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.

Violence Voyager (Japan, 2018)

Following an end-of-term school ceremony, the American boy Bobby decides to go with his friend Akkun into the mountains outside their village to a place perfect for a secret base. On the way they step into a mysterious amusement park. They have fun there, but are attacked and realize the park manager never intended for them to leave.

Violence Voyager is director Ujicha's follow-up to his amazingly strange The Burning Buddha Man (2013), and once again we're exposed to his twisted fantasy where the horrors come to life using tons and tons of unique paper-craft characters. It sounds silly, but the mature tone and the very thought out movements of the characters makes it a joy to watch. The story is part David Cronenberg, part Junji Ito; body horror, gore and the innocence of youth gets introduced to a dark world where there aren't any happy endings. 

The power of friendship is in focus, and while the film is surprisingly punishing towards its characters the strength in cooperation and and defeating evil together are what's in the film's message. A gem of demented, disgusting (and lovely) horror.

Genre: Animation/Horror. 1h 23 min.

Yakuza and the Family (Japan, 2020)

When Kenji Yamamoto's father died from using a stimulant drug his life fell into desperation. Kenji then joined a crime syndicate. There, he meets the gang's boss Hiroshi Shibasaki. Hiroshi reaches out to Kenji and they developed a relationship like father and son. As time passes, Kenji has his own family.

Japanese yakuza flicks are not the rarest find, so when a film is centered around the Japanese mob syndicate I can't help but compare it to a dozen of earlier greats in the genre. I'm very glad to say that Yakuza and the Family (a.k.a. The Family) gave me flashbacks to Kitano's Kids Return (1996), in how a young man gets drawn into the world of yakuza and how the passage of time affects them all. It doesn't ooze of original characters but it's well-shot, has some really bone-crunching fights and you get the sense that the director wanted to make a stand-out Yakuza film with a lot of heart.

Genre: Crime/Drama. 2h 16min

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

13 Assassins (Japan, 1963)

A sadistic daimyo rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the daimyo. 

Having seen Takashi Miike's amazing remake from 2010, I was very excited to jump into the original. It did not disappoint one bit. It has a very accessible, straightforward plot with 13 men wanting vengeance, and the first half of the film builds up the story while the second delivers the blow against the evildoers. In lack of better words, the film felt very modern and I could definitely see this being made today. It struck me how faithfully Miike adapted the film, nothing needed to be changed. He added a lot of gore, but the original excels in beautiful cinematography. 

Genre: Adventure/Action. 2h5min

The Ballad of Narayama (Japan, 1958)

In Kabuki style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food leads to a voluntary but socially-enforced policy in which relatives carry 70-year-old family members up Narayama mountain to die. Granny Orin is approaching 70, content to embrace her fate. Her widowed son Tatsuhei cannot bear losing his mother, even as she arranges his marriage to a widow his age. Her grandson Kesakichi, who's girlfriend is pregnant, is selfishly happy to see Orin die.

I've written about the 1983 version with the same title, and while both films are based on the same book they really have a personality of their own. This one was directed by Keisuke Kinoshita (Twenty-Four Eyes) and is such a beautiful, fascinating film. The story revolves around a real-life practice called ubasute, senicide, where an elderly relative was carried off into the mountains and left there to die. 

The whole film is also, as stated above, shot in the style of a Kabuki play with the accompanying narrator (benchi) and it gives the film a mythical feel, while also giving you the sense that you're at the theatre. It's done pretty much perfectly, and for its time the film is a wonder to behold. I'm always big on colors and Narayama constantly gives you that wonderful, grainy aesthetic with very warm colors not unlike Kwaidan (1964). I'm praising the look of the film but the story is equally good with a thought-provoking narrative full of shocking family morals being laid bare. An instant classic, in my opinion. 

Genre: Drama. 1h 38m

Samurai Saga (Japan, 1959)

A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. But she sees him only as a friend, so he helps another man to woo her by giving him the poetry of his own heart.

You'd be forgiven if you've only seen Toshiro Mifune in Akira Kurosawa films, but Samurai Saga is directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and while it doesn't boast the same top quality as Kurosawa it certainly does serve as a good little samurai film. As always he carries the film but the story, while being much smaller scaled than we're used to see him in, is also interesting and engaging. 

I guess the next goal is to see Mifune in roles where he didn't play a samurai.

Genre: Action/Drama

Samurai Spy (Japan, 1965)

The legendary samurai Sasuke Sarutobi tracks the spy Nojiri, while a mysterious figure named Sakon leads a band of men on their own quest for the wily Nojiri. Soon no one knows just who is who and what side anyone is on.

For everyone who craves shinobi action, Masahiro Shinoda (Double Suicide) got you covered. Samurai Spy delivers a balanced diet of political intrigue, samurai action, assassin tactics and great cinematography. I'm aware that the infinite ocean of samurai cinema might be a bit intimidating in its seemingly never-ending supply of films, but Samurai Spy has that little extra that makes it worthwhile for lovers of chanbara movies. 

Genre: Action/Drama

The Limit of Sleeping Beauty (Japan, 2017)

Aki Oria came to Tokyo ten years ago to become an actress. She is now 29-years-old and works as a magician's assistant. She has no passion for her work or goals to live for. She pretends to be hypnotized on stage. This leads to a blurred line between reality and illusion. Soon, her mental state drifts between the two mental states.

The Limit of Sleeping Beauty is the fruit of a new wave of directors in Japan, made by Ken Ninomiya who only started to direct a few years ago. His visual language is immediately showing off with explosive colors and a rarely stationary camera (sort of like the direct opposite of Ozu), and it all marriages perfectly with a dream-like narrative that would make Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Paprika) proud. 

This film is devoid of aesthetic ugliness, everyone's gorgeous and they all exist in this candy colored fantasy, and while not exactly without its share of human malevolence, you can't help but wanting to look for the silver lining together with Aki. Also, the theme song of the film is an absolute banger.    

Genre: Drama

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