A group of Chinese youths living in Japan struggle to make their way in life and eventually find trouble with the local crime syndicate.
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Tag Archives: Japan
Anjô-ke no butôkai / The Ball at the Anjo House (1947) Kôzaburô Yoshimura, Setsuko Hara, Yumeko Aizome, Osamu Takizawa
After Japan’s loss in the war, the wealthy, cultured, liberal Anjo family have to give up their mansion and their way of life. They hold one last ball at the house before leaving. The seemingly cold, cynical son secretly grieves for his defeated father and the values that the war destroyed, while the daughter tries to prevent father from taking his life and to find her own place in the new Japan.
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Nanayomachi / Nanayo (2008) Naomi Kawase, Kyoko Hasegawa, Grégoire Colin, Jun Murakami
A young woman leaves her job and lover in Japan to start a new life in Thailand.
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Sûpâ no onna / Supermarket Woman (1996) Jûzô Itami, Nobuko Miyamoto, Masahiko Tsugawa, Ryûnosuke Kaneda
Goro’s supermarket is not doing well; the rival “Bargains Galore” threatens his business. A chance encounter with Hanako, an energetic woman he knew in grade school, results in big retail and life changes.
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Ohara Shôsuke-san / Mr. Shosuke Ohara (1949) Hiroshi Shimizu, Koume Akasaka, Akiko Kazami, Denjirô Ôkôchi
Saheita, the final heir of a once rich and respectable family, can’t refuse the many villagers that come to him for favours and money, even though he is on the brink of bankruptcy. Around town he is better known by his nickname Mr. Shosuke Ohara.
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Yûrei yashiki no kyôfu: Chi wo sû ningyô / Fear of the Ghost House: Bloodsucking Doll (1970) Michio Yamamoto, Kayo Matsuo, Akira Nakao, Atsuo Nakamura
Keiko (Kayo Matsuo) and her friend try to find her missing brother after he disappeared on a trip to visit his girlfriend Yuko (Yukiko Kobayashi). They don’t get very far as Yuko’s mother claims the brother ran away after finding out Yuko had been killed in a car wreck the week before his visit. But Keiko finds signs that she might be being lied to.
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Junai Monogatari / The Story of Pure Love (1957) Tadashi Imai, Shinjirô Ehara, Hitomi Nakahara, Eiji Okada
Junai Monogatari AKA Story of Pure Love is about two poor youths, Mitsuko and Kando, rebelling against society in various ways, who are desperately trying to be together despite tortuous circumstances. The film depicts their lives as thieves, menial laborers who can get little pay, society outcasts, and of course, lovers. Junai Monogatari depicts, mostly, their struggles within the Japanese reformatory system and Mitsuko’s worsening sickness.
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Yoen dokufuden: Hitokiri okatsu (1969) Nobuo Nakagawa, Junko Miyazono, Reiko Ônobuta, Kô Nishimura
Okatsu, the daughter of a katana instructor must avenge a judge who rapes and kills his father. Next to the wild Rui, will conduct a bloody persecution.
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Hakai / Apostasy (1948) Keisuke Kinoshita, Ryô Ikebe, Yôko Katsuragi, Osamu Takizawa
Segawa, a teacher in a small village, decides to break with his cowardice after discovering their pariah origin.
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Air Doll / Kûki ningyô (2009) Hirokazu Koreeda, Doona Bae, Arata Iura, Itsuji Itao
Middle-aged Hideo lives alone with an inflatable doll he calls Nozomi. The doll is his closest companion. He dresses it up, talks to it over dinner, and has sexual intercourse with it. However, unbeknown to Hideo, Nozomi was created with a heart…
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Hebi no michi / Serpent’s Path (1998) Shô Aikawa, Teruyuki Kagawa, Shiro Shitamoto, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Serpent’s Path and its companion piece Eyes of the Spider (Kumo No Hitomi) both start from the same premise: a man taking revenge for the murder of a child. Kurosawa used this premise as the jumping-off point for the two films rather than their definition, resulting in a pair of works which are not so much occupied with revenge, but with the mental processes of human beings in situations that have placed them outside everyday life.
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Sorekara / And Then… (1985) Yoshimitsu Morita, Yûsaku Matsuda, Miwako Fujitani, Kaoru Kobayashi
This is a probing tale set in turn of the century Japan, involving three people trapped in a complex relationship of love and friendship. Daisuke (Yusaku Matsuda) is supposed to be out looking for a respectable job and equally respectable wife. He is 30 years old and devotes his attention to music and literature; his family is wealthy and can support his interests.
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