Shinobu Yaguchi can make sparks fly, even off the grid
When I met Shinobu Yaguchi at a Chicago sushi restaurant on March 1, I made my usual mistake with well-known directors: mention that I had interviewed him before. He, understandably, blanked, since the interview was 20 years ago for his 1997 indie comedy "My ...
'The Rondo of the Squall': More damp squib than thrilling storm
The film's formulas cover lead actor Hiroshi Abe's best efforts in a white blanket of mediocrity.
Okita keeps every hair in place
Millions of Japanese have come from the countryside to find their fortunes in Tokyo, with most arriving in the postwar boom when jobs were everywhere and the future looked bright. But many, like the punk rocker hero of Shuichi Okita's offbeat, warm-hearted family comedy ...
Present For You: Baffling but pioneering stop-motion film
Stop-motion animation, in which objects are photographed frame by frame to achieve the illusion of motion, is nearly as old as the movies. But as recent films by Nick Park ("Chicken Run"), Henry Selick ("The Nightmare Before Christmas"), Tim Burton ("Frankenweenie") and Wes Anderson ("Fantastic ...
