.
Category: Family
Sanka: Nomads of the Mountains (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A visually enticing narrative that elegantly explores the unresolvable tension between the societal Other and the subject.”
The Light Of The Spring (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“An experimental ‘dramamentary’ that succeeds to charm and touch the spectator with its rich mundane and genuine interactions.”
Intimate Stranger (2022) review
“A splendid narrative that dares to explore how problematic mothers can be for their children.”
Make The Devil Laugh (2021) review [Skip City International D-Festival 2021]
An amazing socially-engaged piece of cinema that beautifully sketches out how problematic the enjoyment of the societal Other can be.
Ring Wandering (2022) review
With his narrative, Kaneko gracefully invites the spectator to question whether he has not forgotten the subjective importance of forging inter-subjective bonds.
Tapestry (2020) review
“Yes, Zeze delivers a rather straightforward romance narrative with Tapestry, but, in contrast to many other Japanese romance films, he succeeds to genuinely move the spectator.”
Let Me Hear It Barefoot (2021) review [IFFR 2022]
“A great narrative that elegantly and gently exploits non-verbal communication to deliver a touching tale of subjective struggle.”
Yamabuki (2022) review [IFFR 2022]
“A beautiful socially-engaged narrative that explores the very fact that, by being grasped within the societal network of relations, one cannot but influence the other and become influenced by the other’s speech and acts.”
Somebody’s Flowers (2021) review
“A beautiful narrative that explores the mental and societal obstacles that litter the path of those subjects who suddenly need to grieve the loss of loved ones with a refined elegance and a pleasing naturalism.”
Short Movie Time: Born Pisces (2020) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
“Yamanaka does not only reaffirm that she has talent but also that she improved her compositional style and her storytelling.”
Resident of Alice (2021) review
“Sawa pleases the spectator with his elegant and, at times, poetic compositions, but also delivers a narrative with a satisfying psychological depth and a rich emotional texture.”
Suicide Forest Village (2021) review
“A mystery-horror experience that is, in all aspects, better than ‘Howling Village’.”
Underdog (2021) review
“Take’s film powerfully shows that the heroism of the art of boxing lies in the very subjective meaning that power the jabs, the hooks, and the uppercuts.”
The Family (2021) review
“A highly original yakuza narrative that beautifully touches upon the importance that the (idealized) figure of the father can have for a subject’s lifepath.”
psycho-cinematography 