Empire of Passion (Japan, 1978)

A young man has an affair with an older woman. He is very jealous of her husband and decides that they should kill him. One night, after the husband had plenty of sake to drink and was in bed, they strangle him and dump his body down a well. To avert any suspicions, she pretends her husband has gone off to Tokyo to work. For three years the wife and her lover secretly see each other. Finally, suspicions become very strong and people begin to gossip. To make matters worse, her husband's ghost begins to haunt her and the law arrives to investigate her husband's disappearance.

Once again the restless spirits just can't stop walking the Earth. Here we have a rich mix of betrayal, violent passion and ghostly apparitions where the stark colors are almost popping out of the screen, and Empire of Passion has been said to be the spiritual successor to Nagisa Oshima's (who has one hell of a track record including Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and Taboo) highly acclaimed In the Realm of the Senses (1976). He also has a way of not depicting sex as a toned down and overly romanticized act, but rather raw and honest. An empire well worth visiting.

The striking and beautiful French poster.

Genre: Drama/Horror/Romance

The Burmese Harp (Japan, 1956)

Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. He's a good soldier and frequently plays his harp to entertain his fellow soldiers. When the war comes to an end, he is asked by the British to go into the mountains to try and convince a Japanese troop to surrender. Given only 30 minutes to convince them, Mizushima is unsuccessful - they would rather die with honor - and the British attack. Deeply affected by what has happened, he becomes a Buddhist monk, traveling the countryside burying the remains of Japanese soldiers. 

The Burmese Harp is centered around religion and Buddhists beliefs, without beating you in the head with it which easily could have been the case. It's a beautiful and haunting look at post-war Japan, with memorable scenes and lovely authentic scenography. Director Kon Ichikawa  (An Actor's Revenge, The Makioka Sisters) was supposed to shoot the film in color but due to large and bulky cameras that he was afraid to damage by accident he instead shot the film in black-and-white.

Genre: Drama/War

The Tiger (South Korea, 2015)

While the Kingdom of Korea is under occupation by the Japanese, an old and experienced hunter is challenged by the hunt of the last tiger.

The Tiger is that man vs. beast showdown we get every so often, but with varied results. This time it's an unusually emotional hunt we're being taken on, and after a few deaths the film kind of says "This time it's personal!". Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) plays the hunter with great care and I definitely keeps being reminded of the fantastic The Grey (2011) starring Liam Neeson, which just like this film was a one man battle against animal accompanied by a superb soundtrack. 

Not surprisingly the film also pokes that sensitive The Lion King Mufasa death scene-memory, and every viewers tear gland is in danger. My only gripe is that the CGI could have been a little better in some places to help believability, and if there's one field where Asian cinema is behind with it's special effects. It works though, and The Tiger proves to be one of the more memorable period drama films in recent years.   

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama

Survival Family (Japan, 2016)

When a blackout occurs an ordinary family in Tokyo believes power would be restored shortly. As the lack of power persists and all sources of energy show no sign of returning to functionality the family heads out south to reunite with the parents of the wife and mother. The family learns and bonds as it treks south on its bicycle, which is the only alternative to being on foot.

I read somewhere that Survival Family is a family friendly disaster flick, and that's actually kind of accurate. It stirs up a lot of own thoughts of how one would react in a similar situation, and shows how survival instinct can make people overcome a lot of hardships without modern technology. The film makes it clear on how falsely dependent we are on certain technical conveniences but still inspires a lot of hope. A road trip worth taking, which doesn't loose itself in melodrama.

Genre: Drama/Family

Shoplifters (Japan, 2018)

A Japanese couple stuck with part-time jobs and hence inadequate incomes avail themselves of the fruits of shoplifting to make ends meet. They are not alone in this behaviour. The younger and the older of the household are in on the act. The unusual routine is about to change from care-free and matter-of-fact to something more dramatic, however, as the couple open their doors to a beleaguered young girl.

Shoplifters made a huge splash when released in film festivals, winning prizes left and right. It was a film  about family that director Hirokazu Koreeda (Nobody Knows) had wanted to make since his last film Like Father, Like Son (2013). The goal was to explore the bonds that ultimately makes a family, and shed light on the people in Japan who lives on minimum wages and/or are homeless, who're only growing in numbers. With an important theme, Koreeda shows us love and death beneath our modern society, and portrays joy where I reckon most people don't even think it exists. 

Genre: Drama

Shogun Assassin (US/Japan, 1980)

Long ago there was a great samurai warrior who served his Shogun honorably. The Shogun however grew paranoid as he became more and more senile. The Shogun sought to destroy all those who might stand to oppose his rule, and so he sent his ninja spies to the samurai's home. The ninjas failed to kill the samurai, but did kill his beloved wife. From then on, the samurai swore on his honor to seek out the Shogun and avenge the death of his love. 

Consisting of parts from the two first entries in the Japanese Lone Wolf and Cub-film series, Shogun Assassin could be seen as sort of a best-of compilation. It was put together, dubbed and released for the western market and does a great job of introducing the characters from the original manga. The ultra violence gets almost comical with all the blood in way too bright shades, but it's all good fun. Exploitative, gory and fun.

Genre: Action/Adventure

Patriotism (Japan, 1966)

Two characters on a Noh stage dramatize the rite of love and death of Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama and his wife Reiko. Takeyama was one of a cadre of young officers who staged a coup d'état in February, 1936. He was not arrested when the coup failed, but as an officer of the palace guard, he knew he would be given the order to execute his friends. The night before the execution, he and his wife prepare for hara-kiri, first with passion without shyness, then in uniform and kimono with sword and dagger. Calligraphy figures in the preparation, as Reiko gathers her keepsakes to give to survivors.

I've written about Yukio Mishima before and how the movie Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) tells the story of his bitter end. In short, he committed suicide by seppuku following an unsuccessful coup. Four years before he directs the short film Patriotism which deals mainly with the act of seppuku (a.k.a. harakiri), and treats it all like a Noh play (classical Japanese musical drama) with static shots and long close-ups.  The act itself is portrayed with seemingly no censorship at all and for 1966 this must have been extremely graphic. Mishima himself plays the Lieutenant and one can't help but think of the irony of fate. After Mishima's own suicide the film was ordered to be destroyed and all copies burned, but many years later the original negatives were found and received a restored release, and I'm very glad that happened because it's a huge puzzle piece in the enigma of Yukio Mishima and offers a stunning and fascinating insight into his mind. The lighting and the beautiful black and white photography comes together perfectly, and you would never guess this was Mishima's directorial debut.

Patriotism is a short yet fantastic insight into Japanese culture, and erupts in one of the most gory and realistic depictions of one of Japans most mythical and ancient traditions, seppuku.

Genre: Drama/Short. 25min.

Castle of Owls (Japan, 1963)

The Iga ninjas are a dying breed as Toyotomis rule allows Japan to experience some peace. Juzo, an Iga ninja who had vowed revenge for the death of his family, is hired by a rich weapons merchant to assassinate Toyotomi, restarting his quest for blood. In his way are rival ninja, and his once best friend who has decided to become a government vassal. The main plot centers around the conflicts that confront Juzo.

Sometimes, one can just have the need for a ninja flick. Castle of Owls (a.k.a. Owl Castle) meets that need with classic shinobi stealth action, meaning of course a lot of lurking behind shoji walls and assassinations from the dark. At first I thought it would have an outdated cheese factor but it was an entertaining watch. I would love a remake of this because there aren't nearly as many shinobi-themed films as there are samurai-themed ones. 

Genre: Drama

Orgies of Edo (Japan, 1969

A collection of stories dealing with punishment towards women. The first story; involves a woman forced into prostitution. The second: a woman is turned on by unattractive men who has threesomes with dwarfs. Her admirer disfigures himself so she will like him. The third: a sadistic and powerful man who has bulls with flaming horns charge into a courtyard of women wearing red who are forced to strip to avoid being gored.

With a plot like that, many may wonder what kind of freakish film is this? But it's better than it sound on paper. Director Teruo Ishii was known for his pinku films (softcore) and came fresh off the sets of titles such as Shogun's Joys of Torture (1968) and Horrors of Malformed Men (1969). In Orgies we follow different women in their struggles in feudal Japan, and boy does it get twisted. Nowadays the gore isn't something to write home about but just the sheer idea of some of it is really messed up. We see an ugly side of the feudal society that doesn't often gets the spotlight in samurai films. Beyond the nudity and suffering there's great production values, with gorgeous set design and depth to this hell hole rather than being an excuse to show naked women. Ishii gained a huge reputation for himself within his genre and when his smaller pink films was shown in cinemas years later he became known as Japan's King of Cult.

Maybe not a film to see with your loved ones on a Friday night, but if you want to venture into an obscure film history, Orgies may provide an interesting watch.

Genre: Drama/Horror

Shadow (China, 2018)

In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a "shadow", a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.

Zhang Yimou, director of visual spectacles such as House of Flying Daggers (2004) and Hero (2002), is back with another film that unleashes itself upon its viewer rather than getting watched. Zhang uses his usual style of amazing looking battles in slow-motion, rain drops which gets cut in half and sword strikes with terrifying precision. This is a film where brutal martial arts are being treated as beautiful poetry, and every punch flows as smooth as a stream through a bamboo thicket. The color palette rarely moves out of the gray, black and white so that the feeling of watching an old Chinese ink painting only gets stronger. Hand in hand with these jaw-dropping fight scenes we're treated to a bombastic Shakespeare-like historical drama, both intimate and epic in scope with political intrigue, and affection between fighters. A true return to form for Zhang.   

Genre: Action/Drama/War

Jigoku (Japan, 1960)

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

Jigoku (a.k.a. The Sinners of Hell) was the last movie made by the studio Shintoho, thus it became a very rushed production due to budget cuts and all the actors having to help with the sets. Even still, Jigoku turned out to be a bold and different film for its time and is now considered to be a cult classic. It deals with heavy buddhism themes involving hell and how one must atone for sins. The effects and make-up are very dated naturally but the whole depiction of hell and the amount of suffering the sinners has to go through is as effective and horrific as it was way back when, and it goes to show that even with limited means director Nobuo Nakagawa could create a long standing movie because of his visions and ideas.

Genre: Drama/Horror

Burning (South Korea, 2018)

Jong-su, a part-time worker, bumps into Hae-mi while delivering, who used to live in the same neighborhood. Hae-mi asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When Hae-mi comes back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met in Africa, to Jong-su. One day, Ben visits Jong-su's with Hae-mi and confesses his own secret hobby.

Straight from the head of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami we get Burning (based on his short story Barn Burning), a heavily character-driven story which dips its toes in both slow-pace drama as well as creepy mystery. If you've ever read a Murakami novel or short story you're bound to recognize a few of his more prevalent plot details such as a well, cats and disappearing people. Being a fan of his works I'm glad we see more adaptions of his books, and though Burning isn't as good as Norwegian Wood (2010) in my opinion it's still a great story and a beautifully shot film. 

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Rampo Noir (Japan, 2005)

This four-part anthology takes its cue from the short fiction of legendary horror writer Edogawa Rampo. It begins with Mars Canal, which sees a naked man collapse at the edge of a lake that descends, seemingly into the bowels of hell itself. Mirror Hell follows a detective following a trail of beautiful female corpses back to a mad mirror maker. The Caterpillar sees a limbless war veteran return home only to be systematically abused by his wife. And in Crawling Bugs, a chauffeur becomes obsessed with his actress employer.

I don't know how many viewers who are gonna be familiar with Edogawa, but solely hearing his pseudonym makes it clear from whom he takes inspiration from; Edgar Allan Poe. But their similarities basically stops there, for this film is steeped in Japanese weirdness and Lars von Trier-esque imagery. I saw this film years ago and it was fighting for my attention, but if you see it for what it isn't half bad actually, plus I'm a big fan of Tadanobu Asano who appears throughout the segments. Rampo Noir is a surreal experience with the stories ranging from straightforward murder mystery to  strange, dreamlike body horror. Very far from what westerners usually call horror, but definitely not without its own sense of artistic dread.

Genre: Fantasy/Horror