Moonlight Serenade (Japan, 1997)

A journalist is reporting on the 1997 Kobe earthquake, as he remembers a trip made as a young boy. Then, he and family took a boat trip from Awaji to Beppu in order to bury the ashes of his elder brother, killed in the just-ended WWII. The lad spends much of the trip trying to talk his elder brother out of running away. They encounter an array of characters on the journey. Most prominent among them a black marketeer who, like the elder brother, feels that the "new ways" can only benefit him, and work against the boys' father, who is strict and traditional.

I've always had a soft spot for films that delves into feelings of nostalgia and old memories. It resonates with me more on a personal level and makes me reach back far in my own memory and remember things I'd thought was forgotten. Moonlight Serenade is about remembering ones childhood, both the hard times and the joyful moments too. 

Director Masahiro Shinoda was 15 years old when the war ended and one can imagine he drew a lot from experience when depicting a nation trying to recover from disaster, and also how American culture was seeping into Japan. Shinoda mainly focuses on portraying family and the different directions children take. 

Genre: Drama 

Samurai Trilogy (Japan, 1954-56)

The Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, was one of Japan’s most successful exports of the 1950s, a rousing, emotionally gripping tale of combat and self-discovery. Based on a novel that’s often called Japan’s Gone with the Wind, this sweeping saga fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto, following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior.

When talking about some of the best Jidaigeki-films of all time, Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai-trilogy is sure to always come up. In the role of the eponymous Musashi Miyamoto we see Toshiro Mifune once again honing his sword skills, and we follow him from his early years as an aspiring warrior, up to the moment he becomes a true samurai. The grainy Eastmancolor is a true favorite of mine and makes the cinematography truly come alive, and I can't help but think that this is what cinema always was supposed to look like. The story goes through some ups and downs during the trilogy but it starts out great and ends fantastic. 

Genre: Action/Adventure/Biography

On the Beach at Night Alone (South Korea, 2017)

After an affair with a married man, actress Younghee decides to take some time out. She travels to the far-off, city of Hamburg. In a conversation with a friend she asks herself if her lover will follow her and whether he misses her as much as she misses him. During her long walks through wintry parks and along riverbanks, she attempts to make clear of this illicit relationship with the director.

Hong Sang-soo (The Day He Arrives, Grass) keep pumping out those dialogue heavy, intimate films that we're used to see from him. His films seem to be sort of hit or miss with me, but On the Beach really struck a great balance and didn't make me loose interest. As usual with Hong's films we see his partner Kim Min-hee (The Handmaiden) in the lead and she's great at making conversations flow in different directions. Some dinner scenes gets really uncomfortable, and when some characters don't know when to stop you almost want to avert your eyes to avoid the embarrassment, which of course is fantastic. 

I've read reviews who've praised this film to the skies and others who were bored to tears, and as always it just comes down to taste. I personally thought is was more engaging than some of Hong's other films but then again I don't mind when nothing's really happening as long as the script and acting holds up.

Genre: Drama

Equinox Flower (Japan, 1958)

A business man is often approached by friends for advice and help regarding marriage as well as family and romantic relationships. He is always very calmly and objectively able to give great insight and assistance to these particular situations. However, when it comes time for him to be objective regarding his oldest daughter, he finds it very difficult.

Equinox Flower was Yasujiro Ozu's first film in color, and wow is it gorgeous. He chose Agfa film from Germany over Kodak or Fujifilm, as he felt that it conveyed red colors better. Here, Ozu tells a story of the hard grip parents can have of their children's life, and how wanting so much control over them they only distance themselves further from the ones they love. Is it worth alienating your daughters just so you can have a piece of mind regarding their marriage? Ozu digs deep into family ethics and the courage to break free from other people's expectations of you, while framing his shots beautifully and spoil us with delicious cinematography.

Genre: Drama

High and Low (Japan, 1963)

A wealthy businessman is told his son has been kidnapped and he will have to pay a very large sum for him to be returned safely. It is then discovered that his son is safe at home: the kidnapper took his chauffeur's son by accident. The kidnapper says this makes no difference: pay up or the child dies. This leaves him with a moral dilemma, as he really needs the money to conclude a very important business deal.

Akira Kurosawa thought his big thriller High and Low was gonna reduce the number of kidnappings in Japan and act like some sort of deterrence, instead, to his big surprise, he was criticized for their increase. High and Low is a suspenseful detective story where everything that easily could have been a slog to watch are exciting and really invites you to follow the bread crumbs. The cast is once again a Kurosawa's Greatest Hits with Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai and Takashi Shimura in the lead roles, all contributing in making this noir something truly special.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery

Three Outlaw Samurai (Japan, 1964)

When poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing taxes, a wandering ronin and two renegades from the magistrate's guard take up the fight for them.

Akira Kurosawa made pure magic with the jidaigeki genre, but alongside him there was a ton of samurai era films being produced and while maybe not as prolific as his, they were every bit as worthy of praise. Hideo Gosha's Three Outlaw Samurai was an origin-story offshoot of a Japanese television show and delivers everything that's great about the genre; cinematography that enhances and strengthens the Edo period sets, great justice-driven characters and stylish sword fighting. A great film for samurai enthusiasts that proves there were a lot of big players in this genre.

Genre: Action/Drama

An Innocent Witch (Japan, 1965)

Oshima Ayako, a young woman in her teens, lives in a small, impoverished fishing village. Her father is too ill to work. As a result, her mother sells her to a nearby brothel. There she quickly is stripped of her innocence and illusions.

What would happen if you took The Exorcist and mashed it against Memoirs of a Geisha? I don't know, but a possibility is that An Innocent Witch would be the resulting baby. It's a grim and dark portrayal of a young woman's stolen youth and her new life in an abusive and cold existence. It nibbles on the presence of some sort of evil magic involving the deaths of Oshima's customers, but foremost this is a tragic insight into a shattered perception of what adult life could have been. 

Genre: Drama

Sword of Doom (Japan, 1966)

Ryunosuke is a sociopathic samurai without compassion or scruples. When he is scheduled for an exhibition match at his fencing school, the wife of his opponent begs Ryunosuke to throw the match, offering her own virtue in trade. Ryunosuke accepts her offer, but kills her husband in the match. Over time, Ryunosuke is pursued by the brother of the man he killed.

Tatsuya Nakadai (Harakiri, Yojimbo) stars in this dark samurai film in a role that's somewhat rare in this genre; a creepy, murderous  yet calm man who've lost all compassion for his fellow humans. Nakadai gives a composed portrayal of this psychopath but we still feel the raw intensity in him, and his large piercing eyes makes one hell of a first impression. Toshiro Mifune joins in on the action further into the film (in a beautiful show-off fight scene) but his Yojimbo co-star Nakadai  is the who steals the show. It all erupts in of the best sword fights of the jidaigeki genre.

It all ends abruptly, and the reason is that there was supposed to be two sequels but they were scrapped, but it all still amounts to a fantastic film nonetheless. I've also heard that the film studio pulled the plug because the sequel would be too violent, and that makes it much more frustrating. 

Genre: Action/Drama

Wrath of Silence (China, 2017)

Baomin is a miner who works far away from home because of some disputes he had with the townsfolk years ago, whilst his wife and son remain near the mountains running a small sheep farm. One day, Baomin learns that his son Lei hasn't come back from shepherding for two days. He goes back to find his son. His appearance back in town makes people anxious. Searching for his son, Baomin heads for the rough and dangerous mountains, but the resentment and distrust of the townsfolk leads them to turn a blind eye to the reality of a missing child, and the corruption and danger permeating their lives.

China continues to be a superpower when it comes to the slow-burning mystery drama genre, Ash is Purest White (2018) and Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018) being some of the most recent. Wrath of Silence gushes with a heavy mood and takes its time telling a story that's not in a hurry to get to all the violent parts, but more inclined to portray a desperate father's search for his son and how warped his morals can become in the hunt for the perpetrators. Not the ideal film for people with short attention spans but a treat for cineasts and lovers of thoughtful, beautiful cinematography. 

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery

Onibaba (Japan, 1964)

Two women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.

Director Kaneto Shindo made Onibaba a couple of years before his 1968 film Kuroneko, and while they certainly share a few plot points, they're very different overall. While motion picture in color were dominant, Shindo wanted to shoot the film in black and white in order for the essence of the story to reach the viewer. He studied under the legend Kenji Mizoguchi (Ugetsu), and worked as his assistant during the late 1930's, and wrote tons of scripts for a number of well-known directors. He later broke free from the Shochiku film studio and started his own company, Kindai Eiga Kyokai, which produced most of his films. With more creative freedom Shindo made his mark in cinema history, and based his new film on a bedtime Buddhist tale he heard from his mother. It also, coincidentally or not, reminds one of an ancient Japanese saying: "What I thought was a ghost was merely dried grass," referring to the susuki grasses. 

This is what Shindo said in an interview in 1972,

"Yes, the tall, swaying reeds are my symbol of the world, the society which surrounds people, In Kuroneko bushes are used for the same symbolic end. 〚...〛My eyes, or rather the the camera's eyes, is fixed to view the world from the lowest level of society, not from the top."

Onibaba tells a lot of its story with its awesome atmosphere, the reeds swaying in the wind and the thickets almost seem to hide something malicious and wether it's samurai thugs or a much more sinister truth, it's up to the viewer to find out. 

Alternative film poster.

Genre: Drama/Horror. 1h 43min.

Crosscurrent (China, 2016)

A young cargo ship captain named Gao Chun pilots his boat up the Yangtze River and ponders the recent death of his father. During the trip, he encounters numerous symbols representing China's past, present and future, including a mysterious woman who is present at every port along the way. 

Crosscurrent became one heck of a water divider (no pun intended) after its release, where one side praised the arthouse approach to a slow ride along the Yangtze river, and the other half didn't have the patience for what it wanted to show. I've read that this film was 10 years in the making, and while I don't know how much of that time was spent on shooting or writing, I'd say it was worth it. For me personally, Crosscurrent was an absolute shattering experience, and after some time I was swept away by Gao Chun's ambition to see the end of this seemingly never-ending, awe-inspiring river. 

To help portray the most breathtaking parts of China's nature and locales around the river, director Chao Yang had the help of Mark Lee Ping-bing who's responsible for the beautiful cinematography in Norwegian Wood (2010) and In the Mood for Love (2000), and it's obvious early on that the both lush nature and the eerie and empty ghost cities along the river are meant to be main characters of their own. The story can be seen as both minimalistic and hard to grasp with all the Buddhistic views on life and death, alongside the personal journey of a man dealing with the passing of his father while also bumping into a woman during his long voyage. It is all capped off with one of the darkest and most atmospheric cello-based soundtracks I've ever heard, where the orchestral strength reaches new heights with the help of melancholic, dark waves. This is a score worthy of a billion-dollar movie, but instead hides away in this rarely talked about film about a man going up the Yangtze river. An amazing film, which I'm sad to see being swept aside by other more accessible ones, but at least it's out there and showing what cinema can be at it finest moments, an unforgettable journey.

Genre: Drama

37 Seconds (Japan, 2019)

In 37 Seconds, 23-year-old comic book artist Yuma, physically disabled due to profound cerebral palsy and emotionally stunted by her well-meaning but overly protective mother, forges her own unusual path to sexual awakening and independence while at the same time discovering love and forgiveness.

37 Seconds is a film that really makes you feel for the main character and begs that everything goes her way, of course that can't always be the case but the struggles she goes through will also resonate with the viewer. The lead actress, Mei Kayama, was fantastic and the fact that she didn't fake her condition was a pivotal factor, I think. It's a film that easily could've been ruined by sappy melodrama and overacting by an actress trying to fake the disabled state of the character, instead we're given a film which much more easily connects with the viewer and can focus on telling a story to the fullest. 

Genre: Drama, 1h 55min

Mr. Long (Japan, 2017)

A Taiwanese hit-man goes Japan to kill a man. But nothing turns out in the way he expected. He finds himself in a dumpster and with neighbors' helps he gets his own stall where he cooks delicious noodles. But his past won't leave him alone.

Mr. Long explores the world around an assassin who failed a mission and must stay out of harms way.  There's a couple of bloody fights and scenes where the titular Mr. Long shows off his skills, but the story is much more focused on where he wants to steer his life and connecting with people in a way he previously never did. In these days where every film with an assassin is all about all-out action it's nice to see more of a character piece and a story about a killer who experiences a serious change of priorities. The kill list is gone, time to cook delicious meals. 

Genre: Crime/Drama

The Last Dance (Japan, 1993)

A successful Japanese movie director in his 60s becomes increasingly ill while working on his latest film. His family, friends, and doctor try to keep the secret of his terminal cancer from him, but it gradually becomes clear. Coming to terms with his own mortality is painful, and involves some major conflicts with his wife and the hospital staff. But having done so, he realizes he doesn't want to die in the hospital on a life support machine.

Director Juzo Itami is a master of satire and dark humor, his Tampopo (1985) and Minbo (1992) are fantastic and hilarious movies. The Last Dance is more of a look at how we react to the news that we are going to die, and outdated doctor's ethics rooted in old Japanese customs. Itami got the idea for the film during a long hospital stay where he was treated after being attacked and slashed by gangsters who were angry at his previous Yakuza films. Much more somber than his other films, but that's fine because you can tell Itami wants to tell a story dealing with heavier topics.

Genre: Comedy/Drama