Golgo 13: The Professional (Japan, 1983)

Indestructible to his enemies and irrestible to women, the professional assassin codenamed GOLGO 13 is shrouded in mystery and anonymity. If you're on his hit list your already dead. Always hired on his reputation alone, GOLGO 13 never breaks a contract. But can he survive the combine forces of the FBI, CIA, The Pentagon and the U.S. Army? Has the nameless agent finally met his match against the superhuman powers of the Snake and the twin evils of the psychopathic mercenaries, Gold and Silver?

Golgo 13 is an insane, ultra-violent ride. It oozes with so much style, and even though the film wears its Western influences on its sleeves every ounce of them has been filtered through a Japanese over-the-top mentality and turned up to 11. It takes the notion of a silent assassin and turns it into a killing spree that would make Léon blush.

Genre: Animation/Action/Crime. 1h 31min

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

Barefoot Gen (Japan, 1983)

Gen and his family are living in Hiroshima as Japan nears the end of World War II. Gen's father has come to believe that the war is unwinnable, thus earning the wrath of the town officials and, in turn, discrimination from the rest of their neighbors. Shunned by the local merchants and tradesmen, food becomes scarce for Gen and his family. All these concerns soon pale, however, as the American military begins its final assault on Japan with the unleashing of its terrible new weapon.

Barefoot Gen is, sadly so, based on the real stories of Keiji Nakazawa, a man who as a boy experienced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. His life was serialized in 1970 and into the 80's, and showed how it'd been to be a six year old living 1 km away from the blast. Don't be fooled by it's cartonish exterior, Barefoot Gen is a nightmarish flashback to one of the most horrible events in history, seen through the eyes of a small boy. You'd think that a animated film would spare us from the worst parts of the tragedy, but no, all the gruesome details of both the bombing itself and its aftermath are portrayed. 

The amount of hardships and heartbreak Gen goes through is soul crushingly tough, and I can't understand how anyone could have managed to get through it all. A truly powerful film that everyone should watch, as it is one of the most important films that tells the story of that fateful day in 1945. Barefoot Gen is actually the film which I have viewed the most times out of every other film on this blog, and that's kind of crazy. I think it's because I find this period in history wildly interesting, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, and Barefoot Gen isn't afraid of showing us the horrible consequences of it all.

 The manga Barefoot Gen is gruesome and shockingly true to life in many disgusting ways.

Genre: Animation/Biography/Drama

The Ballad of Narayama (Japan, 1983)

In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse he or she would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.

The Ballad of Narayama is a journey that every fan of asian cinema should take at least once. The sheer quality and the amount of effort that must have gone into this movie is astounding. You can almost  smell the wet autumn leafs as they fall. A most unique movie.

Genre: Drama