Goro’s supermarket is not doing well; the rival “Bargains Galore” threatens his business. Read More »
Tag Archives: Jûzô Itami
Shûen / The Flame of Devotion (1964) Koreyoshi Kurahara
The tragic tale of Kiyono, a young woman from the mountain who fell in love with Takuji Read More »
Tampopo (1985) Jûzô Itami, Ken Watanabe
In this humorous paean to the joys of food, the main story is about trucker Goro, who rides into town like a modern Shane Read More »
Sing a Song of Sex / Nihon shunka-kô (1967) Nagisa Ôshima, Ichirô Araki, Kazuko Tajima, Jûzô Itami
Four sexually hungry high school students preparing for their university entrance Read More »
The Funeral / Osôshiki (1984) Jûzô Itami, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kin Sugai
At the beginning of the film the father-in-law of the protagonist dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. Read More »
Minbo – or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion AKA Minbô no onna (1992) Jûzô Itami, Nobuko Miyamoto, Yasuo Daichi, Takehiro Murata
A grand old Japanese hotel is trying to get a prestigious contract as the site of a summit meeting of important foreign officials. Read More »
A Taxing Woman’s Return / Marusa no onna 2 (1988) Jûzô Itami, Nobuko Miyamoto, Rentarô Mikuni, Masahiko Tsugawa
Ryoko Itakura returns as the government tax agent willing to tackle the toughest cases. Read More »
Ageman / Tales of a Golden Geisha (1990) Jûzô Itami, Nobuko Miyamoto, Masahiko Tsugawa, Hiroshi Ohkôchi, Comedy, Drama
The film stars two of Itami’s regular actors, Nobuko Miyamoto as a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps, and Masahiko Tsugawa as her unfaithful, sometimes partner. Read More »
Kazoku gêmu / The Family Game (1983) Yoshimitsu Morita, Yûsaku Matsuda, Jûzô Itami, Saori Yuki, Comedy, Drama
A sendup of the stereo-typical Japanese family: dad is a salaryman jerk, unable to relate to anyone; mom is a hopeless housewife Read More »
Marusa no onna / A Taxing Woman (1987) Jûzô Itami, Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Masahiko Tsugawa, Comedy, Crime
Ryoko Itakura is a government tax agent who has just landed a big promotion. Her first assignment is to catch wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo. She has a tough job, since in Japan tax evasion is an art and Gondo is, in effect, Rembrandt. Her job is complicated by a growing sympathy for the rogue and by political pressure to lay off.
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