Rob's (mostly) Asian movie blog.
Last Updated on January 24, 2021 by rob
After being raped a traumatised woman named Tsuru (Nobuko Otowa) wanders into a squatter camp and is immediately taken advantage of by Toku (Taiji Tonoyama) and Pin (Jukichi Uno), two residents keen to use her to fund their gambling habit. Exploiting Tsuru’s good nature by posing as a hard up student Pin … Read the rest
Last Updated on January 24, 2021 by rob
In 1940 the only son of an aristocratic family commits suicide with his pregnant wife (Keiko Kishi). However the latter survives to eventually give birth to a son, Sutueo (Yusuke Kawazu). 19 years later, with the family having lost its status along with most of its land, the adult Suteo harbours a … Read the rest
Last Updated on January 24, 2021 by rob
Wealthy university graduate Naomi (Hiroko Yakoshimaru) discovers that her absent father has hired a private detective named Shuichi (Yusaku Matsuda) to keep an eye on her. But when Shuichi’s estranged wife becomes the chief suspect in the murder of a Yakuza employee the irrepressible Naomi throws herself into solving the case whilst … Read the rest
Last Updated on April 19, 2021 by rob
A terrific film that vaults into the first rank of my favourite Kurosawa’s alongside Ran, Rashomon, High and Low and Rhapsody in August. Toshiro Mifune is an absolute delight here as the scruffy, indolent, but-light-years-ahead-of-everyone-else warrior who rescues a bunch of witless samurai and then cleans up their corruption … Read the rest
Last Updated on October 2, 2020 by rob
An exquisitely crafted, emotionally overwhelming experience, The Road Home ranks for me as one of the all time great cinema love stories and one of my favourite Asian films. It really blew me away. The tale is simplicity itself being essentially the story of how an illiterate teenage girl named Di (Zhang … Read the rest
Last Updated on January 22, 2021 by rob
A worldwide zombie outbreak sends UN investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) on the trail of the mysterious infection. As Gerry makes his way to a military outpost in South Korea, then to a country (Israel) which appears to have forseen the disaster and made preparations to protect itself, each destination is ultimately … Read the rest
Last Updated on January 20, 2021 by rob
The Sweeney is not that well known outside the UK but on the list of great British TV series it’s up there alongside I, Claudius, Fawlty Towers and The Avengers. Mention The Sweeney to almost anyone in Britain and you will probably be greeted by a reply of ‘Shut it!’ … Read the rest
Last Updated on October 6, 2020 by rob
A poor and desperate young woman named Kiriko (Chieko Baisho) makes a long journey to request help from Otsuko (Osamu Takizawa), a rich, successful lawyer, to defend her brother on a murder charge. But Otsuko brushes her off because she can’t meet his fees and the brother dies in prison. After befriending … Read the rest
Last Updated on September 28, 2020 by rob
A former volleyball star Geum-sun (Bae Doona) whose dreams have taken a knock after a shoulder injury ended her career is now a married housewife with a baby daughter and a nervous husband named Ju-tae (Kim Tae-Woo) about to start his first day in a new job. But later that evening Geum-sun … Read the rest
Last Updated on September 28, 2020 by rob
An innocent country girl Sae-jin (Jeong Yu-mi), travels to Seoul to begin her first job. When the company she’s joined quickly goes bust she finds herself reduced to a crappy basement flat in a shabby neigbourhood with a lowly gangster, Dong-chul (Park Joong Hoon) for a neighbour. Before long the pair strike … Read the rest
