Crazy Samurai Musashi (Japan, 2020)

When a master samurai arrives to duel the disgraced Yoshioka dojo, he walks into an ambush. In the world's first 77-minute, one-take action film sequence, Miyamoto Musashi fights for his life against 400 warriors, earning a place in history as the crazy samurai Musashi.

Crazy Samurai Musashi doesn't come without glaring flaws but you really got to praise it for its ambition, a 77-minute long fight scene with no cuts? Yes, you read that right. You're getting some small amount of context in the beginning of the film and then it's on, 400 warriors one by one run towards Musashi only to get sliced down. I will say that the idea of the film is much better than the execution, and after a while the novelty of it has kinda worn off. You're starting to recognize the attack patters, the huge wigs for the ones who're gonna get hit on the head and awful blood effects, so it's starts to drag after some time. Because of the long sequence the actors are genuinely out of breath towards the end, and you can't help but wonder what a nightmare the whole thing must have been to shoot.

I really dig the concept though, and some parts are a lot better than others. Not a film you're likely to rewatch but an interesting one-time experience.

Genre: Action

Children of Hiroshima (Japan, 1952)

Six years after the atomic bombing of 06 August 1945, the school teacher Takako Ishikawa returns to Hiroshima on her vacation to visit friends and to honor her parents that died in the bombing. Takako was raised by her uncle and aunt. While in her hometown she stays with her friend, Natsue Morikawa, who has become infertile due to the side effect of the A-bomb. While walking along the destroyed city, she sees a former family friend, Iwakichi, who worked with her father, and is almost blind and has become a beggar. 

Children of Hiroshima is not for the faint-hearted. It's such a dark and bleak portrayal of post-war Japan that it gets under your skin and makes you beg for some slim light and the end of the tunnel. Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Kuroneko) directed it with the economic help from Japan Teachers Union who wanted a film based on first-person testimonies, though they were in the end unsatisfied by the end result and wanted more political criticism and less focus on personal stories and the struggle of a few individuals. In my opinion, Shindo made the wiser choice in telling a story about how the bomb affected the people on a much more focused and relatable level. 

The music, made by Akira Ifukube who later would go on to write iconic tunes for the Godzilla-franchise, further deepen the somber atmosphere with a heartbreaking and grim soundtrack.

Genre: Drama

In the Realm of the Senses (Japan, 1976)

Based on a true story set in pre-war Japan, a man and one of his servants begin a torrid affair. Their desire becomes a sexual obsession so strong that to intensify their ardor, they forsake all, even life itself.

Nagisa Oshima (Death by Hanging) was a film-maker who directly opposed his peers in Japanese cinema, such a Ozu and Kurosawa. He thought their ways of telling stories and their reused themes of family and stale traditions was a thing of the past. He wanted to break taboos and do things no one in Japan thought was politically correct. His filmography is avant-garde and has stirred up a lot of controversy. In the Realm of the Senses was butchered by Japanese censors due to how it portrayed the insatiable lust between a prostitute and a hotel owner. It shocked the audience with unsimulated sexual activity, and bold nudity scenes. 

The story was lifted from a particularly gruesome real-life crime that happened in the 1930's, committed by a murderous geisha called Sada Abe. It's all a very fascinating read, though quite horrifying. Oshima delivers the story with intense eroticism and believable performances.  

Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance

Himeanole (Japan, 2016)

Getting two stories in one, Himeanole depicts the story of co-workers where one of them is gunning to make a cafe's waitress his. When the co-worker visits the said cafe to see the waitress his friend is yearning for, he also meets an old class-mate he has not seen in some time. In a twist and transition the waitress tells the visiting co-worker that she is being stalked by a man. That man is none other than the old class-mate.

In this genre-bending, raw and disturbing film you're forgiven if you laugh at inappropriate times. It's a dark, sometimes shockingly brutal crime fest but the director did a great job at throwing in some amusing characters and entertaining moments without overdoing it. In one moment you're giggling at a date between a somewhat awkward guy and a cute waitress, the next you're terrified that a relentless killer is going to slam through the door. I love it. 

Genre: Crime/Thriller/Comedy