Jack Virnich writes on the pairing of manga-ka centric film Bakuman and a collection of experimental animated short films presented by Japan Cuts.
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Japan Cuts 2016: Being Good (Mipo O)
in Film Reviews
Mipo O has grown exponentially as a filmmaker with her latest film, a triptych of hurt and redemption. An incredible portrait of the potential of hope and choosing to break from unwritten rules of socially acceptable disengagement.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: The Artist of Fasting (Masao Adachi)
in Film Reviews
This take on Kafka's short story is a radical blender in which modern concerns are thrown in with timeless hypocrisies and filtered through the aesthetic urges of one of the last surviving filmmakers of the Japanese New Wave.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: The Actor (Satoko Yokohama)
in Film Reviews
Satoko Yokohama's follow up to Bare Essence of Life is a film about the joy of creation where drive and ambition equally reward and penalize. A highly original film from any filmmaker in recent memory, Japanese or otherwise, female or otherwise.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: Ken and Kazu (Hiroshi Shoji)
in Film Reviews
The debut film from Hiroshi Shoji has some of the pratfalls of the crime genre but is able to instill the excitement of an emerging artist.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: The Whispering Star (Shion Sono)
in Film Reviews
The Whispering Star might disappoint those looking for another Suicide Club or even Love & Peace but it's Sono's best film in years and yet another exploration of a post-3/11 world if The Land of Hope can be seen as an exploration of post-3/11 Japan.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: The Shion Sono (Arata Oshima)
in Film Reviews
This documentary gives an insightful look into the man and also allows Sono to throw out his constant insights into life, filmmaking, and how to properly treat your canvas.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: The Magnificent Nine (Yoshihiro Nakamura)
in Film Reviews
Nakamura's latest has all of the elements of his greatest work, unfortuanely it does not live up to his ouvre or its English title.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: Lowlife Love (Eiji Uchida)
in Film Reviews
The latest producing venture from Third Window Films and Greatful Dead director Eiji Uchida is a grand indictment of the Japanese film industry both on the indie level and above. A more cynical The Player if that's even possible.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: Bitter Honey (Gakuryu Ishii)
in Film Reviews
Gakuryu Ishii's latest film is a whimsical tale of artist and muse/creator and creation that features one of the most enjoyable, must see performances from Fumi Nikaido.
Read MoreJapan Cuts 2016: Mohican Comes Home (Shuichi Okita)
in Film Reviews
Shuichi Okita's latest sports one of the best cast families and because of it is one of the better examples of the Japanese family drama.
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