What makes Tanada’s film enjoyable is not its overindulgence in drama, but its refusal to exploit the dramatic turns of the narrative for easy tears.
Ohyaku: the Female Demon (1968) [review]
a very enjoyable revenge-narrative that, surprisingly, still holds up well today.
Red Post on Escher Street (2020)
Sion Sono does not only offer an eloquent celebration of the beauty of the crazy little thing called desire, but also delivers a truly powerful encouragement for the contemporary subject to unshackle himself from the societal or psychological imposed restrictions and fight for his/her desire.
Mother (2020) review
In a languid but highly transparent way, Ohmori confronts the spectator with the subjective and interpersonal ravage the insatiable desire for love and the need for a proof of the other’s love eventually causes.
Tora-san Meets the Songstress Again (1975) review [Japan Cuts 2020]
Yamada still delivers that what makes Tora-san so enjoyable for audiences: his problematic truth; that the little freedom he has in relation to the Other condemns him to an existence of being, over and over again, duped by that very Other
Tora-san, Our lovable Tramp (1969) review [Japan Cuts 2020]
“A piece of Japanese cinema history that no cinephile should miss.”
Voices in The Wind (2020) review [Japan Cuts 2020]
“a slow but beautiful meditation on the necessity for the subject to utilize the signifier – i.e. to speak with others and to the Other – to start the process of subjectifying the loss/the real that derailed them.”
Short Movie Time: The Report (2020) [JFFH 2020]
Fukushima’s latest might lack the depth some other short films have, this does not stop his Sci-fi romance music video from being a pleasant narrative that also succeeds in touching the spectator.
Terrifying Girls’ High School: Woman’s Violent Classroom (1972) review
Norifumi Suzuki’s narrative is not only a pleasing narrative full of betrayal, cat-fights between clans, rape, extortion, and acts of revenge, but also a powerful critique against the inherent perversity of hierarchical society.
Malu (2020) review [33th Tokyo International Film Festival]
With ‘Malu’, Edmund Yeo proves that he is a master visual poet of the mundane and of the ‘cruel’.
Stay (2018) review
A great indie romance film that underlines the very importance for subjects to establish inter-subjective (romantic) relationships.
A Day-Off of Kasumi Arimura: After My Homecoming (2020) review [San Diego Asian Film Festival]
His peaceful slice-of-life narrative delivers an pleasing exploration of the notion of the family secret and how guilt can drive people to pay of their imagined debt.
All The Things We Never Said (2020) review [San Diego Asian Film Festival 2020]
Ishii’s latest is not only a highly relevant narrative, especially for Japanese subjects, it might very well be the best Japanese film of this year.
Branded To Kill (1967) Review
“A Classic.”
One Missed Call (2003) Review
Miike’s horror-narrative provides all the thrills, and tropes for that matter, fans of J-horror have come to expect from the genre.
