Despite TIFF's anime focus this year, its lineup of live-action Japanese films is as wide ranging as ever, with one glaring exception: Classic Japanese movies are almost nowhere on the program, and only one Japanese film, Daisuke Yoshida's "Kami no Tsuki (Pale Moon)," is being shown in the competition. But the Japanese Cinema Splash section, with eight films this year by mainly up-and-coming directors, will no doubt yield its share of discoveries, as will the Special Screenings section, despite its clearly commercial slant. There are also live-action Japanese films subtitled in English scattered elsewhere in the program. Seek and ye shall find.
1. Kami no Tsuki (Pale Moon)
Director Daihachi Yoshida won a slew of awards for the 2012 high school drama "Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutteyo (The Kirishima Thing)." Now he is back with a film that may sound like a lighthearted romantic comedy — a 41-year-old teller uses the bank's money to finance her affair with a younger guy — but is actually a serious look at the cash-sex nexus in contemporary Japanese society.