Contemporary Japanese Films!
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- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHiroshi AbeYui NatsukawaYouA family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
- DirectorKeishi OtomoStarsTakeru SatohEmi TakeiYû AoiA former assassin who has resolved to never kill again has his vow sorely tested.
- DirectorKeishi OtomoStarsTakeru SatohEmi TakeiTatsuya FujiwaraKenshin Himura goes up against pure evil Makoto Shishio who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. The fate of the country hangs in the balance as Kenshin Himura takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again.
- DirectorKeishi OtomoStarsTakeru SatohTatsuya FujiwaraEmi TakeiShishio has set sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the Meiji government and return Japan to chaos, carrying Kaoru with him. In order to stop him in time, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.
- DirectorKeishi OtomoStarsTakeru SatohKasumi ArimuraYôsuke EguchiBefore becoming a protector, Kenshin is a fearsome assassin known as Battosai, but his story changes when he meets the gentle Tomoe Yukishiro.
- DirectorKeishi OtomoStarsTakeru SatohMackenyuEmi TakeiKenshin's past catches up to him causing the destruction of Akabeko Restaurant, which was Kenshin's favorite place to eat. There, he finds a note with the word "Junchu" on it.
- DirectorHiroshi AndoStarsMikako IchikawaManami KonishiAsami ImajukuAn introverted schoolgirl falls in love and starts a relationship with one of her classmates. Set in a small seaside town in Japan, the love of her life eventually leaves her for her boyfriend in Tokyo.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsShôta SometaniFumi NikaidôTetsu WatanabeAfter two teenagers from abusive households befriend each other, their lives take a dark adventure into existentialism, despair, and human frailty.
- DirectorTakahiro MikiStarsTakao HandaArata IuraKenta KiritaniMeiko and Taneda are a couple graduated from university two years ago. Unhappy with their lives, Meiko quits her job and encourages Taneda to have this band become professional. They ultimately fail when their CDs are rejected by the record companies. Realizing he has to return to his menial profession and have failed in his dream, Taneda speeds through a red light on his motorcycle and dies in a traffic accident. After his death, Meiko takes over Taneda's position in the band to find the meaning of life. After performing a small gig, the plot concludes with Meiko taking up a new job and the other band members returning to their daily regimen.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsHayato IchiharaShûgo OshinariAyumi ItoThe problematic lives of teenager students for whom the singer Lily Chou-Chou's dreamy music is the only way to escape an alienating, violent and insensitive society.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsMiho NakayamaEtsushi ToyokawaBunjaku HanWhen exchanging letters two women discover new things about a man they knew.
- DirectorLeos CaraxMichel GondryBong Joon HoStarsAyako FujitaniRyô KaseAyumi ItoA triptych examines the nature of one unforgettable city as it's shaped by the disparate people who live, work (and even run amok) inside one enormous, constantly evolving, densely populated megalopolis, the ravishing and inimitable Tokyo.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsHaru KurokiCoccoGô AyanoNanami is an apathetic, part-time junior high school teacher, whose only solace comes from connecting with others on "Planet".
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsKon IchikawaNatto WadaDocumentary about the life of Japanese director Kon Ichikawa.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsAnne SuzukiYû AoiTomohiro KakuWhen two best friends develop a crush on the same boy, they develop a plan to trick him into dating them.
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsHidetoshi NishijimaTôko MiuraReika KirishimaA renowned stage actor and director learns to cope with a big personal loss when he receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsMiki NakataniEita NagayamaYûsuke IseyaWhen Matsuko is murdered, her nephew, Sho, gets to progressively unveil the many details of her mysterious past, discovering she wasn't just a forgotten outcast and had led an intriguing yet bizarre life.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsTakako MatsuYoshino KimuraMasaki OkadaA psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
- DirectorJun IchikawaStarsIssei OgataRie MiyazawaShinohara TakahumiWhen technical illustrator Tony Takitani asks his wife to resist her all-consuming obsession for designer clothes, the consequences are tragic.
- DirectorAnh Hung TranStarsKen'ichi MatsuyamaRinko KikuchiKiko MizuharaToru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
- DirectorDaishi MatsunagaStarsYoh YoshidaReo SanoNijirô MurakamiSachi is the owner of a piano bar. She is a single mother and her son is Takashi. One day, Sachi receives a phone call that her son Takashi died from a shark attack in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii. He was surfing in the bay area when a shark attacked him. His foot was bitten completely off by the shark. Sachi heads to Hawaii.
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsKotone FurukawaAyumu NakajimaHyunriAn unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.
- DirectorDaishi MatsunagaStarsRyohei SuzukiHio MiyazawaYûko NakamuraWhen Kôsuke was 14 years old, his mother died. He spent his adolescence in a rural village and suppressed his feelings as a gay male. Now, Kôsuke (Ryohei Suzuki) has grown up and works as a fashion magazine editor in Tokyo. He meets Ryûta (Hio Miyazawa), who works as a personal trainer. Ryûta's mother raised him alone and he is close to his mom. Kôsuke and Ryûta become attracted to each other and they sometimes spend time with Ryûta's mother. Kôsuke is happy to share time with Ryûta and his mother, which makes him remember his late mother. Kôsuke and Ryûta make an appointment to go for a drive together, but, on that day, Ryûta does not show up.
- DirectorShô MiyakeStarsYukino KishiiMasaki MiuraShinichirô MatsuuraA hearing-impaired woman with dreams of becoming a professional boxer due to the pandemic is threatened closure of her boxing club and the illness of its ageing president, who has been her biggest supporter, push her to the limit.
- DirectorYôjirô TakitaStarsMasahiro MotokiRyôko HirosueTsutomu YamazakiSoon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
- DirectorHideaki AnnoStarsShunji IwaiAyako FujitaniJun MurakamiA disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young girl who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKoji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
- DirectorIsao TakahataA live-action documentary film, this independent film was produced by Nibariki (Miyazaki's personal office), with the revenue from Nausicaä. At first, it was supposed to be an animated film which took place in the town of Yanagawa. After the success of Nausicaä, Tokuma wanted to produce another animated movie (of course, they wanted a Nausicaä sequel), and Miyazaki was looking for a good project. Miyazaki visited Yanagawa, and was impressed by the beautiful town with its canals, and came up with an idea for a film about high school boys and girls in Yanagawa, and thought that Takahata, who worked as a producer for Nausicaä, should direct such a film. However, when Takahata visited Yanagawa for research, he came to be more interested in the history of the town, especially how local people fought to preserve the canals which have been a part of the community for a long time, and how they put a great deal of effort to clean up the once polluted canals. As a result, it became a live action documentary, and Miyazaki decided to spend his own money on it. It took three years for Takahata to complete this film.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsTeruyuki KagawaKyôko KoizumiYû KoyanagiAn ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsAruno NakanishiManatsu AkimotoSakura EndôNakanishi Aruno is disliked and bullied by other Nogizaka46 members because she's different from them. After one of them lock Aruno and tell her to not come back, she decides to come back definitely.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsJoe OdagiriTadanobu AsanoTatsuya FujiTwo young guys work in a plant that manufactures oshibori (those moist hand-towels found in some Japanese restaurants). Their weird bond is based on uncontrollable rage--something neither can articulate or control--and the strange jellyfish that they keep as a pet.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsJun KunimuraFumi NikaidôShin'ichi TsutsumiA renegade film crew becomes embroiled with a yakuza clan feud.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMala MorganGarrett CassellSen FujimaruIt follows a filmmaker who holds auditions for his next project. Several of the actors who fail to win roles participate as extras.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsEtsushi ToyokawaShinobu ÔtakeNaomasa MusakaToward the end of World War II, middle-aged soldier Keita is entrusted with a postcard from a comrade who is sure he will die in battle. After the war ends, Keita visits his comrade's wife Yuko and bears witness to the tragic life she has led. This year's Oscar entry from Japan finds SHINDO in top form and his 49th and reportedly last film as fresh and poignant as ever.
- DirectorKei HorieStarsNijirô MurakamiAkari HayamiChiharuA high school student falls in love, but must document their time together to prevent forgetting. What will happen next?
- DirectorRyûichi HirokiStarsKasumi ArimuraAsuka KudôKen MitsuishiWhen Natsumi's father dies she return to the forest which she had visited with him with his motorcycle. She meets and decides to stay with a family who also own a store nearby.
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsMasahiro HigashideErika KarataSairi ItôAsako lives in Osaka. She falls in love with Baku, a free-spirit. One day, Baku suddenly disappears. Two years later, Asako now lives in Tokyo and meets Ryohei. He looks just like Baku, but has a completely different personality.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsArata IuraErika OdaSusumu TerajimaAfter death, people have a week to choose only one memory to keep for eternity.