Jiho (Ji Woo) buys an expensive second-hand electric bike in order to work as a bicycle courier. The job, however, proves more difficult that she thought: incorrect addresses, locked apartment entrances, pounding rain, and customer complaints all conspire to make … Continue reading OAFF: Leave at Door, Bell X (2022)
Japan is pretty well known as a socially withdrawn country. It is not simply the matter of hikkomori; a widely reported-on phenomenon of pathological withdrawal that sees individuals self-isolated in their own homes for years at a time. Japanese culture … Continue reading OAFF: People Who Talk to Plushies are Kind (2023)
24-year-old Nozomi (Erika Karata) had a respectable job at an advertising agency. After incessant and exhausting overtime, she quit. Now she works at a convenience store and pays the rent on a one-room apartment, all the time hiding from her … Continue reading OAFF: When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (2022)
Since his daughter’s murder seven years ago, Katsu Higuchi (Shogen) has lived in a haze of grief and alcohol. Once a successful author, he has not written anything new in years. His ex-wife Sumiko (Megumi) has remarried. When a letter … Continue reading OAFF: December (2022)
The complicated links between Japan and Taiwan – a Japanese territory from 1895 to 1945 – seem a popular subject matter for contemporary Japanese cinema. In recent times the issues of anti-Taiwanese racism, the migrant experience, and shared cultural experience … Continue reading REVIEW: My Identity (2019)
I have emerged from Sam Mendes’ new drama Empire of Light more than a little ambivalent about it; indeed, I find myself tremendously frustrated. This English drama, set in a seaside down in the early 1980s, stars Olivia Colman as a miserable … Continue reading REVIEW: Empire of Light (2022)
Qiu Sheng’s debut feature Suburban Birds is a low-key but fascinating work. At first it appears to fall in line as yet another naturalistic urban character drama; the kind that tends to be liberally scattered over international film festivals each year. As … Continue reading REVIEW: Suburban Birds (2018)
In the Summer of 1990, the Soviet Union teeters on the edge of collapse. As Estonia approaches independence, Tallinn’s basketball team must decide whether or not the participate in the USSR championship. Ove Musting’s drama Kalev is a smart, well-paced blend … Continue reading EEFF REVIEW: Kalev (2022)
Let’s talk Nollywood. The exact definition of “Nollywood” is surprisingly vague and woolly, but it can at least broadly refer to the growing industry of Nigerian feature films over the past 20 years or so. It definitely seems a problematic … Continue reading REVIEW: All Na Vibes (2021)
A growing appetite for material exploring LGBTIQ issues appears to be settling into Chinese language film industries, with recent years providing a string of pictures focused on gay, lesbian, transgender and other issues. While Taiwan has long established a tradition … Continue reading REVIEW: Nobody (2020)
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