Akira Osaki

Film / Reviews Aug 28, 2019

'Mugen Foundation': When adolescence becomes too much

by Mark Schilling

The seishun eiga (youth film) is not exclusive to Japan — plenty of films from elsewhere deal with the joys and agonies of adolescence — but this popular genre has acquired certain only-in-Japan quirks. For one thing, many seishun eiga directors are old enough to ...

Film / Reviews Jul 29, 2015

'Obon no Ototo' is one director's attempt to portray his real life through a fictional self

by Mark Schilling

'Life imitates art far more than art imitates life," quipped Oscar Wilde, but in the film world mining one's own life for the sake of art — or rather, a script — is an ancient and hallowed practice. The resulting film, however, may have ...