Japan, 1932; Brothel bodyguard Tomita (Toshiyuki Nishida) takes the innocent Botan (Yoko Minamino) under his wing when the girl is sold into the business. She quickly becomes the star attraction but falls deeply in love with Tomita while he only has eyes for his estranged wife Kiwa. But when a good-hearted Yakuza goon named Nioyama (Masahiro Takashima) falls for Botan, … Read the rest
Category: Japan
A Stranger of Mine (Kenji Uchida, Japan, 2005)
Meeting by chance, office worker Miyata (Yasuhi Nakamura) and homeless Maki (Reika Kirishima) may have found in each other the perfect partner. But whether they can make a go of it depends on Miyata’s manipulative former girlfriend Ayumi (Yuka Itaya), a private detective and former schoolmate of Miyata’s named Kando (So Yamanaka), who’s been doing some checking into Ayumi’s past, … Read the rest
Temptation (Kozaburo Yoshimura, Japan, 1948)
Yajima (Shin Saburi) the middle-aged friend of a deceased former schoolteacher offers to take the dead man’s orphaned daughter Takako (Setsuko Hara) into his household. But even as Takako settles in with Yajima’s young children she and her benefactor soon develop romantic feelings for each other as Yajima’s wife lies seriously ill in hospital.
A pleasant and well crafted melodrama … Read the rest
Key of Life (Kenji Uchida, Japan, 2012)
A broke and struggling actor named Takeshi (Masato Sakai) seizes the chance to swap his identity and home with middle-aged assassin Kondo (Teruyuki Kagawa) after an accident in a bath house leaves the latter with amnesia. As Takeshi settles into Kondo’s luxurious pad a bewildered Kondo, who’s now living in Takeshi’s hovel, begins a relationship with emotionally repressed businesswoman Kanae … Read the rest
An Inn At Osaka (Heinosuke Gosho, Japan, 1954)
Mr. Mita (Shuji Sano) a Tokyo insurance clerk demoted after punching a superior at work finds new lodgings at the titular inn. Confronted by a hard-hearted landlady, her lazy brother Ossan, overworked servant girls Oyone, Orika and Otsugi, lecherous tenant Mr. Noro, poverty stricken seamstress Omitsu (Sachiko Hidari), visits from friends Tawana and geisha Miss Uwabami (Nobuko Otawa), Mr. Mita … Read the rest
Accidental Kidnapper (Hideo Sakaki, Japan, 2010)
One day Hideyoshi Date (Katsunori Takahashi), a debt-ridden, suicidal 30-something discovers a runaway kid named Densuke Aikawa (Roi Hayashi) in the back of his car. Densuke turns out to be fleeing an overbearing father but when Hideyoshi realises the kid’s parents are loaded he hatches an impromptu kidnap scheme and demands a huge ransom for the boy’s return. Unknown to … Read the rest
Lucky Dragon No 5 (Kaneto Shindo, Japan, 1959)
The crew of the fishing boat Lucky Dragon venture far outside their usual waters in search of a bigger catch. Near Bikini Atoll a bright flash of light on the horizon turns the night into day and is followed by a strange cloud of ash which covers the ship and its crew. Returning home, the dreadful truth slowly emerges and … Read the rest
Shin Godzilla ( Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, Japan, 2016)
A strange creature emerges from Tokyo harbour and wreaks havoc on land. As clueless politicians talk and talk junior adviser Rando Yaguchi (Hiroki Hasegawa) sets up a taskforce of tech savvy geeks to uncover the truth. When airstrikes and artillery attacks prove futile the Americans send in bombers but the creature – nicknamed Godzilla – proves even more destructive than … Read the rest
Hotel Petrel Blue (Koji Wakamatsu, Japan, 2012)
Three friends, Yojio (Hiromasa Hirosue), Yukio (Go Jibiki) and Kohei (Takaki Uda) attempt an armoured truck robbery but it goes disastrously wrong after Kohei fails to show. After a stint in the slammer Yukio emerges seeking revenge. Kohei’s trail leads to a hotel by the sea surrounded by lava-topped mountains and its sole, apparently perpetual resident, a stunning, enigmatic beauty … Read the rest
