Cleopatra (Japan, 1970)

Three people from the future are spiritually sent back in time to relive the era of Caesar, Marc Anthony and Cleopatra. As close companions to these key historical figures, they seek to understand the nature of an enemy's plan in their own time.

From Osamu Tezuka, creator of one of the most well-known series ever made; Astro Boy (1952-68), comes a far lesser known film about.. well, aliens and naked ladies? Okay, that's not all it has to offer of course but it's extremely hard to put into words what it tried to convey, but somehow it manages be such a weird and mental experience that it needs to be seen. The official translated version of the film is said to be lost, and at release it was a huge commercial failure. It's definitely worth seeing, if not for anything else but a fun piece of cinema history. It ranges from hilarious to incomprehensibly odd and strange. The animation isn't exactly high quality, but at times very abstract and with a great sense of art. 

Genre: Animation/Adult/Comedy

Haze (Japan, 2005)

A man wakes up to find himself locked in a very tiny, cramped concrete corridor, in which he can barely move. He doesn't remember why he is there or how he got there. He has a terrible stomach injury and is slowly bleeding to death. He begins to edge his way along the narrow maze-like corridors, only to see other people undergoing their own horrible tests though holes in the walls.

Watching Haze is like tumbling down into one of Shinya Tsukamoto's nightmares, and together with him, we're trying to find our way out while also figuring out how we got here and why there's mutilated bodies everywhere. It's a quite short journey (49 min), but it takes you through a cesspool which flows from one of Japans most daring and interesting directors.

Genre: Horror/Mystery

Hana (Japan, 2006)

In 1702, set against the backdrop of a long-delayed and insatiable revenge, a reserved samurai, Aoki Sozaemon, leaves his hometown in Matsumoto to come to bustling Edo in search of his father's killer. Unaccomplished as a swordsman, with his funds quickly drying up, Sozaemon must honour his clan's demand to avenge a disgraceful death, however, when he finally finds his target, he will have to make a difficult decision before a crushing dilemma. Is the way of the samurai stronger than the way of the heart?

Turns out one of my favorite directors, Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows, Air Doll), has also made a jidaigeki film, full of samurai and plots of revenge. What Kore-eda does though, is removing the action and replacing it with what he does the best, drama with emotional impact. Sozaemon meets a bunch of people who all effects his life in one way or another. Quite a bit of humor also sneaks its way in here, with quirky characters and funny events. Not one of Kore-eda's best films, but it was great to see him do a kind of low-key samurai film. 

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Tokyo Decadence (Japan, 1992)

A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.

I get the feeling that Tokyo Decadence (a.k.a. Topaz) is like an adult version of 50 Shades of Grey (2015), a little more dark and disturbing and a little less aimed at horny teens. It's a tad long, and has lengthy erotic scenes, but in my opinion it never ventures into sleazy softcore porn (which it has been classified as at some other websites). The underlying sadness and morally twisted characters elevates it to something else, and the melancholy score covers the whole film in a bleak veil. Not a whole lot of enjoyment for our precious characters, but I often like these sort of dark films. Worth mentioning is that the film is based on a book written by Ryu Murakami who also wrote Audition, which also got a film adaptation by Takashi Miike. 

Genre: Drama

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Japan/UK, 1983)

In 1942 British soldier Jack Celliers comes to a Japanese prison camp. The camp is run by Yonoi, who has a firm belief in discipline, honor and glory. In his view, the allied prisoners are cowards when they chose to surrender instead of committing suicide. One of the prisoners, interpreter John Lawrence, tries to explain the Japanese way of thinking, but is considered a traitor.

I'm a bit ashamed to admit I had no idea that it existed a movie where Takeshi Kitano plays against David Bowie. In another big role we have Ryuichi Sakamoto, a huge rockstar/composer who also wrote the soundtrack, so there's two big name musicians in the lead roles. Directed by Nagisa Oshima, who's behind fantastic films such as In the Realm of the Senses (1976) and Gohatto (1999), he uses his actors to the fullest. Bowie has an incredible presence, and Kitano shines as always, I could never get tired of that man. The actor who played Mr. Lawrence speaks a lot of Japanese in the film, but didn't understand a word of it, instead learning it all phonetically. That's a very fun bit of trivia to know beforehand. Anyhow, Mr. Lawrence is a great film dealing with POW's  without it being just another prison escape rehash. 

Genre: Drama/War

Digital Devil Story (Japan, 1987)

A programming student utilizes occult magic and computer technology to summon a demon into the physical world.

In the mood for some cheesy/awesome anime? Digital Devil Story should satisfy your need for that morning cartoon-show, cool and stylish but also Sailor Moon-silliness. I read somewhere that the makers were inspired by how computers were getting more and more popular and they feared a time when technology would more or less topple mankind. I guess you could say they had legit reasons to be afraid, though it seems slightly excessive to have the Norse God Loki stepping out of your computer screen wanting to slaughter everyone.

As I've stated, the film almost has the feel of a cheesy morning cartoon with an M-rating, but sometimes that's exactly how I like my 80's anime.

Genre: Animation/Action/Fantasy