The way Araki resolves the narrative’s thematical questions concerning vengeance and the working-through of trauma will divide spectators
Category: Romance
18×2 Beyond Youthful Days (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]
Fujii proves that the tropes of the romance genre can still be exploited in a refreshing and emotionally satisfying manner.
Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween – decisive battle (2023) review
Hanabusa can finally do what he does well: deliver dramatic moments whose origin lie in narrative twists or in unexpected turns in the bursts of violence.
Yin Yang Master Zero (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]
A fantastical visual experience like no other.
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
Short Movie Time: On a Boat (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
The exploration of the frail stability of an obsessional neurotic does not miss its impact on the spectator.
Amalock (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.
Memories of this Scent (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
An endearing and fragrance rich tale of subjective change.
Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween – Destiny (2023) review
A prime example of a cinematic narrative that is solely made for the fans of the manga and the anime.
Monster (2023) review
Kore-eda succeeds in delivering an utterly engaging narrative about the fundamental misunderstanding that underpins our fabrication of our truth.
Man Who Causes A Storm (1957)
Inoue’s rags-to-riches narrative might not escape the territory of predictability, but he puts enough thematical meat on the table so that the spectator, in full knowlegde of how the narrative will unfold, still comes away fully satisfied.
The Master Plan / The End of The Tiny World (2021) review
“Pleasant, but ultimately fails to deliver the emotional catharsis it so clearly promises.”
Funky Forest: the first Contact (2005) review
“Strange, mundane, surprising, deadpan funny, funky, and ethereal all rolled into one.”
Village (2023) review
An incredibly powerful drama narrative that illustrates how toxic and destructive a societal environment can be for the subject – the persecutory dimension of the Other – and how reparative ‘inter-subjective’ signifiers can be.
Halloween movie special: Summer Of Demon (1981) review
Despite some nice visual compositions and some great performances, Ninagawa’s composition ultimately deflates the drama, leaving this adaptation unable to touch the spectator.