1 Nov 2003 Japan 1961 110 min Director: Akira Kurosawa Sanjuro, a masterless Samurai, wanders into a town divided by two warring factions. After proving his formidable swordsmanship in a street brawl, he sells his services to the highest bidder. When one clan conspires against him he switches sides and begins to trick the foolish… Continue reading Yojimbo
Tag: Japan
Exils
Exiles 7 Feb 2007 Director: Tony Gatlif France, Japan 2004 104 min Two Algerian immigrants are outsiders in France, Zano and his girlfriend Naima decide to travel back to the land that their families were forced to flee when France colonised Algiers. The lovers travel from Paris making new friends along the way. The couple… Continue reading Exils
Bin Jib
3 Iron 7 Mar 2007 South Korea, Japan 2004 88 min Director: Ki-duk Kim Tae-suk is a drifter who enters strangers’ houses, when they are away, to sleep and eat a little food. He repays their unwitting kindness by doing the laundry and making small repairs. His life, however, is to change when he enters… Continue reading Bin Jib
Okuribito
Departures 30 Nov 2011 Japan 2008 130 min Director: Yōjirō Takita This Oscar-winner looks at the Japanese rituals surrounding funerals and how they are perceived by society. Daigo Kobayashi, a young musician, finds himself out of work and ends up working (accidentally) in a funeral home as a “Nakonashi”, making the intricate, and respectful preparations… Continue reading Okuribito
The Eel
16 Feb 2000 Director: Shohei Imamura Japan 1997 117 min Shohei Imamura’s first film after a seven year absence. The Eel won the Palm d’Or at Cannes in 1997. It is the story of Tokuro Yamashita who is paroled from prison after serving time for stabbing his unfaithful wife. He attempts to recover his life… Continue reading The Eel
Anatomy Of A Fall
8 January 2025 Director: Justine Triet France, Japan 151 min When her husband Samuel is mysteriously found dead in the snow below their secluded chalet, Sandra becomes the main suspect when the police begin to question whether he fell or was pushed. The trial soon becomes not just an investigation but a psychological journey into… Continue reading Anatomy Of A Fall
Monster
25 Sep 2024 Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan 2023 126 min When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms into the school demanding to know what’s going on. As the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher and… Continue reading Monster
Black Box Diaries
19 Mar 2025 Director: Shiori Ito Japan, UK, USA 2024 103 min In 2017, journalist and writer Shiori Ito’s memoir Black Box launched a societal reckoning in Japan. In the book, Ito publicly accused a prominent TV journalist of raping her two years previously. She had reported her assault to the police at the time,… Continue reading Black Box Diaries
Shoplifters
08 Jan 2020 Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan 2018 121 min Shoplifters is a complex, profoundly moving drama about the forces holding a struggling family together. Osamu, his wife Nobuyu and grandma Hatsue head the Shibatas family. Poverty- stricken and living in a ramshackle Tokyo bungalow, they routinely turn to petty thieving to make ends meet.… Continue reading Shoplifters
Our Little Sister
5 Oct 2016 Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda Japan 2015 128 min Full of quiet joy and simple pleasures, this sublime and elegant production focuses on the lives of four young women, related through their late father, in provincial Japan. As the women attempt to help each other along, the film touches on themes of stolen childhood… Continue reading Our Little Sister