***The Japanese Movie Thread (With a twist)***
 

Okay, I think we should try something new in this thread.

This here would be the thread where everyone can review, or suggest, or promote Japanese films that they've seen.

However, to make things a little different, these are the rules:

1. No J-horror/gore movies
2. No Kurosawa movies (unless they're something we've never heard before)
3. No Takashi Miike movies (again, unless it's something rare)
4. No anime films, or live-action anime films.
5. No Godzilla/Ultraman/Kamen Rider stuff.

I think that these types of films only makes up a small portion of all Japanese movies, but when anyone discusses J-films, they don't derail enough into other categories.

Hopefully, this will make things a lot more interesting


I know a lot of you live in Japan, it shouldn't be too hard to watch something that is outside of those 5 categories.

Okay, I will start with one



苺のカケラ　Ichigo no Kakera

Director: Shun Nakahara

For those of you interested in manga, or drawing manga, this is a good movie for you. Although the main story isn't about the publishing of manga per se, it has a lot to do with it. It's about a girl who has been drawing/writing manga for years but she has only had one good hit, everything since has been downhill. So she becomes more and more isolated and starts and is becoming more annoying to be around. Her own ego gets to her one day and everything falls apart. I thought this was a decent film that really requires some patience, and multiple viewings, cuz I didn't get it the first time. There were "fantasy" elements which messes up the viewer's definition of what's real and what's imagined. I thought there were a lot of good scenes in this movie, and the acting is really well...the story moves pretty slow (like most Japanese movies)...but manga fans would find something they probably can relate to, like this cool scene:



Pretty cool huh?

That is pretty cool! I might give it a watch!

I want to recommend one of my favorite Japanese movies. Dunno if it's been mentioned before (probably has), but I love it.

Zatoichi
IMDB link

Starring Kitano Takeshi ("Beat Takeshi") as a blind swordsman. It's almost like the typical "blind swordsman" story, except the director and creators took a lot of awesome liberties with it, like some little musical numbers you won't even realize are there until like ten seconds after they've started (it's really cool). Fantastic movie, amazing characters and dialogue, good story, wraps up nicely.

The sequel which came out last year, "市" (Ichi), is an alternate universe Zatoichi, so to speak, in which the blind swordsman is, in this case, a woman. It was decent but not as good as the 2003 version. There is an original version made before the one with Beat Takeshi but I have yet to see it.

^^Ha...I've seen just about every Kitano film except for that one....him being a swordsman just kinda threw me off guard, and turned me off a little


Here's another one I've seen recently:



明日の私の作り方　How to Become Myself of Tomorrow

Director: Jun Ichikawa

Well, I'm not gonna lie, this is probably the best teen movie I've seen. I mean, off the top of my head I really can't think of one that's better. It's really subtle, has a great story, doesn't have any romantic sappy BS, and most importantly, pretty realistic. It's the story about 2 girls. One who was kind of popular in school, and another who was bullied. So along the way, they find out about each other and start sending text messages through distant communication. I like how they never meet in the entire movie except for 1 scene kinda early on, which works much better. It adds to the realism where the more popular student, obviously won't sacrifice herself to be seen with a student of lower status. So later, after they graduate from high school, they go to different colleges, and they still communicate through text. They give advice to each other on their separate careers and things such as that, and more importantly, the roles they play in life. Juri, the main character, is a multi-layered person with many sides that she has to conform to in the society of Japan, you see it mostly through her school and her home. I find that she's much better of an actor than Erika Suwajiri (they both appeared in that popular TV series), but in this role you can see how talented she really is. So overall it's well-directed, has a welcoming pace, very comfortable style, a movie that anyone can watch and will appreciate. It's a great film.

So basically what you're saying is, this thread is now my "rent from Tsutaya" list. :D

Always: Sanchomo no yuhi directed by Takashi Yamazaki, which is about life in 1958 tokyo. Its about the daily lives of a neighbourhood near the tokyo tower, and the cool bit is that you'll catch glimpses of the tower half finished.

its a pretty family friendly feel good movie that i watched in tokyo last year.

this guy does a better review of it than i could:

Always San-chome no yuhi – revisiting the sunset on third street




i quite enjoyed it, and you could do alot worse if you've got nothing else to do.


there is one more thing,....

a few days ago i was channel hopping and caught the last bit of a film on some random cable channel, maybe you guys can help identify it:

this loner loser dude goes to a beach or lake resort, ogles the girls in a serial killer sort of way, then buys a pair of trunks to go swimming and tries to hit on a girl. she quickly tells him to get lost.
it then cuts to the girl walking home along a country path, and the guy starts to follow her. it turns into a chase across a rocky river bank where she falls, cracks her head, and either dies or is just unconscious.
loner loser dude then proceeds to rape her lifeless body, and when he's done he walks home and the movie ends.

it looked like an 80's film.

any ideas?

I like you. I hope you'll stay here longer than other newcomers.



Monday

Director: Sabu (Hiroyuki Tanaka)

The plot revolves around our good old friend - alcohol, and it's effects on a certain person. The story starts with a guy waking up in a hotel room without having any memories of what he's been doing for the past 24 hours and progresses as he tries to remember what happened with the help of clues from his pockets.
This black comedy/thriller has everything from bomb defusing, Yakuza bashing, to demons of some sort and should keep you satisfied to the very end.

I'm not new at all....I've been a lurker for a long time. :D




歩く、人　　Man Walking on Snow

Director: Masahito Kobayashi

This is a rare gem I found out of nowhere. This is your typical Japanese film, it's really, really slow. With long scenes of a man walking for the first 20 minutes. It tugs at your patience to see how far you can handle. But, after the first grueling 20 minutes, the story sets in, and you will become engaged in the small-town Life of an old man and his 2 sons. The story focuses on the tension between the younger son and the older son, one who is defined by his rural enviornment, and the other who is trying to break free and do his own thing in the world. I don't know who these actors are, but they were wonderful. The contrast is extremely well done, the actors all have great chemistry together. And there's some odd Japanese humor thrown in as well. I especially loved the ending, the final scene has a remarkable impact that emphasizes on finality and surrender. A really great film.

好きだ　Su-Ki-Da

Director: Hiroshi Ishikawa

If it wasn't for the final scene.....this would be the most depressing film ever. In fact, I thought they should have removed that final scene, but still, it's a heartbreaking film nontheless. There is only 2 characters in this entire movie, even though the adult and teen versions were played by different actors, you really feel that they are the same person, which is even more amazing. The transition from teen to adult is one of the best I've seen in any film. This is one of those films where every scene is done in exquisite detail, the cinematography carries this film, and the strong characters and the plot enhances this movie as well. I think Aoi Miyazaki fans have all seen this one, it's a film that will stick with you for a long time.

錆びたナイフ　The Rusty Knife

1958

Director: Toshio Masuda


This is an old noir film, one of the thousands of old Japanese gangster films from back in the days. They really don't make it like this anymore. However, I didn't really enjoy this one too much. The first 15 minutes went by real fast with tons of information, and the main character doesn't even appear until 20 minutes into the film, which just adds to the confusion. The movie does settle down towards the middle and the main character really carries this film well. Yujiro Ishihara is a pretty commanding actor, even though he doesn't have any distinct features. The movie is at its best when its slowed down, examining the characters and the pressure they're under. I thought the story was quite refreshing, but it's a shame they never really "focused" on the story but instead just tried some of the old plot twist devices that we've a million times....I guess being in 1958 it was okay. Well, the villain was straight up lame, you could see it a mile away. Anyways, there were some gorgeous shots of 1950s Japan, the trains, the cinematography never gets old. It's quite an average film though....

雨あがる　After the Rain

Director: Takashi Koizumi

This kind of a Kurosawa movie....it's only written by him, and he passed away before he could direct it, so someone else directed it instead. I don't want to compare this to Kurosawa's films, it's definitely different, using the emphasis on rain a little too much at times. It's a very peaceful film that does not pack the punch, the characters doesn't face consequences of their actions. But it's not a Kurosawa film, it's very mellow, very relaxing, and in general a pretty good movie on it's own. It's about a samurai who has no master, and when a lord is trying to recruit, he refuses.....that's pretty much it. But the performances, the acting are all really wonderful. The sudden fights were surprising to see, and really well filmed. THe main character really acted the role of the "gentle" samurai, as good as anyone. It's a good movie, and won bunch of awards, maybe only because Kurosawa's name was attached to it.

天国はまだ遠く　　Heaven is Still Far Away

Director: Masahiko Nagasawa

Well, on one hand I really want to like this movie, but on the other hand there were some problems that really bothered me. There was one scene particular at the end that kinda ruined it a little, for the most part this was a well-acted, subtle film about a girl trying to get her life together in the countryside of Japan. Then there was one scene in the end where it became really, unnecessarily dramatic. I also thought that the male hotel owner's story was a bit exaggerated.......but for themost part, the character exposition scenes were pretty well done. The first half was quite boring at times, but the second half was powerful and emotional...especially when you know the girl will leave. The cinematography is hauntingly beautiful, the shots of the countryside will stay with you for a long time.

Tokyo.Sora

Director: Hiroshi Ishikawa

Tokyo.Sora is about 6 girls with 6 different stories as each of them is trying to make a living and deal with issues. Although they never meet, they do cross paths and pass each other along the way. This is a very slow-passed movie without any twists and turns, so I don't recommend it for those who have no patience, and the cinematography and the lack of dialogues makes it look like a documentary, but nonetheless this movie is very touching and beautiful.

Hazard


Director: Sion Sono

Now this just pisses me off. We know that Sion Sono is the guy who made Suicide Club and Strange Circus, those crazy horror films. I just don't know why those films get so much publicity while this one doesn't even generate a minimal buzz. I think this movie is better than those 2, and it has such a powerful performance from actor Jo Odagiri that I would say this is probably his best performance to date. Odagiri's transformation from an innocent country bumpkin to a hardcore gangster is really, really convincing. This film does a wonderful job of illustrating two worlds, Japan and New York, it's an electrifying film with great lead performances. Sion Sono has already did his thing with the heavy topic of suicide, now he has done it again, criticizing Japan for being a country deep in hypnosis, the businessman culture, the student culture, and how everything is grounded in reality. He hits on all these points in this film without ever showing it, and the shifting of setting between Japan and New York adds to the fresh feel of this film. One of the best movies of 2005 I would say.

犬と私の１０の約束　　10 Promises to My Dog

Director: Katsuhide Motoki

The number of animal movies coming from Japan have all been fairly good, and this one is no exception. After a very "family-oriented" introduction, the movie departs a little from the norm and from there the film starts to shine. The film really isn't about the 10 promises made to the owner's dog, but more like the 10 promises that were neglected, and that was what made the film. Also, the side plots were wonderfully done as well, especially the story of the Father who had to constantly change jobs because he couldn't stay with his family. It isn't a sad movie, you see what's coming, but it's still very enjoyable to watch.

ah.. now I see where his name seems familiar from. (Shinobi: Heart Under Blade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

anyway... this seems like it would be a good movie. Thank you for posting about it.

this is one i really recommend



Director: Shunichi Hirano

This is a bit of a bitter-sweet story. if you're like me and like odd-ball love stories i think you're enjoy this film as well.
Honestly i've never been good at explaining things so i looked up a good sumarry that doesn't give to much away.

please take my word on it and watch this film. I've never been a really big Horikita Maki fan but in this movie she really flexed her abilities and sold it.

Drive

Director: Sabu (Hiroyuki Tanaka)

You know those movies that start with a plain story, but somewhere in the middle weird stuff starts to happen and you get that 'what the f*ck' feeling, but you don't want to stop watching,...well, this is one those movies.
A salary man while sitting quietly in his car waiting for for the traffic light to change gets hijacked by three bank robbers who just robbed a bank, but got fooled by the fourth robber and he got away with the loot. Now the three bank robbers and a poor salary man are in an adventure fate has set for them.
'Drive' is unusual because it starts as a comedy filled with irony, but as it goes, it evolves into something serious. Although far from perfect, but still worth to watch.

Nobody Knows

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda

It is a quite sad movie. But if you watch it you learn a lot about the dark side of Japan. Sometimes it's hard to believe that something like this actually can happen here, but if you live a bit longer in Japan you know it can be true.

The story is about four children, each a child by a different father, abandoned by their mother. They are then forced to survive on their own.

I also like to recommend "Cyborg She" a movie with Haruka Ayase, but it's more something for fans of Haruka-chan like me!
If you want to have a look, check this: Cyborg She - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Genkai in a Black Company

This was a pretty interesting movie that could have been much, much better if a few things were tweaked. For example, even though the story was a based on a true event. I felt that the main character could be better. He just wasn't an interesting guy. You felt that the bully co-workers around him were much, much more interesting than himself. And that was where the movie failed for me. There were some parts in the film that were pretty cool, like the special effects part where they were fighting a war...don't know why but those scenes were cool as heck. But they lasted way too short. But the ending really sucked, I thought the film just could have done much more.

幸せの香り

Flavor of Happiness

This is a good mellow film. I'm constantly surprised how Japan can make these low-melody films and most of them just turns out to be really good. This is an example of that type of movie where it is very easy-going, not much character-study, but you're able to learn a lot about the characters by seeing the things they do. The only complaint that I have is that there aren't any memorable scenes, I was surprised that the film was shot in China for certain parts, but then again it was just really mellow and nothing stood out much. However, the cinematography, and screenwriting are all pretty good. This is a very simple story with good acting, and that's where the film shined, you really get attached to the characters as you really wanted them to succeed. In a way, you never wanted the film to end, the chemistry between the chef and his student was great. There was a mutual respect/love that you can definitely pick out. I really liked this one.

Just the idea of this movie makes me sad (in a good way)

ライズ　アップ

Rise Up

This movie just didn't work. They had really good material to work with, but the script just screws up everything. The acting and everything is really good, but the story just sucks big time. I was just disappointed at how the story was handled, simply because it's not remotely realistic (when the film tries to be realistic). It's about a guy who befriends a blind girl and one day finds out....holy crap....that he's the dude that hit her in an accident that caused her to be blind (:confused: not even remotely possible). At that moment the movie just went downhill, tried to pick it up later with some good moments but too little too late.

Laundry

This is a great film, really not much to say other than that this is a quirky good film to watch. Especially for the eccentric performances of all the actors. The story here is really simple. A girl forgets her clothes at the laundromat and the guy returns it to her. And of course the two fall in love or something like that and just bunch of quirky things happen. The direction is great...many great moments in this film. This is one of those movies where every character is important and well-written. The script is wonderful as well.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Departures (Okuribito)

Director:Yojiro Takita.

The plot and the setting is deceptive, it's a man who finds a new way of life as an undertaker, and learns the tradition of the trade. Obviously, he happens to be good at it, hence new way of life (a departure from his old self) but this conflicts with his friends and family that don't particularly want him to be an undertaker. It's a pretty slow film, but it's a good film, it's different to see the japanese death tradition filmed in so much detail (it won an academy award!)

I'm pretty sure everyone knows Departures or at least heard about it. That's why I myself didn't bother to mention it.
I'd like to see this thread as place where people can recommend movies that are less known to the rest of the world.



それでもボクはやってない (I Just Didn't Do It)

The plot is simple. A young man by the name Kaneko on his way to a job interview gets wrongly accused of groping a school school girl. Of course he denies it believing that sooner or later the truth will come out and his innocence will be proven, and of course that does not always happen. For two and a half hours this movie shows what kind of hardships Kaneko must endure to get his name cleared. So, to those who wish to see how Japanese law system works (and it's flaws), here's your chance. I'm not sure if the movie accurately portrays it, but while watching I couldn't help but notice that the director did a lot of work to make it as realistic as possible, the movie looks almost like a documentary rather than a feature film.

Alright! I don't care much for the subjects you said. I really like the beautiful, sad, sweet Japanese movies!

Rainbow Song/Niji no Megami my favorite of all time!!
All About Lily Chou Chou
Sweet Rain
Be With You
Nada Sou Sou
Hana and Alice
Swallowtail Butterfly
Instant Swamp
Picnic
Midnight Sun
Love Letter
Dolls
April Story

hmmm what else...

Go away.
fuckingtencharacterlimit!

Yeah that's a profound movie....I loved it.






眠狂四郎女妖剣

Kyoshiro Nemuri and the Sword of Seduction


Whoever this actor is...he has to be the most baddass Samurai I've seen. I know a lot of people mention the Kurosawa films when talking Samurai stuff. This guy is But man this guy has to be the FIRST samurai to ever dye his hair...back in the 60s (or whenever this film was made)...dude is total badass. The story is great, but the best part is the action. It is unbelievable, one scene on the bridge when you see him dismember everyone in sight was just an awesome scene. I wish movies like this gets more exposure. Great film.

GS Wonderland


I really wanted to like this film. Since it has awesome set pieces, great cinematography, and also KICK-ASS music. This is the type of entertainment that everyone should enjoy. However, the film really just falters in the second-half due to poor storytelling. The first half is really good though. Mostly it's about a girl who dresses up as a boy in order to join a rock band. And she got exposed fairly quickly, which is great, because I thought they were gonna wait up until the end of the movie to reveal her. But people find out pretty quickly. However, the second half of the film really had no idea where it wanted to go. Therefore, just falters big time. However, Kill Bill fans might wanna check it out because it has Chiyaki Kuriyama (the crazy school girl) as the main lead. And she did a great job.

YouTube - GSワンダーランド　予告編

Ryuji　竜二


This is it. This is the type of film that I just love. And it just happens to be one of the best gangster flicks I've seen. This is freaking classic in every sense of the word. The film has heart-warming story about a man who tries to leave the Yakuza lifestyle and lead a normal Life, and it's done really-really well. It doesn't indulge in itself that it's a Yakuza film. It almost seems to be a Yakuza that tries to be a normal film. And the best thing is the main actor, you have to believe that he's probably a gangster in real Life....that's how good he is. And the dialogue is just classic, so many great lines (even better if you know Japanese, that's where it's the best). An awesome film in every aspect. You guys should really check it out.

By far my favourite Japanese movie has to be Love Exposure.(Ai no mukidashi)

Love Exposure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It takes a good deal of controversial topics,wraps it in a tragedy/romance mix. I would strongly advise you to watch it.

Warning,it is a long one,at just over 4 hours.

休暇　Vacation


Another great Japanese film. In some ways, this film is just disturbing and dark with its moral implications. It's about a prison guard who develops a good friendship with a prisoner, the only problem being that the prisoner is going to be executed. And the prison guard doesn't know how to break the news to him. And he doesn't do it. Also, he's also marrying a recently divorced female who is "maybe" the prisoner's girlfriend. We're never really told clearly as to who she is, but man this is a heavy topic.

Great film though.

Realisim, I may be wrong, but I belive that film is the one with the longest continuing action scene? something like 6 minutes in one take?

Children of Men would be longer with 7.5 minutes.

What film?

Japan rarely makes any action films

(And the ones they do make suck anyways)

Geez people, size down your god damn images!

I watched Zatoichi yesterday, wasn't as good as I expected.

Zatoichi was already mentioned in the first page Suki. Please, check the pages whenever you suggest a movie, so that there wouldn't multiple promotions of the same movie.





ファンシィダンス Fancy Dance

Lately I've been interested in Masayuki Suo's movies, so I thought I'll mention few here. Fancy Dance Masayuki's debut movie which is a live action adaptation of a manga of the same name. I'm not really a fan of manga/anime/novel adaptations, but I must say I'm glad I decided to watch this movie.
The main protagonist, Yohei, who is played by Masahiro Motoki (who also plays the lead role in the movie Departures) is a rebelling rocker who has to become a zen monk so he could inherit a temple, in order to do that he must train in a monastery for a year. Will he succeed, and will he be able to return to his previous life after that?... Watch the movie if you want to know the answer. Throughout the movie you'll see what kinds of rituals and tasks a person must endure to become a monk, and how a monks daily life looks like. That alone, is a pretty good reason why you should watch it. So there you have it, a rebel + a place with a strong archaic discipline = a comedy with lots of interesting situations.

I'm not suggesting it, just felt like sharing I'd watched it and had been a bit of a disappointment. I didn't know movies only get to be mentioned once in this thread, thought the whole point was to discuss movies and share titles, but whatever.