Rob's (mostly) Asian movie blog.
Last Updated on October 6, 2020 by rob
Housewife Ayako (Ayako Wakao) stands trial for the death of her husband on a climbing expedition in the Japanese Alps. An accident left Ayako, cruel elderly hubby Ryokichi (Eitaro Ozawa) and friend Osamu (Hiroshi Kawaguchi) – for whom Ayako harbours strong romantic feelings – dangling from a single rope. Ayako claims she … Read the rest
Last Updated on January 25, 2021 by rob
Hideko Takamine (displaying real star wattage here even though she was only 17 at the time) plays the titular heroine Okoma, who works for a financially struggling bus company in a small, sleepy town and comes up with the idea of giving a speech to passengers about places of interest on her … Read the rest
Last Updated on October 6, 2020 by rob
Student Jung-Hoon (Yoo Seung-Ho) arrives late for class to find the body of hated rival Tae-Gyu (Jo Sang-Keun) stabbed to death. Before you know it he’s gotten blood on his shirt and picked up the murder weapon (the fool!) And then in walks fellow classmate Da-Jung (Kang So-Ra), a quiet, nerdy girl … Read the rest
Last Updated on October 6, 2020 by rob
A man is killed aboard a packed jet flight but none of the crew or passengers see or hear a thing. Inspector Wakabayashi (Yoshiro Kitahara) discovers that fellow passenger Professor Hayakawa (Shozo Nanbu) has invented an invisibility ray and wonders if that’s the link to a series of baffling murders and bank … Read the rest
Last Updated on January 25, 2021 by rob
Gob-smackingly gorgeous and lavishly staged drama, in colour and widescreen, about the rise, reign and fall of China’s first and only female ruler Wu Tse-Tien (Li Hua Li). Well acted and well-written, its chief strength is a satisfyingly even-handed portrait of Wu herself thanks to a compelling performance from veteran Hong Kong … Read the rest
Last Updated on October 6, 2020 by rob
Leonetti (Lino Ventura) is a tough, experienced copper who after nicking a lawyer’s son for drunkenness ends up reassigned because the kid’s father has political connections. Kicking his heels in the sticks Leonetti finds himself teamed with a rookie cop named Jeanne Dumas (Marlene Jobert) in the search for an important witness … Read the rest
Last Updated on October 6, 2020 by rob
30-something Oriko (Mariko Okada), trapped in a loveless marriage, encounters her mother’s younger lover, a sculptor who crafts feminine shapes out of stone and begins a friendship with him. At a party the sight of her swinging sister-in-law being roughly seduced at the hands of a labourer stirs her own sexual desires … Read the rest
Last Updated on October 6, 2020 by rob
Two brothers, achingly trendy Tokyo fashion photographer Takeru (Jô Odagiri) and shy homebody Minoru (Key Of Life‘s Teruyuki Kagawa) reunite at their mother’s funeral. The next day a walk across a rickety wooden bridge with Chieko (Yoko Maki), a local girl employed in the family business and a former girlfriend … Read the rest
Last Updated on April 20, 2021 by rob
Obsessed with his ex-girlfriend Lise (Dominique Laffin), an accountant named David (Gerard Depardieu) builds a cabin in the forest outside of town that he furnishes in the expectation Lise will move in with him. As David bombards Lise with letters, phone calls and personal visits – much to the annoyance of Lise’s … Read the rest
Last Updated on September 28, 2020 by rob
A bent copper named Ko (Lee Sun-kyun) is en route to his mother’s funeral when he knocks down a pedestrian in his car. Panic-stricken, Ko decides to dispose of the body by sticking it in the same coffin as that of his Mum! However, the entire incident is witnessed and a menacing … Read the rest
