Unforgiven (Japan, 2013)

Set in the late 1800s, after the fall of Shogunate, onetime assassin Jubee Kamata lives in seclusion on a small farm. But when the new government begins harassing the local populace, Jubee is forced to break the promise he made to his dead wife and take up the sword once more.

I came in to Unforgiven with a negative mindset, because the word 'remake' rarely means anything good these days. I was proven wrong. In the same way Kurosawa's Yojimbo got an American remake with A Fistful of Dollars (1964), director Sang-il Lee (Villain, Rage) decided to adapt Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992) with a Japanese cast. I rarely see the point with remakes, but I can recognize good cinema when I see it. Lee's version is made with the utmost care and attention for authenticity, and thankfully far from being a cheap cash-in riding on a big name like Clint Eastwood.

Ken Watanabe plays a compelling character, who as a seasoned old veteran, must again pick up his weapons and do battle against an abusing regime. In the fact that the film is set in the Meiji period you kind of get the best of both worlds; a western and a samurai film. The action is dealt out in small amounts but instead of being the one thing you wait for like in other action movies, here it's more like extra delicious seasoning to an already fantastic stew. Accompanying the film's journey are some beautiful landscapes, and I'm totally fine with having the setting changed from your ordinary western scenery to the both snowy and lush hills of cold Hokkaido.

Unforgiven is great on its on terms, and even though Eastwood's film is the blueprint, Sang-il Lee had the ability to approach it from his own personal viewpoint and adjust it after a different culture.

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama. 2h 15min.

Angel's Egg (Japan, 1985)

A mysterious young girl wanders a desolate, otherworldly landscape, carrying a large egg.

Angels's Egg has some powerful names to back it up; director Mamoru Oshii who made the highly regarded Ghost in the Shell (1995 and also Yoshitaka Amano from Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D fame. The film can be quite hard to grasp at a first viewing, and it's clear that it isn't supposed to be fully explained nor resolved, but rather give you a glimpse into a surreal and fantastical other world. The bones from past civilizations scatter the cities, huge shadow fish swim through the streets and are being hunted by a mysterious army. The film is full of subtle world-building in a way that's very ambitious even compared to films in modern times. You're not given a bunch of answers, instead you're visiting an ancient city and wonder what bygone people once lived there. 

It's almost like a poem coming to life, and in the midst of it all, a girl is searching her way through the dark city with a protector following her. Protecting her, and keeping an eye on that white, giant egg of hers.

Genre: Animation/Fantasy. 1h 11 min.

Irezumi (Japan, 1966)

Shinsuke and Otsuya, his boss' daughter runs away to get married, but they are betrayed by the inn owner. Otsuya is sold to a brothel and Seikichi, a mysterious tattoo artist puts his masterpiece, a human-faced spider, on her back. She and her lover are then forced into a conspiracy-born nightmare, where they face the danger of becoming the very evil they seek to escape. With each new bloody incident, the spider's face seems to redden with ever-growing hunger.

Films with a female protagonist weren't really the norm in Japanese 60's cinema, so Outsuya feels like a fresh wind. The plot involving a blood-thirsty spider tattoo is also way more interesting than a Yakuza story would have been. The colors are incredibly lush, and they do wonders for the beautifully shot scenes. It's far from being action-packed, and more subtle with its characters motivated by pure revenge. 

Genre: Drama. 1h 26 min.

Howl from Beyond the Fog (Japan, 2019)

During the Meiji era, a blind girl named Takiri and a monster called Nebula fight against greedy developers who threaten to take over her family's land.

Howl from Beyond the Fog felt like the Loch Ness story filtered through a Japanese kaiju filter. In just a little over half an hour, Howl tells the story how a huge sea monster is siding with a young girl. Another thing, the cast are all played by puppets. It really fits the theme of the movie and it becomes entertaining on an another level. Director Daisuke Sato worked on the special effects for several Godzilla films and I'm guessing this was a dream project of his finally coming to life.  

Genre: Animation/Short/Fantasy. 35 min.