
Blue Lake Woman tells the story of Nagare, a painter who wanted to commit a lover’s suicide with Mizue, the wife of his friend and patron Takigawa. Growing afraid at the last moment, he doesn’t go through with it – but Mizue sinks to the bottom of Blue Lake. Some time later, Nagare follows an invitation by Takigawa, who claims to have forgiven everything. To Nagare’s shock, Takigawa’s new wife, Ameko, looks exactly like Mizue. While staying as Takigawa’s guest, Nagare becomes haunted by Mizue’s ghost, who wants to be reunited with him at the bottom of Blue Lake…
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Tag Archives: japanese
The Battle of Okinawa (1971) Kihachi Okamoto, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûzô Kayama, Tetsurô Tanba, Drama, War

It is spring, 1945. The war is going badly for the Empire of Japan. Outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers of the Empire are being forced back, island by island, towards the homeland.
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Underworld Beauty (1958) Seijun Suzuki, Michitarô Mizushima, Mari Shiraki, Shinsuke Ashida, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

The moment he’s released from prison, the honorable gangster Miyamoto recovers the stolen diamonds he had stashed before getting pinched. When he returns to his haunt to make good by friend who took a bullet for him, he is diverted by the greedy boss Oyane and his insatiable taste for Miyamoto’s precious stones. Replete with film noir style, “Underworld Beauty” is one of Suzuki’s best nods to the American gangster genre.
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Yog: The Space Amoeba (1970) Ishirô Honda, Akira Kubo, Atsuko Takahashi, Yukiko Kobayashi, Adventure, Sci-Fi

When a space probe crash-lands on a far-flung Pacific atoll, the craft’s alien stowaways decide to take over their new world one creature at a time. Soon, the parasitic life forms latch onto three indigenous critters – a squid, a crab and a snapping turtle – and transform them into colossal mutant monsters.
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Shonen / Le Petit Garcon / Boy (1969) Nagisa Ôshima, Fumio Watanabe, Akiko Koyama, Tetsuo Abe, Drama

Based on real events reported in Japanese newspapers in 1966 “Boy” follows the title character, Toshio Omura, across Japan, as he is forced to participate in a dangerous scam to support his dysfunctional family. Toshio’s father, Takeo Omura, is an abusive, lazy veteran, who forces his wife, the boy’s stepmother, Takeko Tamiguchi, to feign being hit by cars in order to shake down the motorists. When his wife is unable to perform the scam, Toshio is enlisted…
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Black Board / Burakkubôdo (1986) Kaneto Shindô, Terutake Tsuji, Nobuko Otowa, Kazuki Minabuchi, Drama

Takeshi Yasui, a junior high school student is found dead in a river. The police investigate it as a murder related to bullying. The dead boy turns out to have been murdered by two of his schoolmates, who he had been bullying.
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Gonin Saga (2015) Takashi Ishii, Masahiro Higashide, Kenta Kiritani, Anna Tsuchiya, Action

Hisamatsu’s son Hayato lives an honest, crime-free life but is best friends with Ogoshi’s son Daisuke, who’s still working as a bodyguard for the gang. It all kicks off when a reporter asks Hayato’s mother to reveal the truth about the original attack on the Goseikei, and soon history is threatening to repeat itself.
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Saddo tî / Sad Tea (2013) Rikiya Imaizumi, Shun’ya Abe, Fumiko Aoyagi, Takuya Fuji, Comedy, Romance

Several intertwining stories explore the true meaning of “proper love”. A filmmaker dedicates himself to stop cheating on girlfriends. Meanwhile, a man intends to buy a gift for a part-time employee at the filmmaker’s favorite cafe, but instead falls in love with a shopkeeper. A longtime fan of a pop idol finally gets a chance to meet her after 10 years of pining. Unfortunately, she’s meeting him for the first time just as she’s about to get married…
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Seishun no mon: Jiritsu hen / Gate of Youth Part 2 (1982) Koreyoshi Kurahara, Kaori Momoi, Kôichi Satô, Kaoru Sugita, Drama

Mid 50s: the trials and tribulations of Shinsuke Ibuki, freshly arrived in Tokyo from Kyushu.
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Horny Diver: Tight Shellfish (1985)

A ruthless real-estate tycoon sets his sights on a small fishing village, which he believes he can buy cheaply and turn into a profitable tourist destination. Read More »