Ever since the first series of “Pop Idol” screened on British TV in 2001, the televised music competition has become practically inescapable, with franchises springing up everywhere from Macedonia to the Maldives. Given how cannily stage-managed these “reality” shows really are, though, it almost ...

Japanese weekly scandal magazines are pond scum, are they not? Dishing up grainy paparazzi photos of the famous and powerful, accompanied by wink-wink stories about improprieties and crimes — alleged or exposed — they appeal to the lowest common denominator, with their only raison ...

Watching the quiet, classical-music-infused “Seymour: An Introduction” made me recall another film about a musician: the jazz drama “Whiplash,” which made a lot of splashes and won three Oscars. The two may be completely different experiences, yet the films seem to play off each ...

Love him or hate him, you have to at least credit Slovenian philosopher and critical theorist Slavoj Zizek for trying. In an age where philosophy, like poetry, has largely retreated to the ivory tower, Zizek insists on inserting it into the cultural conversation, seeking ...

The streaming wars continue, and one advantage Netflix has over its rivals is that it releases its original content in Japan without much annoying time lag. That’s true of their new paranormal series “Stranger Things,” which came out in the dog days of summer ...

The Japanese women directors who have been gaining attention in the past two decades, beginning with frequent Cannes invitee Naomi Kawase, tend to be serious types, understandably. Their struggle for respect and recognition in a male-dominated industry is difficult enough — and goofy comedies ...

“Correspondence” (also known as “La Corrispondenza”) is the kind of romance the Japanese have traditionally loved to love — two people locked in a relationship that barely exists. In this scheme of things, physical remoteness offsets but strengthens an emotional connection. It’s a concept ...

Yoichi Higashi has made everything from commercial hits to festival favorites in his five-plus decades as a director, while taking up politically sensitive subjects and unpopular issues. His 1992 smash “The Bridge with No River” (“Hashi no Nai Kawa”) depicted the raw prejudice endured ...

The Japanese have never really warmed to the stories of Roald Dahl, with the exception of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Even then, they’re probably not thinking of Dahl, it’s more about Johnny Depp and the Wonka Chocolate bars sold at most high-end supermarkets ...

Two years ago the English-speaking internet world was shaken by the news that Japan’s most beloved animation house, Studio Ghibli, would be closing its doors for good. The story, which originated from a fan blog and was picked up by a variety of more ...

Film festivals can be the product of one person’s passion, but that person is rarely a regular invitee to that most prestigious of festivals: Cannes. Director Naomi Kawase, who has both won Cannes prizes and sat on Cannes juries, fits that description as the ...