The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) offers fans a rare chance to see dozens of new and classic Japanese films with English subtitles on the big screen. Among my own picks for the event's 31st edition:
'Another World' (TIFF Competition): Junji Sakamoto's drama about two friends from junior high school who reunite after a period of years — and open old wounds as they approach their 40th birthdays. Former SMAP member Goro Inagaki ditches his pop star image to play a conflicted charcoal maker.
'Just Only Love' (TIFF Competition): An acclaimed maker of multilayered romantic dramas, Rikiya Imaizumi returns to TIFF with a comedy about a 28-year-old OL (office lady) madly fixated on a guy who is coolly indifferent to her existence.