The movie focuses on the plight of ten war orphans hailing from different cities across Japan. With nowhere to go, they scavenge around train stations, scratching out an existence by means of black market work for a one-legged tramp whilst avoiding being picked up by the police for vagrancy. Soon however, they find a more inspiring role model in the figure of a nameless soldier just repatriated after the war. An orphan himself, the soldier also has no home to return to, and so sets out across the country with the kids in tow in search of work before settling on the goal of leading them to the orphanage where he himself grew up.
Read More »
Tag Archives: Japan
Nihon kuroshakai / Ley Lines (1999) Takashi Miike, Shô Aikawa, Samuel Pop Aning, Takeshi Caesar
A group of Chinese youths living in Japan struggle to make their way in life and eventually find trouble with the local crime syndicate.
Read More »
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.
Read More »
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.
Read More »
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.
Read More »
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.
Read More »
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.
Read More »
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…
Read More »
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.
Read More »
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.
Read More »