Since the mid-1980s Studio Ghibli has been the world’s premier production house for animated films. Led by directors Hayao Miyazaki and the late Isao Takahata, Ghibli has produced more than 20 features in an unparalleled run of creative successes. They … Continue reading REVIEW: Earwig and the Witch (2020)
Readers should note that this essay substantially reveals the storyline of the film. When English-speaking audiences discovered Japanese cinema in the early 1950s, it was through a series of acclaimed period dramas including Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon and Kenji Mizoguchi’s The … Continue reading “Do you want me that much?” | Gate of Hell (1953)
Or, to give its full translated title: Kazuo Oga: Ghibli’s Image Artisan: The Art Who Made Totoro’s Forest. This is a 75-minute documentary focused on Kazuo Oga, who has worked since the mid-1980s as an art director and background painter for … Continue reading REVIEW: Kazuo Oga: Ghibli’s Image Artisan (2007)
One of the absolute pleasures of this glorious age of streaming media, collector’s edition blu-rays, and international distribution is that it has never been easier than ever to track down and watch films. Old and new, any genre, any country … Continue reading REVIEW: The Mad Fox (1962)
Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda appears to be getting more famous internationally with each passing film: from Nobody Knows to Like Father, Like Son, and I Wish to Shoplifters, English language audiences are growing increasingly fond of his particular blend of emotional resonance, behavioural insight, and intimate … Continue reading REVIEW: The Third Murder (2017)
The trials of adolescence collide with those of preserving traditional culture in Ainu Mosir, a modestly-scaled but emotionally effective coming-of-age drama from writer/director Takeshi Fukunaga. Typically films like this barely make it beyond regional film festivals, but thanks to Ava … Continue reading REVIEW: Ainu Mosir (2020)
A middle-aged Mexican wrestler prepares for his most challenging match ever. Meanwhile a Japanese man in polka dot pyjamas wakes up in a room with no doors. The next 90 minutes either make no sense, or a lot of sense, … Continue reading REVIEW: Symbol (2009)
Kazuto (Kazuto Osawa) is an under-confident security guard with a tendency to faint when faced with confrontation. Behind on his rent and facing dismissal from his job for not disclosing his condition, Kazuto runs into his estranged brother Hiroki (Hiroki … Continue reading REVIEW: Special Actors (2019)
Penguin Highway, a 2018 animated feature based on the Tomihiko Morimi novel, represents the best and worst of anime. On the one hand it boasts a richly developed and wonderfully imaginative story that boasts both clever ideas and a warm, … Continue reading REVIEW: Penguin Highway (2018)
The lovestruck manager of a Yokohama development project (Emoto Tasuku) falls in love with a construction worker (Mita Moa), but his affections are not reciprocated. When he childishly steals her name tag from the work site, the worker takes matters … Continue reading REVIEW: Beautiful New Bay Area Project (2013)
