The Boy and the Heron: visual virtuosity can’t compensate for a tired formulaic plot and dubious motifs
Hayao Miyazaki, “The Boy and the Heron” (2023) A decade after “The Wind Rises”, the
Category: Japanese Films
Reviews of films from Japan.
Broker: road film exploring complexities behind illegal baby adoptions in South Korea
Hirokazu Kore-eda, “Broker” (2022) A young woman brings her baby to a church’s baby box
Japanese Films | North American Films
Bakemono: modern-day ghost story on family relationships
Jorge Lucas, Sumire Takamatsu, “Bakemono” (2019) Even in modern times, the demons and spirits of
Japanese Films | North American Films
How culture, society and economy combined to bring about a demographic tragedy in “The Dark Side of Japan: The Lost Generation”
“The Dark Side of Japan: The Lost Generation” (Explained With Dom, 22 June 2022) One
Chinese and Chinese-language Films | Japanese Films
What Eating the Rich did for Japan: a useful introduction to Japan’s modern economic history
“What Eating the Rich did for Japan” (Asianometry, October 2021) In this mini-documentary on the
British Films | Japanese Films | North American Films
You Only Live Twice: tired and formulaic film shouldn’t have lived even once
Lewis Gilbert, “You Only Live Twice” (1967) By the time this, the fifth film in
Japanese Films | North American Films
Minamata: a solid film on the power of image as social activism
Andrew Levitas, “Minamata” (2020) In these times when fake news and deliberate disinformation are the
Senga Tsubo: a tale within a tale about gratitude and returning favours
Sanae Yamamoto, “Senga Tsubo” (1925) Said to be the first animated film commission by the
A folk tale with a moral in “Kyoiku senga: Ubasuteyama”
Sanae Yamamoto, “Kyoiku senga: Ubasuteyama” (1925) A restored animation, “Ubasuteyama” is based on a traditional
Tora-chan no Makan Mushi: warning children to behave well at work
Kenzo Masaoka, “Tora-chan no Makan Mushi” (1950) In the last cartoon to feature Tora-chan (Little