Japanese Films

It is impossible to dive into Japanese cinema without eventually coming across the works of Akira Kurosawa. He is considered one of the most influential directors of all time, inspiring some of the most famous directors in the west, like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The genre that Kurosawa is perhaps best known for is his samurai films. Today I am going to talk about one of his most highly rated and influential samurai films, Yojimbo (用心棒, meaning “bodyguard”). I will be giving my thoughts on what makes this movie so special, and why everyone should watch it.

If you are a fan of Japanese films, there is a good chance that you have heard of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 1977 film, House. House is a very unique and interesting movie and there is a good reason why so many film fans gravitate towards it. House is a movie that almost defies description, but it is probably best described as a surrealist horror film. In this review I will discuss why everybody should watch this movie, and what makes this movie so special.

If you have been reading my previous reviews you may wonder what I consider to be my number one favorite Japanese movie of all time. Well, I believe that choosing a number one favorite movie is kind of meaningless, because a number one favorite is based purely on subjective experience and it changes all the time. However, every once in a while I’ll have find a favorite movie that sticks in my mind for a very long time. If you were to ask me right now what my favorite Japanese movie (and maybe favorite out of ALL movies) is, I could easily say that it is Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1997 psychological thriller film Cure. Through this review, I can hopefully explain what makes this film so special and convince someone to check it out.

For me, one of the most interesting topics that a film can center around is organized crime. Many films that center around organized crime are among what are considered to be the greatest films of all time. The Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, and many more. All of these films have forever etched their names into the great movie hall of fame. However, America is certainly not the only country to have organized crime, which also means that America is not the only country to make awesome movies about said organized crime. The yakuza are often called the Japanese equivalent to the Mafia, and the films about the yakuza are among some of the greatest in Japanese cinema. In this review I will be discussing Kinji Fukasaku’s iconic 1973 yakuza film Battles Without Honor and Humanity (仁義なき戦い “Jingi Naki Tatakai“), and will be delving into the culture behind the Yakuza and Yakuza cinema.

The Inugami Family (犬神家の一族 “Inugami-ke no ichizoku“) is a 1976 film directed by Kon Ichikawa and based on the novel of the same name by Seishi Yokomizo. This film is a whodunnit style murder mystery that follows private detective Kosuke Kindaichi, as he is sent to investigate the strange circumstances surrounding the massive inheritance of the Inugami family, and the series of murders that are connected. It is one of the shining examples of Japanese detective fiction, and in this review I will hopefully give you a good idea of what makes this movie so special.

Kamikaze Girls, or Shimotsuma Monogatari (meaning “Shimotsuma Story”) is a 2004 film directed by Tetsuya Nakashima based on a light novel by author Novala Takemoto. It focuses on the friendship between two very different teenage girls. Momoko, a girl obsessed with lolita fashion, and Ichigo, a girl in a delinquent biker gang. The two come from two very different subcultures, but they soon develop an unlikely friendship. In this review I will be discussing why I love this movie and the aspects of Japanese culture that can be learned from this film.