‘Inubu: The Dog Club’: Puppy love with a heavy dose of advocacy
Drawing from a novel based on true events, “Inubu” shows the barriers activists fighting for the humane treatment of animals face, their own physical and financial limits among them.
Mamoru Hosoda called out Hayao Miyazaki, but was it deserved?
Anime director Mamoru Hosoda recently criticized famed animator Hayao Miyazaki for how he portrays women in his films, but the chiding isn’t exactly warranted.
Japan's Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe win Best Screenplay at Cannes for 'Drive My Car'
A brooding, melancholic drama spanning three hours, the film is based on a short story of the same name by novelist Haruki Murakami.
Mamoru Hosoda: 'Japanese anime has a problem with women and girls'
Oscar-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda speaks about how we portray women's relationship with the internet in film and television, and what we should do to fix it.
‘Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop’ bursts with love for the 1980s aesthetic
Kyohei Ishiguro’s coming-of-age anime is a sweet and summery ode to the music and style of city pop.
‘Restart’: There’s no place like home for second chances
Director Hiroshi Shinagawa, who endured his own struggles as a young comic, shows the darker side of showbiz, as well as the welcoming beauty of Shimokawa, Hokkaido Prefecture.
‘Tokyo Kurds’: A sobering look at lives in limbo
Fumiari Hyuga’s documentary about asylum seekers in Japan is an intimate portrait of life with freedom hanging in the balance.
Over 100 years of the Olympic spirit captured on screen
Film coverage of the modern Olympics, starting from 1912, shows that national pride and stunning athleticism have always been an integral part of the games.
‘A Dobugawa Dream’: An escape from isolation to a personal fantasyland
Asato Watanabe’s debut feature about a man grappling with depression treads the line between reality and fantasy, with comic antics thrown in.
‘The Asian Angel’: A road movie with a touch of the divine
Two dysfunctional families from Japan and South Korea take a cross-country road trip in Yuya Ishii’s “The Asian Angel.”
‘The Goldfish: Dreaming of the Sea’: A coming-of-age tale told with talent and lyricism
Miyu Ogawa displays gravity and vulnerability in Sara Ogawa’s first theatrical feature, which centers on a teenager who lives in a group home and coaxes a new arrival out of her shell.
‘The Door into Summer’: Some doors are best left closed
An orphaned genius travels to the future and back in Takahiro Miki’s treacly sci-fi, “The Door Into Summer,” based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein.
