Masaki Nishiyama’s message resounds clearly: embrace your Otherness, despite all the societal hammers seeking to hammer you, the nail that sticks out, down.
Category: Violence
Baka’s identity (2025) review [Japannual 2025]
Koto Nagata offers the spectator a saddening but entertaining portrait of what the Japanese Other does not want anyone to see: the unsavoury marriage between crime and capitalism
The Man Who Failed To Die (2025) review [Camera Japan Festival]
Seiji Tanaka refuses to colour within the lines of comedy, creating an eclectic collage of different genre-elements that does not fail to satisfy the spectator.
The Killer Goldfish (2025) review [Camera Japan Festival]
An absurd brutal supernatural fantasy that has the potential to become a cult-favourite.
8 films to watch in preparation for Ghost of Yotei
In this short article, we want to introduce people, who are new to the Japanese cinema, to a few easily accessible films to prepare themselves for the game and immerse themselves in the themes that the game will explore.
Flames of a Flower (2025) review [OAFF 2025]
A compelling exploration of the divergent ways subjects deal with trauma and the Other that fails to respond adequately.
Short Movie Review: Chime (2024) review
With his horror-short. Kiyoshi Kurosawa proves that he still is a master of horror.
Red Peony Gambler (1968) review
A classic ninkyo narrative and a must-see for any cinephile.
Revolver Lily (2023) review
A very enjoyable action-thriller that succeeds in satisfying the spectator thirsting for exciting action-pieces.
Sympathy For The Underdog (1971) review
This is not merely classic that speaks to those who felt lost due to the rapid shifts that upheaved the Japanese societal field after the second world war, but continues to speak to those who feel out-of-place, who feel like Gunji unsuited for this world of ‘criminal’ suits.
Kingdom: Return of the Great General (2024) review
Shinsuke Sato knows what makes people come back to the series and delivers it in spades.
Transcending Dimensions (2025) review [Nippon Connection]
A masterpiece, a culmination of his past disillusionment with the societal Other and his interest in spiritualism and rebirth born from being mistreated by the Other of the law.
Revolution +1 (2022) Review
Masao Adachi delivers an important political statement that, by offering an evocative sketch of Tetsuya Yamagami’s tragic trajectory, invites the Japanese spectator to question his own passivity towards the political Other.
Godzilla’s Revenge – All Monsters Attack (1969) review [The Godzilla Project]
Sekizawa’s narrative confronts the spectator light-heartedly with the endpoint of Godzilla’s social decontextualizing.
Abashiri Prison – Saga of Homesickness (1965)
An engaging narrative that illustrates how the image of the father can be a prison for the subject.
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