A mildly entertaining action-comedy that ultimately fails to fully satisfy the spectator.
Category: Youth
Amiko (2022) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
A fabulous narrative that explores the destructive effects caused by the radical misunderstanding that marks the field of speech and the refusal to speak to one’s child as a subject.
Kingdom 2: Far and Away (2022) review
An epic and quite emotional experience that sadly fails to reach it full potential by holding on too tight to its shonen-roots.
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.
Funky Forest: the first Contact (2005) review
“Strange, mundane, surprising, deadpan funny, funky, and ethereal all rolled into one.”
Motherhood (2022)
An enjoyable and engaging exploration of the destructive impact of a subject’s fixation on gaining the (m)Other’s love and that the often-ignored truth that becoming a mother is not that self-evident.
Pure Japanese (2022) review
Matsunaga’s narrative lacks the glue that would put all the parts fluidly together and create a truly impactful action experience.
Sadako DX (2022) review
“A failed re-imagining of a classic horror-story.”
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.
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.
You’re Not Normal, Either! (2021) review
“A pleasant film, but nothing more than that.”
Father of The Milky Way Railroad (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
By being able to rely on such talent, Narushima is able to deliver a narrative that gracefully moves the spectator and elegantly provokes spectator’s emotions and tears.
Plastic (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
Miyazaki creates a moody narrative that highlights the equivocal functionality of music for the subject as well as the destructive impact of not being able to create an inter-subjective between two ego’s in love.