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
Category: Sexuality
Blue Imagine (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A powerful reminder of the sexual transgressions that structurally plague the Japanese film industry
Short Movie Time: Ririka of the Star (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that does not merely emphasize the beauty of moving female body, but reveals that such beauty can change subjects.
A Far Shore (2022) review
A highly engaging story that explores the destructive effects of a societal field that fails to reach out to subjects-in-need.
Violent Streets (1974)
A nihilistic and violent yakuza classic.
Call Me Chihiro (2023) review
What makes Imaizumi’s narrative a pleasant and such an emotional watch is the fine balance he found between waves of light-heartedness and the forlorn aftertaste that remains after bonds unravel.
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.
Ice Cream Fever (2023) review [Japannual 2023]
A gorgeous stylish exploration of the subjective struggles and the solutions subjects invent within the field of love and desire.
Tea Friends (2023) review [Camera Japan festival]
Sotoyama investigates, in a very touching way, the radical discordance between the societal field and the elderly subject.
Love Will Tear Us Apart (2023) review [Camera Japan Festival]
A narrative that blows a refreshing wind in both the slasher and the romance genre.
Natchan’s little Secret (2023) review [Camera Japan Festival 2023]
Tanaka’s narrative succeeds in entertaining the spectator with its light-hearted framing of the tension between these subjects and the Other they are surrounded by. So be sure to give it a watch if you have the chance.
Hand (2022) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
Matsui avoids delivering an exploitative erotic piece to be merely enjoyed by male audiences.
Tsuburo no Gara (2004) review
“A very atmospheric film that keep the spectator’s interest while making him feel ill-at-ease.”
Short Movie Time: Necessary & unnecessary (2022) review [JFFH 2023]
A quirky little narrative that explores the necessity of forming inter-subjective social bonds.
I Am What I Am (2022) review [Nippon Connection 2023]
Toko Miura, with her layered performance, gives the emotional struggle of her character its genuine flavour.