A great indie narrative that highlights the need for the parental and the traditional Other to aid the subject to embark on the path of his own desire.
Kingdom of The Apes (2022) review [JFFH 2022]
Shugo Fujii proves that he is the master of indie-thrillers.
What she Likes (2021) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“Kusano succeeds in delivering a quite atypical romance narrative.”
The End Of The Pale Hour (2021) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
Matsumoto delivers an amazing narrative that allows the spectator to realize that imaginary pleasure offers little protection against the oppressing demands of the society and imaginary injuries dealt by others.
One Day, You will reach the Sea (2022) review (22nd Nippon Connection)
A splendid experience whose themes of loss, failed encounters, and unresolved desires do not fail to touch the spectator deeply.
My Brother, The Android and Me (2022) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“A compelling exploration of how certain subjects, psychotically structured, attempt to mend the problematic nature of the symbolic and the imaginary.”
Popran (2022) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“A great narrative that questions in a light-hearted way the relation between the male subject and his member as well as the role the real member plays within the fantasmatic world of men.”
Ninja Girl (2021) review [22nd Nippon connection]
“A political satire that will not fail to please audiences, but lacks the thematical punch to make a statement that will long linger in the spectator’s mind.”
Any Crybabies Around? (2020) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“A great drama that sketches out the destructive effect of the gap between one’s signifiers and one’s acts on others and shows the spectator that what the marital ‘motherly’ other truly demands is not simply obedience but love.”
Intolerance (2021) [22nd Nippon Connection]
Yoshida’s narrative hits all the right emotional notes for the audience and that its message will long linger in the spectator’s mind.
Backlight (2021) [22nd Nippon Connection]
An elegantly constructed and highly impactful exploration of the inhibiting fear of being rejected by one’s beloved.
Just Remembering (2022) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
An experience that will stir the spectator’s unconscious and affect his heart.
They Say Nothing Stays the Same (2019) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
An exquisitely shot meditation about the impact change has on society and subjectivity.
A Madder Red (2021) review [Nippon Connection 2022]
Machiko Ono and Yuki Katayama breathe extra-ordinary life and realism into the pain, the hopes, the white lies, the tears, the smiles, and the anger of contemporary female subjects subjected to a phallically-structured societal system. Highly recommended.
22nd Nippon Connection: Recommendations
This list does not only reveal the variety of unique perspectives that mark Japanese Cinema, but also echoes that what directors, from a cinematic perspective, put into question within Japanese society.
psycho-cinematography 