Japan

The Cherry Bushido

By Benjamin Franz | May 2022

Often, there is great subtlety in Asian cinema and theater. The national art forms of the world’s largest landmass are known for…

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The Cherry Bushido image — The Cherry Bushido
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Often, there is great subtlety in Asian cinema and theater. The national art forms of the world's largest landmass are known for indirect communication and...

Torao image — Torao
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The feature film debut from Kazuya Murayama, Torao, is something one can't predict or even get a hint of when it first unravels its characters. The...

Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes image — Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes
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NEW TO VOD! A while back, I reviewed the tepid short The Awful Kind, opining how its one-take shot was a mere gimmick, as the story is set in an empty...

They Say Nothing Stays The Same (Aru Sendo No Hanashi) image — They Say Nothing Stays The Same (Aru Sendo No Hanashi)
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We, the working class, have always been victims to progress. Joe Odagiri's They Say Nothing Stays The Same is the story of Toichi (Akira Emoto), an elderly...

Drive My Car image — Drive My Car
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AFI FEST 2021 REVIEW! Drive My Car, written by Takamasa Oe and director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, catches up with stage actor/director Yûsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi...

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The title of Hiroshi Kurosaki's splendid Gift of Fire is a direct reference to Prometheus, who bestowed fire upon humanity, both a gift and a curse. Fire...

Ouija Japan image — Ouija Japan
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It seems that Hollywood is not the only place churning out cookie-cutter formulaic plots in films. Case in point, Masaya Kato's Ouija Japan, which offers...

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Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa is known for his masterful work in multiple genres, ranging from gripping horror thrillers like Cure (1997) to moving...

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Howling Village comes from Takashi Shimizu, director of the Ju-On (The Grudge) series. It starts with two reckless teenagers on a ghost hunt. They are...

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FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL 2021 REVIEW! Phillipe McKie's Dreams on Fire does one thing very well: it makes you want to go to Tokyo yesterday. The film...

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