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 MoreSatoko 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 MoreEmi-Abi is an absurdist crowd-pleaser reminiscent of the likes of Fish Story and Inside Llewyn Davis.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreThe 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 MoreThis 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 MoreNakamura'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 MoreThe 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 MoreGakuryu 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 MoreShuichi 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.
Read MoreThe latest documentary from Drafthouse Films will please anyone who knows the blood, sweat, and tears of making a movie as well as anyone who has ever pursued their dream.
Read MoreShunji Iwai's latest is a 3-hour masterpiece, subtle yet emotionally complex. Delicate but hard hitting. A cinematic achievement of the highest degree.
Read MoreA coming of age story in which a small town murder mystery provides the subplot, this debut feature from Wang Yichun skillfully blends both elements to make a lasting depiction of girlhood during a time rarely seen in Chinese film.
Read MoreThis Thai almost rom-com for workaholics successfully allows itself to be a conundrum: energetic yet subdued, highly stylized yet not overtly so. An intelligent depiction of a certain type of driven mind set.
Read MoreThe sophomore feature from Park Hong-min is usually engaging and at times successfully unsettling waking nightmare that runs only slightly too long for what it is.
Read MoreDespite its familiarity, Twisted Justice is an indictment of Japan's police departments that is fast paced and features a standout performance from Gou Ayano who anchors the film.
Read MoreThis two hour journey through De Palma's career solely with the man himself is hard to pinpoint just who it is intended for but proves to be a decent introduction to the man. A glorified DVD extra.
Read MoreAt 84, Yoji Yamada has made a charming family comedy that feels as if it was made fifty years ago.
Read MoreKiyoshi Kurosawa's latest film will please both fans of his earlier J-horror work as well as those appreciative of his recent sensibilities.
Read MoreNa Hong-jin's latest film is an ambitious dismantling of genre, tone, Korean film trends, as well as a continuation of his expert craft. A supernatural thriller about confirmation bias and how the average person is manipulated just as much by others as by himself.
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