Japanese Movies
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- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsShin'ya TsukamotoYûko NakamuraCoccoWhen a single mother suffers a nervous breakdown, she is suspected of child abuse and her child is taken away. Her mental suffering escalates as she succumbs to her darkest fantasies.
- DirectorKatsuhito IshiiStarsSatoshi TsumabukiMasatoshi NagaseYasuko MatsuyukiThis live-action film adaptation of Shohei Manabe's Smuggler manga is not to be missed! Ryosuke Kinuta is a failed actor with big time debts. His loan shark scores him a gig smuggling dead bodies struck down by gangland hits, but getting caught in the middle of a violent mob war could prove hazardous to his health.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoMunetaka AokiNaoto TakenakaA tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
- DirectorHiroshi HaradaStarsMinako NakaNorihiko MorishitaKeinosuke OkamotoThe story based off of the controversial manga by Suehiro Maruo takes place where a little orphaned girl joins a freak-show circus troupe whose members rape and abuse her. She then finds a glimmer of hope in the enigmatic magician who joins the group.
- DirectorKôzô MorishitaStarsHidetaka YoshiokaSayuri YoshinagaTomo Adachi2005 years ago in India, a boy named Siddhartha Gautama of the kingdom Shakya is born. At that time various kingdoms were continuously raging wars with each other. When the boy attained puberty, he associated with people from the lower class like Migaila a girl who was known as a thief. Siddhartha began to have doubts about the strict class system even though he is raised in luxury as a future king. Later, the powerful kingdom of Kosala attacks the kingdom of Shakya. Both sides fight fiercely. The commander of Kosala's army is the general's son Chapra. He is thought of as the most brave soldier in the kingdom of Kosala. Chapra was actually born into slavery but hid his background. By the general's order he came all the way up into his current position. Chapra wants to make a successful career for himself and Siddhartha abondons his family's wealth to find Tao. These two opposite persons meet in the war and changes the fate of their respective kingdoms.
- DirectorTakahiro MikiStarsAi HashimotoMiyuki MatsudaGô RijûThe story of youth. Kakeru, a 15 year old boy, and Mii (Little My) , a female transfer student. They are two lonely teens who cannot find their place in life, but who gradually learn to relate to each other through the power of music.
- DirectorMasahiro KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiEri TokunagaHideji ÔtakiHaru's Journey provides an insider's look at Japanese culture through its themes of acceptance, endurance and familial commitment. It tells the story of elderly fisherman Tadao and his granddaughter Haru, who live in a small fishing village in Hokkaido. When Haru's job disappears, she wants to take her stubborn grandfather to live in Tokyo where she will find more opportunities. But Tadao refuses to go to the capital, sparking a search for another family member who will share his life. Thus begins a road movie driven by family dynamics, as the two set out for Japan's main island, Honshu, to see if one of Tadao's siblings will look after him. First stop is his even more cantankerous older brother, Shiego, and their testy exchange reveals there's more to Tadao's selfishness than just old age. By contrast, selfless Haru takes on responsibility for the pair's dwindling finances so their pilgrimage can continue...
- DirectorTakahisa ZezeStarsNoriko EguchiAkira EmotoMitsuru Fukikoshi(Japanese with English subtitles) Part revenge story, part existential meditation, Heaven's Story is 100% modern epic, gracefully threading together multiple suburban tales of lost souls seeking retribution and redemption.
- DirectorYoshihiro FukagawaStarsKengo KôraMaki HorikitaKeiko TodaBased on a novel with the same name, years pass and the unsolved mystery of the case of the death of a man puzzles the police detective. With more death, suicide and murder within the circle of the family and friends over the years the case remains alive, but unresolved.
- DirectorYûichi OnumaStarsMasaki MiuraMukku AkazawaMika AsamiyaYou can never wash away the past.
- DirectorShigemichi SugitaStarsKoji YakushoKôichi SatôNanami SakurabaAn army of loyal samurai plot to revenge their unjustly executed lord.
- DirectorNatsuki SetaStarsAya OhmasaShôta SometaniMasaki MiuraMachan and Mikun lead isolated lives after being kidnapped and confined as teenagers a decade ago. Mikun had promised Machan to be there for her forever and now with a serial killer who is also a kidnapper on the looser the two reunite to fulfill their promise to one another.
- DirectorNobuteru UchidaStarsMegumi KatôMomoko MaedaHiroyuki SatôFour young, male and female co-workers in Tokyo become involved in personal relationships with each other.
- DirectorHisayasu SatôStarsTomori AbeHirofumi AraiToyotaka HanazawaA timid young woman who lives with her domineering mother accepts an Adult Video scout's offer to "become somebody else" by performing in porn videos. As she rises in popularity, the boundaries between her two lives begin to disintegrate.
- DirectorYoshimasa IshibashiStarsTakayuki YamadaAnna IshibashiSayaka FukitaA mish-mash of past and present; A childlike man, a counselor, and a one-eyed ronin are all connected.
- DirectorTakashi IshiiStarsMachiko KochiHarumi InoueJô ShishidoJiro (Naoto Takenaka) is a man who can do anything for you for a price. Part odd jobs man and part private eye he takes on tasks as simple as clearing out storage lockers to tracking down lost items. That's what he's asked to do by a beautiful young woman (Hiroko Sato) who shows up at his warehouse living space one afternoon. This young woman asks Jiro to help her track down a lost Rolex watch that she says was accidentally thrown out of a helicopter while she was scattering the ashes of her late father. Jiro knows the story isn't true, but he needs the money so he and the young woman begin poking around miles of woodland in the proverbial search for a needle in a haystack. Miraculously Jiro finds the wrist watch, but it looks to be caked in rotting meat. Needy but not stupid Jiro hands the watch over to a sympathetic police woman he knows for analysis. Little does Jiro know that the discovery of this Rolex will lead to another case, one filled with violence, sex and danger, one that will lead him directly into the heart of darkness.
- DirectorHirofumi KawaguchiStarsMachiko OnoMei FangKento HaradaA rebellious Japanese youth embarks on a journey through Taiwan.
- DirectorYû IrieStarsFumi NikaidôKurumi MorishitaTatsuya Sakamoto
- DirectorKazuyoshi KumakiriStarsMitsuki TanimuraPistol TakeharaRyô KaseIn the city of Kaitan, during the winter, the local shipyard is downsized and workers are laid off. Futa (Pistol Takehara) lives with his younger sister Honami (Mitsuki Tanimura). He loses his job at the shipyard and, feeling uneasy about their situation, goes with Honami to see the sunrise on a nearby mountainside for New Year's Day. Makoto (Takashi Yamanaka), a new city hall employee, visits the only remaining house in a redevelopment area. The home belongs to a 70-year-old woman,Toki (Aki Nakazato) who lives with her cat and a few animals in her backyard. Toki refuses to vacate the land and Makoto tries to persuade her that she will be forcibly evicted. 49-year-old Ryuzo (Kaoru Kobayashi) works in a small planetarium, while his relationship with his wife Haruyo (Haruyo Hika) and teenage son is deteriorating. Haruyo finds release by working as a hostess in a cabaret. Haruo (Ryo Kase) has taken over the operation of his father's gas company, but he worries about the state of his business. He also has a strained relationship with his wife, who takes out her anger on their son Akira. Taichiro, a street car driver, spots his son, Hiroshi (Masaki Miura) walking in downtown Kaitan. Although Hiroshi lives & works in Tokyo, he has come back to Kaitan for business. But he doesn't contact his father, even though it is the holiday season.
- DirectorJunji SakamotoStarsShun SugataYôsuke KubozukaRenji IshibashiFormer high school teacher Kazuo Hatano (Toru Nakamura) reunites 12 years later with Masako Tezuka (Manami Konishi). Masako Tezuka was his former high school student whom he married after her graduation. Their marriage became a scandal.
- DirectorHideyuki HirayamaStarsEtsushi ToyokawaChizuru IkewakiKôji KikkawaA talented but troubled Edo Period swordsman, Kanemi Sanzaemon. Three years earlier, Kanemi killed a woman, Renko, the corrupt mistress of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. Unexpectedly, Kanemi received a lenient sentence for his crime and is allowed to return to his clan after only one year of imprisonment. Following his return, Kanemi is faced with the death of his wife, Mutsue. Thereafter, Kanemi lives with and cares for his wife's niece, Satoo, who has secret affections for Kanemi and expresses them by helping change his bleak outlook on life. Meanwhile, Kanemi's develops his unique "bird-catching" sword technique which he will soon put to test in battle for the first time against the fearsome swordsman, Hayatonosho Obiya.
- DirectorMasashi YamamotoStarsSora AoiNaomi FujitaMika HirashimaThree Points takes a cold, hard look at the rough edges of Japanese society in three locales: Kyoto, and its scene of rough-and-tumble semi-bohemian down-and-out rappers; Okinawa, where crab-hunting and hanging out with American GIs give a glimpse of Okinawans just getting by; Tokyo, where a girl named Saki falls into a strange and slightly terrifying relationship with a random Tokyo drifter who saves her from a street gang.
- DirectorYutaka YamazakiStarsSakura AndôSora AoiYûko GenkakuHiroko is a young, alienated woman "in love" with a blow-up male torso. Tension rises when her sister discovers her secret desire.
- DirectorMasanori TominagaStarsTadanobu AsanoMinamiEiko KoikeIn a row of wooden municipal houses in the countryside, Hidenori and Nanase lives together under the same roof. The roommates co-exist in a tense and awkward state. And become more intense with the coming of new neighbor.
- DirectorHajime IshimineStarsKaela KimuraErika NishikadoAyaka MaedaOn Oct. 30, 2004, acclaimed Japanese musician Okuda Tamio held a one-day-only concert at Hiroshima Stadium. The project that started as the documentary of the concert soon evolved into a story of teenage girls who also do a band, and what they feel in the concert by 39-year old rocker.
- DirectorJirô SatôStarsHanae KanJirô SatôTakayuki TakumaMayuko Motohashi is a high-school student in Tokyo. She suffers from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessively writing down everything that crosses her mind. Her compulsion hits her any time and anywhere, weather during an examination, or a chorus practice in music class, or even when she's cleaning her classroom, making it impossible for her to control it. The anxiety happens so often, that she has to buy large amounts of note pads every few days at a stationer. Mayuko's life mostly consists of two things. Going to school and seeing her female counselor Her good-natured father, Yohei and gentle mother, Michiko, are both irrelevant to her disorder. However, they are both supportive to Mayuko's situation and the three of them lives a quiet life together. One day, after a long period of time, Junpei who is the brother of Mayuko's father reappears, surprising the family. By a coincidence, Junpei also suffers from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, making him and Mayuko begin to share a strange relationship, both of them fighting to overcome their disorders. One day, Junpei didn't seem like himself. Mayuko was also afraid that her school mates will find out about her disorder. How will the two of them over-come their issues and live on?
- DirectorKenki SaegusaStarsRie MiyazawaRyô KaseRyûdô Uzaki"The Invitation from Cinema Orion" tells the story of a couple's undying love for the cinema and each other.
- DirectorTeiichi HoriStarsToru BabaJunko MiyashitaMasei Nakayama
- DirectorMamoru OshiiStarsYoshikazu FujikiShinji HiguchiMako HyôdôA fictional documentary about changing Japanese eating habits and the colorful thieves that swindle the restaurants which serve them.
- DirectorSatoshi IsakaStarsKoji YakushoMiki ImaiMasatô IbuA 48-year-old company chief, Yukihiro Fujiyama (Koji Yakusho) goes to a hospital. There he discovered that he has got terminal lung cancer and will die within half a year. He declines any treatment and decides to go to see some people he has not met for years, to write farewell letters to his family, relatives and friends...