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.
Category: Family
The Taste of Tea (2004) review
Katsuhito Ishii’s offers the spectator a satisfying kaleidoscopic exploration of the emotional fabric of life and the importance of familial bonds.
Small, Slow But Steady (2022) review
An incredibly powerful boxing-narrative elevated by Yukino Kishii’s emotionally powerful perfomance.
A Man (2022) review
A compelling and thrilling exploration of the reality of identity fraud and the damaging effect societal discourses can have on a subject and his ego.
Sin And Evil (2024) review [Japannual 2024]
Saito shows that the Other always bears some responsibility for the subjective outcomes of dysfunctional familial dynamics and the criminal excesses that plague its mendacious image of peaceful harmony.
Belonging (2024) review [Japannual 2024]
Higashi delivers a touching exploration of love after death.
House of Sayuri (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
The thoughtful manipulation of this atmospheric field is integral to create an effective and engaging genre-blend.
I Was Born, But … (1932) review
What allows Ozu’s exploration of parental failure to retain its power to charm and engage is the very fact that every child needs to go through such phase.
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
Yoko (2023) review
A complex full-bodied filmic wine that cannot but stir the spectator’s emotions.
Bad Lands (2023) review
The incredibly well-crafted narrative structure, fuelled by Sakura Ando’s extremely satisfying performance, ensures that the spectator remains engaged from start and finish
Undercurrent (2023) review
Imaizumi delivers an engaging but understated emotional experience that explores the deceptive nature of imaginary veil that binds two subjects together.
Performing Kaoru’s Funeral (2023) review [OAFF 2024]
Yuasa’s narrative shows that the unavoidable presence of death during a funeral can allow a subject to re-route his own trajectory.
Faraway Family (2023) review [OAFF 2024]
A very touching narrative that explores the frail position of the father and how his structural failure can cause subjective struggles and inhibitions.
Wash Away (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A pleasant narrative that offers a fresh but familiar exploration of the subject’s fundamental desire for recognition/love and the problematic yet medicative function of consumption.
psychocinema 