At the beginning of the film the father-in-law of the protagonist dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. Read More »
Tag Archives: Jûzô Itami
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 AKA 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 »
Shûen / The Flame of Devotion (1964) Koreyoshi Kurahara, Ruriko Asaoka, Izumi Ashikawa, Jûzô Itami, Drama, Romance
The tragic tale of Kiyono, a young woman from the mountain who fell in love with Takuji, a fisherman’s son, and her devotion to him during a time of war. 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 »
Tampopo (1985) Jûzô Itami, Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Comedy
In this humorous paean to the joys of food, the main story is about trucker Goro, who rides into town like a modern Shane to help Tampopo set up the perfect noodle soup restaurant. Woven into this main story are a number of smaller stories about the importance of food, ranging from a gangster who mixes hot sex with food, to an old woman who terrorizes a shopkeeper by compulsively squeezing his wares.
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Nihon shunka-kô / Sing a Song of Sex (1967) Nagisa Ôshima, Ichirô Araki, Kazuko Tajima, Jûzô Itami, Comedy, Drama
Four sexually hungry high school students preparing for their university entrance exams meet up with an inebriated teacher singing bawdy drinking songs. This encounter sets them on a less than academic path.
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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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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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