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Meet the Kyobashis, a model suburban Japanese family. Or are they? In director Toshiaki Toyoda’s skillful examination of contemporary domestic malaise, a mother’s plan for the perfect family initially seems to be working, but we soon learn that her perceived perfection is a lie that each family member chooses to believe at the expense of reality.Read More »
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Nine convicts escape from prison; most are convicted murders. They commandeer a van from a strip club. Their plan is to find a stash of counterfeit money that a deranged cell mate told them about, divide it, then part ways. They make it to the site where the money is supposed to be hidden, and then one by one, each seeks out the place he wants to be, a version of home, somewhere to connect. Will it end well for any of them?Read More »
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A young and almost autistic-acting man arrives in Tokyo and wanders the streets, running afoul of some Yakuza and proving to be more than he appears to be. The young man speaks very little and his favorite phrase seems to be “not needed” and that’s generally in reference to Yakuza. He is taken into this gang and proves that he’s not well balanced by shooting a couple of drug dealers and then makes a pin cushion out of a rival gang leader, so he’s revered by those that he seems to hate, although they’re quite wary of him with good reason. The young man also hooks up with one of the Yakuza babes, maybe she’s a hooker, maybe she’s just a hanger-on, I couldn’t really tell, but somehow they get their mitts on some acid that was taken from the drug dealers that they young man shot and are going to flee to Fiji, but not before they get into skate-boarding some and wander the streets.Read More »
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Documentary on the Japanese boxer Unchain Kaji, who retired from the ring at the age of 30 with an eye injury and a losing record. He then tries to start a new life as a civilian.Read More »
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Religious con-men have probably been around as long as religion itself, though we have no way of knowing what scams fake shamans were running in the caves. For every Jesus, who had a low opinion of the rich and left little more than a strangely stained burial shroud (if that) on his demise, there have been dozens of priests, ministers and gurus raking it in, living it up and believing in nothing but the endless gullibility of the human race.Read More »
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Based on a well-known Japanese legend, the story concerns the sage-masseur Oguri (Tatsuya Nakamura), who is summoned by ailing King Daio (Kiyohiko Shibukawa). Despite receiving superlative treatment, the king is insulted by Oguri’s casual attitude toward death, so he poisons the healer. In the afterlife, Oguri chooses to come back to this world—as an infant. Growing up quickly, he meets Terute (Mayu Kusakari), a concubine who has escaped from the king, and together they seek the Waters of Resurrection.Read More »
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Having abandoned modern civilization, Ryoichi lives an isolated, self-sufficient life on a snow-covered mountain and sends mail bombs to the CEOs of corporations and TV networks. One day, he encounters a mysterious creature in the forest. That night, his older brother, who had committed suicide, appears before him at his cabin. The apparition takes Ryoichi beyond a door, where Ryoichi learns the truth about his family.Read More »