Norihei Miki

  • Mitsuo Yanagimachi – Himatsuri AKA Fire Festival (1985)

    1981-1990AsianDramaJapanMitsuo Yanagimachi

    The villagers in a beautiful remote area of Japan are divided into the woodsmen, who worship the mountain goddess, and the fishermen, who worship the goddess of the sea. These traditions are threatened by a planned marine park. Tatsuo is a macho lumberjack who hunts boars and monkeys with the young Ryota. Tatsuo is married with two children, has four elder sisters, and is under pressure to sell the family land to the developers. When the fish pens are deliberately contaminated by oil, the fishermen suspect Tatsuo. Kimiko, an old girlfriend of Tatsuo, returns to the village to find money to pay off her debts. During the annual fire festival, Tatsuo becomes angry when the old traditions are not preserved.Read More »

  • Nobuhiko Ôbayashi – Sada: Gesaku · Abe Sada no shôgai AKA Sada (1998)

    1991-2000ArthouseAsianJapanNobuhiko Obayashi

    Based upon the case of Sada Abe, who on May 17, 1936 killed and emasculated her lover. These events took place during a period of war, economic depression, public unease and growing militarism, a time of unrest and confusion when public opinion was, at best, unpredictable. Sada, condemned by the law, found herself lionized by the press and hailed as a ‘saint’ of love. Because she committed murder out of passion, the purity of her motivation elevated her from the status of criminal to that of popular heroine.Read More »

  • Akira Inoue – Zatôichi Nidan-kiri AKA Zatoichi’s Revenge (1965)

    1961-1970ActionAkira InoueJapanMartial Arts

    Synopsis:
    Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi’s recent robbery and murder and the imprisonment of his virginal daughter, Osayo, in a brothel. Through friendship with Denroku, a local dice thrower and devoted father, Ichi uncovers an unholy alliance between the governor and the area strongman: among their scams is falsifying tax records to put farmers in debt, then forcing their daughters into prostitution at the boss’s brothel. With help from Denroku’s daughter, Otsuru, Ichi comforts Osayo until he can provoke showdowns with the villains and their henchmen.Read More »

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