The Demon of Mount Oe (Japan, 1960)

A demon-faced monster seeking revenge appears in the forms of a gigantic ox and a huge spider. The young Genji warrior protects the Fujiwara Clan and the beautiful lady in tragic love.

If you're huge into older period/fantasy movies, The Demon of Mount Oe could be a fun diversion from the modern CGI-fests. The story is based around the myths of oni such as Shuten-douji and Tsuchigumo, so we get some samurai vs demon action throughout the film. It's more of a monster fantasy film rather than a jidaigeki-piece, and the dated monster puppets adds to the feel of a staged fairytale. 

Famous warriors from Japanese history come together to do battle with evil and the charming, dated effects makes it all the more enjoyable. 

Genre: Fantasy/Horror. 1h 54min.

Roujin Z (Japan, 1991)

An old man is being treated specially by the Department of Health under the so-called Project Z, a special nursing bed with a 6th generation computer on board. When the pain and loneliness of the old man reaches his ex-private nurse, she decides to rescue him from the government's experiment. Thus begins a wild chase through the busy streets of Tokyo as the 6th generation computer begins to have the personality of the old man's ex-wife and as the government's secret project unfolds.

What's impressive with Roujin Z is the names behind it; Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of Akira, wrote the story and screenplay, while Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue) served as art director and set designer. How can it go wrong knowing that? Well, it doesn't naturally. Roujin Z is a wild joyride with stunning animation which of course looks like a companion piece to Akira. All the 90's anime aesthetic you could ask for with that special blend of science-fiction technology and early computer tech with chunky monitors and huge mechanical keyboards. The plot doesn't nearly reach the depths of Akira, being a much smaller film but there's still ambition in its satirical view of older generations and handing them over to robot beds. 

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Sci-Fi. 1h 20min.

Torso (Japan, 2009)

A seemingly normal office worker Hiroko has a secret. At home she lives with a prosthetic torso - no head, arms or feet, just body and male private part. Hiroko bathes with the torso and she also makes love with the torso at night. Hiroko's secret life is interrupted when her outgoing sister Mina rings her doorbell. Mina is running away from her abusive boyfriend and wants to stay at Hiroko's home ...

Reading the synopsis for Torso it's reasonable to think it's a oddball comedy, but in reality it's a surprisingly deep character drama dealing with sisterhood and unconventional emotions. The film doesn't focus on anyone else than Hiroko and her sister Mina so we're constantly between them in all their arguments and laughs, showing off the contrast of their sisterly personalities. Director Yutaka Yamasaki has on a few occasions been cinematographer for Hirokazu Koreeda and it shows in the intimate camerawork and closeness to the characters.

Genre: Drama. 1h 44min.

Decision to Leave (South Korea, 2022)

A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.

Finally, the master Park Chan-wook is back since his last feature film The Handmaiden in 2016. A time such as that should be declared a holiday. For Decision to Leave, Chan-wook earned himself the prize for best director at Cannes 2022. It sets itself apart from his earlier works slightly because in the middle of this crime drama, there's somewhat of a love story going on, and though of course it doesn't fully commit to that genre I've seen it being labeled as a romantic mystery. What's still present is the slick and fascinating editing that's always prevalent in Chan-wook's films, making every scene way more interesting than any other director would have. 

Whatever the genres involved it's a great film with multiple plot twists during its involving story. Chan-wook also decided to use Chinese actress Tang Wei, known from Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018) and Lust, Caution (2007) as the leading lady, and she's an absolute force.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery. 2h 18min.

A Distant Place (South Korea, 2020)

A sheep farmer whose remote and quiet life is disturbed by the arrival of both his lover and his twin sister.

A Distant Place is a really slow-moving drama that's in no hurry in delivering you to the next act, and going in knowing that should help you just enjoy it for what it is. That is, a complete countermeasure to all the bloated junk cinema that's being released. It boasts some amazing visuals, and one shot of the genuine beauty of a forest-filled canyon is worth more than a million green-screened action scenes. While the characters deal with their family-related problems and relationships, they inhabit a world of lush colors and serenity. The story doesn't do anything revolutionary but accompanied by the cinematography I think it all clicks in place beautifully.

Genre: Drama. 1h 57min. 

Broker (South Korea, 2022)

A baby box is a small space, where parents can leave behind their babies anonymously. Sang-Hyun (Song Kang-Ho) finds new parents for a baby left in a baby box and makes a special deal with them. He calls himself a broker of good will. Sang-Hyun works with Dong-Soo in this endeavor. They get involved with So-Young, who placed her baby in the baby box, but has now come back for her baby. Meanwhile, Detective Soo-Jin and Detective Lee chase after Sang-Hyun and Dong-Soo.

While doing research for his film Like Father, Like Son (2013), director Hirokazu Koreeda came across the concept of a 'baby box' operated by a hospital in Japan, and decided he one day was going to make a film based on it. Later he learned that the number of babies left in baby boxes over in South Korea was larger, so he shifted his attention to their shores and put together an all-star cast for his first Korean film.

 

Just like in Shoplifters (2018), Koreeda looks at family and relationships in an unconventional way (he views the two movies as siblings due to developing them at the same time) and wanted to explore different sides of motherhood. The result is a beautifully shot journey and a reminder of why Koreeda is one of the best directors of contemporary Japanese cinema.

  

Genre: Drama. 2h 9min.

Aloners (South Korea, 2021)

Jina, a solitary woman re-evaluates her isolated existence after her neighbor dies alone in his apartment.

What Aloners does right is the spot on portrayal of a modern, low income worker who seems to exist only for the company to make money. Jina is an employee in a call center where everyone is a small cog in the wheel, and her life sort of just blends in with the noise of the world around her. It's all very real in how Jina, while being a high ranked employee and surrounded by colleagues, still lives in isolation. Aloners is the debut of Hong Seong-eun, who wished to confront her own experience of loneliness in a society where everyone is connected. She has talked about how the devices in our hands and the screens we stare at distract us from getting to know ourselves. A relatable and great film. 

Genre: Drama. 1h 31min.

Sing, Dance, Act: Kabuki featuring Toma Ikuta (Japan, 2022)

Toma Ikuta and Matsuya Onoe were classmates back in their high school and have been close friends. In their high school days, the two promised that they would stand on the same stage some day. And for the final stage of Onoe's produced kabuki stage series, Ikuta will star as a special guest in his first ever time to perform kabuki.

Many people know Toma Ikuta from films such as The Mole Song (2013 and The Brain Man (2013), but in Sing, Dance, Act he puts himself out there and gives it all when the chance to perform in a kabuki play. Between the demanding training for difficult dance acts, Ikuta shares his thoughts on various subjects like his career and childhood while friends in the business also weigh in on how Ikuta is as a person. 

I must admit I was drawn into the film way more than I first thought, Ikuta isn't an actor I've deliberately followed or sought out movies by, but after seeing him here my respect grew immensely. He really comes across as very genuine and someone who doesn't do anything half-hearted. 

Genre: Documentary. 1h 27min.

My Neighbor Totoro (Japan, 1988)

In 1950s Japan, university professor Tatsuo and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, move into an old house to be closer to the hospital where the girls' mother, Yasuko, is recovering from a long-term illness. The house is inhabited by small, dark, dust-like house spirits called susuwatari which can be seen when moving from bright to dark places. One day, Mei discovers two small spirits who lead her into the hollow of a large camphor tree. She befriends a larger spirit, which identifies itself by a series of roars that she interprets as "Totoro".

Given its monumentally huge popularity throughout the world and animation cinema, few people have missed Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro. Even though the praise for it seems non-stop, it's still damn near impossible to be left disappointed. Miyazaki has created many fantastical and alluring worlds, but few such as inviting as the scenes in Totoro. The backgrounds of lush forests, sunsets over grassy hills, impossibly huge trees with explorable trunks turns the rural village into something truly magical. 

It's also been said a million times but to place it in the category 'For kids' would be a sin. The appeal and the sense of wonder Miyazaki can evoke through his films is so strong that it doesn't matter if you're eight or eighty. What I found during my later rewatches was the masterful tempo Miyazaki sets for the film. There's several powerful 'pillow shots', where in-between scenes of action or emotional heaviness there's a cut to some mundane object or tranquil landscape to "soften" the impact of the scene, also known as being a trademark of Yasujiro Ozu (Late Spring). Seeing it here makes it clear Miyazaki is far above the aim of just wanting to entertain the smaller ones.

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Family. 1h 26min.

The Funeral (Japan, 1984)

When Wabisuke’s father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.

The Funeral is director Juzo Itami's first feature film, who would go on to make great films such as Tampopo (1985) and Minbo (1992). The Funeral has widely been labeled as a comedy, but it's so much more than that, with Itami's satirical look on the whole process of a Japanese funeral and it all takes on a more profound, deeper meaning. Very few things are played out merely just for laughs, though there's a car chase scene involving a very dramatic sandwich switch. I'll say no more.

Itami had lost his father-in-law one year before making the film, so I'm guessing he drew a lot of inspiration from that, while also lending a great deal of authenticity to the funeral customs which to western eyes might seem odd and unorthodox. 

Genre: Comedy/Drama. 2h 4min.

Intolerance (Japan, 2021)

A teenager girl's accidental death incites a media frenzy and causes her harsh father to turn his range against those he believes are responsible.

Revenge is a common theme in films, so to really make it interesting the story has to resonate with me. Intolerance doesn't tread any new ground, but the story of a broken father and a guilt ridden store manager got me hooked by not being a bloody vengeance trip but more about the emotional aftermath following a horrible accident. Good actors, the father character is an aggressive hellraiser but due to his  situation you can't help but feel for him. 

Genre: Drama. 1h 47min.

Drive My Car (Japan, 2021)

Two years after his wife's unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku, a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There, he meets Misaki Watari, a taciturn young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him in his beloved red Saab 900. As the production's premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew, not least between Yusuke and Koshi Takatsuki, a handsome TV star who shares an unwelcome connection to Yusuke's late wife.

I gotta say, author Haruki Murakami has been very fortunate with the movie adaptions of his stories; Tony Takitani (2004), Norwegian Wood (2010, Burning (2018) among others. His short story Drive My Car appeared in the collection Men Without Women (2014) and the film version by Ryusuke Hamaguchi took the world by storm and won a slew of awards. Rightfully so, the look of the film has been praised to the skies. Often we get these long distance shots which places the characters, or the red car, far away and I loved that particular technique. 

The interplay between the characters are the meat of the bone here and being a three-hour long film, there's bound to be small missable details to be found in rewatches. Drive My Car is a celebrated extraordinary work, and a great story with a lot of depth. 

Genre: Drama. 2h 59min.

Blue (Japan, 2002)

An introverted schoolgirl falls in love and starts a relationship with one of her classmates. Set in a small seaside town in Japan, the love of her life eventually leaves her for her boyfriend in Tokyo.

Another great drama film which relies on the acting abilities of fairly young people, and we see the blossoming of their love lives. The dialogue is delivered very thoughtfully and measured, making it much more realistic and emotional at times. You get the feeling there's a ton of weight behind the words, and the director did a great job at also bringing out the characters even when silent. Blue reminded me of another fantastic film dealing with same sex relationships; Like Grains of Sand (1995).

Genre: Drama/Romance. 1h 56min.