“A beautiful narrative that seems to bear no relation to our romantic life at first, but ultimately hits close to home.”
Category: Romance
Talking The Pictures (2019) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
“Masayuki’s celebration of cinematic history deeply satisfies the spectator’s desire to see cinema as an experience that can touch our being and the art of the benshi triumph.”
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.’
Tokyo Revengers (2021) Review [Fantasia Film Festival]
“An exciting blend of satisfying violence, tensive moments, surges of pleasing lightheartedness, and touching emotional moments.”
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.”
Love, Live, and Goldfish (2021) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
“While Makabe’s narrative does not offer anything truly new or groundbreaking, what it does brings to the table is served with excellence.”
Follow The Light (2021) review [Fantasia Festival 2021]
The narrative might not offer anything new at a thematical level, but stands out due to his refusal to spell things out and, instead, imply certain subjective truths via elegant and naturalistic poetic moments.
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.
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.
Giants and Toys (1958) review
A classic that, as a critique of capitalism and materialism, has not lost any of its relevance.
Hit Me Anyone One More Time (2019) review [Nippon connection Online]
“A pleasant lighthearted narrative that expresses a (vain?) hope for a more thoughtful form of Japanese politics.”
Beyond the two infinite minutes (2021) review [Nippon connection 2021]
“A highly entertaining and cleverly constructed sci-fi film that not only underlines the power of romantic desire, but also reveals how tricky knowing the future can be.”
The Town of Headcounts (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
“His dystopian ‘thriller’ does not only masterly highlight, in a chilling way, the various ills that marks contemporary society, but also shows, that within such dystopian world, a subject can always rediscover something to life and fight for.”
The Promised Land (2019) review [Nippon Connection 2021]
A beautifully composed and highly relevant narrative about destructive kinds of social violence, a social violence against the Otherness present in the community and an ostracizing violence to turn the once-trusted other into an unwanted Otherness.
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.”
