Oriume (2002)

According to dialogue translated in the subtitles, oriume is written with the characters of mother and tree; the tree itself is remarkable because it will put out new roots if a branch is broken and replanted, and if the branch is snapped but still left even slightly attached, it will continue to bloom.* This is …

Dororo (2007)

Manga has been a constant source of inspiration for Japanese movie-makers, long before the American deep dive into the Marvel universe. Red Shadow had brought a 21st century live-action feel to the work of one of the godfathers of the manga, Mitsuteru Yokoyama. Dororo takes a similar live-action approach to one of the most inventive …

Love Is in the Green Wind* / Koi wa midori no kaze no naka (1974)

Miyoji Ieki's last movie follows young Junichi through his last spring classes and summer vacation. He is roughly what Americans would call an eighth grader, so we are in the realm of sexual awakening and first love, still trapped in the mind of a childish boy. Junichi (Yusuke Sato) has had that incredible growth spurt …

After the Rain / Ame agaru (1999)

Ihei is a wandering ronin who has been done in over the years by his own good nature. He and his wife find themselves stranded at an inn as the river they want to cross is flooded. He enters a prize-fight and uses the prize money for food and drink for all the people in …

My Sons / Musuko (1991)

Akio is a tobacco farmer* with two sons, both of whom have left home. Tadashi went to university and is now a Tokyo salaryman with a wife Reiko and two little girls. Tetsuo is also in Tokyo but still bouncing from job to job, and he almost misses the family reunion for the first anniversary …

Begging for Love / Ai o kou hito (1998)

In simplest terms, Begging for Love is the story of a woman approaching 50 who decides to find the ashes of her father who died when she was about six. Before she finally finds and brings them to a final resting place, we have one of the most emotionally intense studies of family life and …

Village of Dreams / E no naka no boku no mura (1996)

Seizo and Yukihiko are twins who both became artists and now as they near sixty have decided to make a joint book about their village when they were young boys. This takes us back to 1948 in a small village near Kochi, which as we have seen in other movies was the back of beyond …

Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis / Teito monogatari (1988)

An evil spirit called Kato appears and claims Tokyo has been built on sacred ground. He sets out to destroy it by waking the spirit of the 10th century warrior Masakado who can cause a great earthquake that will destroy the city. Kato is pitted first against the priest of the Tsuchimikado who have traditionally …

Comic Magazine / No More Comics / Komikku zasshi nanka iranai! (1986)

By the eighties, the tabloid world of Scandal or Detective Bureau had shifted to television, where celebrity gossip has become the major subject matter. Kinameri is a “reporter” for his network’s morning show, where he tries to get  stories from people who generally try to avoid him and his camera crew. He is generally thought …

House on Fire / Kataku no hito (1986)

Adapted from an autobiographical novel by Kazuo Dan, House on Fire is such a tempestuous love story that it is hard to believe it is actually Japanese. In its flamboyant and emotional relationships, it is the opposite of And Then, made at about the same time. Dan (Ken Ogata) is the kind of writer who …