“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.”
Category: Romance
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.”
Ride Or Die (2021) review
“A highly enjoyable romance narrative that thrives on a rich current of heartfelt romantic and raw natural emotions. “
Tora-san, Wish you were here (2019) review [Japan Cuts 2020]
“Yamada’s latest offers not only a powerful homage to the late great Kiyoshi Atsumi but also a moving nostalgic ride along many of the iconic scenes of the series.”
Wife of A Spy (2020) review
A tremendous achievement [that succeeds in calling] forth orth certain (indigestible) truths concerning the Japanese imperialistic Other.
Story of a Nymphomaniac (1975) review
“While it does nothing to take the genre further, Ekimoto still delivers an enjoyable narrative.”
A Girl Missing (2020) Review
A nuanced but moving exploration of the destructive power of the media, the danger of leaving things unsaid, and the fact that mundane or empty speech is, by its reliance on the imaginary dimension, structured by misrecognition.
Make-Believers (2021) review
“Kenjo McCurtain mixes the right elements into a musical romantic cocktail that is both heartfelt and deeply satisfying.”
Sweet Bitter Candy (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“An amazing exploration of the clash between a sweet youthful romantic desire and the bitter urge of a wounded subject to defend his subjective wounds.”
A New Wind Blows (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
A great film that shows that the madness of the male subject is often function of a woman, of a woman that unknowingly puts the by a man assumed phallic position of being desired radically into question.
Black Rain (1989) review
Imamura’s ‘Black Rain’ is, without a doubt, one of the most important films about the atomic bomb ever made and should be mandatory viewing for anyone who holds the promise of world peace dear.
Hotel Iris (2021) review [Osaka Asian Film Festival]
“An artfully composed erotic narrative that plays with the well-known psychoanalytic fact that the relational past of subjects impacts the possibility and appearance of sexual attraction between a man and a woman.”
The Asian Angel (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“Ishii’s latest succeeds in showing, in a powerful and touching manner, the possibility of intercultural friendship and romance.”
