Edmund Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, transplanted to Japan. A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. Read More »
Tag Archives: Japan
Strawberry Shortcakes (2006) Hitoshi Yazaki, Chizuru Ikewaki, Noriko Nakagoshi, Yûko Nakamura
Based on the eponymous manga for girls by cartoonist Kiriko Nananan, the pic follows the ups Read More »
Gemini AKA Sôseiji (1999) Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Masahiro Motoki, Ryô, Yasutaka Tsutsui
Yukio is living a charmed life: he is a respected young doctor with a successful practice and a beautiful wife. Read More »
Lady Snowblood AKA Shurayukihime (1973) Toshiya Fujita, Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon
Yuki’s family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. Read More »
Bashing (2005) Masahiro Kobayashi
Yuko volunteered to be an aid worker in Iraq and was taken hostage there. Read More »
My Way AKA Waga michi (1974) Kaneto Shindô, Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Rokkô Toura
Based on a true story, an elderly women resiliently spends nine months attempting to retrieve her husband’s dead body Read More »
The Sand City in Manchuria AKA Sabaku o Wataru Taiyo (1960) Kiyoshi Saeki, Sô Yamamura, Ken Takakura, Koji Tsuruta
A young doctor must save townspeople from a threatening plague. Read More »
Tokyo Chorus (1931) Yasujirô Ozu
Mr. Omura, a teacher, leads a group of male students in an outdoor drill. Read More »
Street of Shame AKA Akasen Chitai (1956) Kenji Mizoguchi, Machiko Kyô, Aiko Mimasu, Ayako Wakao
Five prostitutes work at Dreamland, in Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district. As the Diet considers a ban on prostitution, the women’s daily dramas play out. Read More »
The Life of Oharu AKA Saikaku Ichidai Onna (1952) Kenji Mizoguchi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Tsukie Matsuura, Ichirô Sugai
A fifty-year-old prostitute, no longer able to attract men, looks back on her sad life. Read More »