Tag - film

 
 

FILM

Yoshihiko Matsui’s “There Was Such a Thing Before” follows two high-school friends (Oshiro Maeda, left, and Airu Kubozuka) growing up in the aftermath of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant meltdown.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2025
‘There Was Such a Thing Before’: Fukushima grief and fury in monochrome
Eighteen years since his last feature, Yoshihiko Matsui is back with a somber Fukushima tale that demands attention, even as its drama feels stilted.
A woman walks past the poster of Lee Sang-il’s kabuki drama "Kokuho" outside a cinema in Tokyo's Roppongi district.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 18, 2025
From high risk to record-breaker, ‘Kokuho’ defied expectations to become a megahit
Lee Sang-il's three-hour kabuki drama overcame doubts over subject matter to find its audience.
A statue of young swordsman Tanjiro Kamado, the main character in the "Demon Slayer" anime franchise, is on display at a cinema in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 17, 2025
Japan’s box office belongs to 'Demon Slayer' as latest film ranks second all time
“Infinity Castle” entry has overtaken “Spirited Away,” making the franchise the undisputed king of Japan’s all-time box office.
Robert Redford attends the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018. The famed U.S. actor and director died at his home in Utah at the age of 89.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 16, 2025
Robert Redford, screen idol turned director and activist, dies at 89
Known for roles in "The Sting" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the actor also founded the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
A statue of young swordsman Tanjiro Kamado, the title character in the "Demon Slayer" anime franchise, is displayed at a cinema in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district on Sept. 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2025
Sony’s ‘Demon Slayer’ sets $70 million anime debut record
The "Infinity Castle" film brought in $70 million, topping the previous $31 million record set by "Pokemon: The First Movie — Mewtwo Strikes Back" in 1999.
Two 100-meter sprinters face the pressures of their sport, sometimes as friends, sometimes as rivals, from childhood to the pros in "100 Meters."
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2025
‘100 Meters’ brings kinetic energy to rivalry drama
In his latest film, Kenji Iwaisawa turns a 10-second dash into cinema with rotoscoping and a bigger production than his indie masterpiece "On-Gaku: Our Sound."
Anton Felix Schindler (Yuki Yamada, left) sets out to rewrite the history of his late employer, Ludwig van Beethoven (Arata Furuta, right), in Kazuaki Seki’s “Faking Beethoven.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2025
'Faking Beethoven’: Comedic musical biopic forgets to have fun
Kazuaki Seki’s comedy centers on the notorious fibber who shaped a maestro’s myth.
The first installment of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle" trilogy released in July, had earned ¥31.42 billion as of Sunday.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 9, 2025
Latest 'Demon Slayer' film slays at box office, earning over ¥30 billion
The latest film topped ¥10 billion in box-office revenue in the first eight days of its release and ¥22 billion in the first 25 days before hitting ¥31.42 billion as of Sunday.
A group of children try to save the world from environmental collapse, one prank at a time, in “How Dare You.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2025
‘How Dare You’ turns environmental activism into a youthful adventure
In her latest film, director Mipo Oh brings a serious edge to the lighthearted hijinks of three kids trying to save the world from environmental collapse, one prank at a time.
Suzu Hirose stars in the film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel, “A Pale View of Hills.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2025
‘A Pale View of Hills’: A chilling, borderless adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel
Kei Ishikawa turns the Nobel Prize-winning author’s novel into a haunting meditation on memory, loss and elusive truths.
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 28, 2025
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
The medium could serve as a doorway to exploring the complexities behind the war and the horrors associated with it.
A middle school student (Chiyuri Nishiguchi) tries to keep her family afloat following the sudden death of her mother in Yoshihiko Taniguchi’s “Happy Life.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2025
‘Happy Life’ brings dignity to family’s struggle with grief and poverty
Yoshihiko Taniguchi’s film balances realism and compassion in its depiction of a family adrift after a sudden death.
Artistically talented 14-year-old Sosuke (Konosuke Harada) finds himself pulled into deeper currents in his coastal town in “Seaside Serendipity.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2025
‘Seaside Serendipity’: A pastel-soaked reverie on youthful creativity
Satoko Yokohama’s film blends watercolor whimsy, bohemian houseguests and a school newspaper scoop gone too far into a youth-skewed summer tale.
A Japanese soldier (Eiji Funakoshi) with tuberculosis struggles to survive in the Filipino countryside during World War II in “Fires on the Plain.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 20, 2025
‘Fires on the Plain’: Haunting imagery in restored 1959 war film stands the test of time
Now restored in 4K, Kon Ichikawa’s film is a far from simple survival story that stares into humanity’s darkest corners.
A scene from "Kokuho"
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 19, 2025
'Kokuho' rakes in over ¥10 billion at the box office
"Kokuho" is now the third-highest-grossing Japanese live-action movie ever after the 2003 film "Bayside Shakedown 2" and the 1983 movie "Antarctica."
Sho Miyake receives the Pardo d'Oro, or Golden Leopard, prize at the award ceremony of the 78th Locarno Film Festival held in Locarno, southern Switzerland, on Saturday.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2025
Sho Miyake's 'Tabi to Hibi' wins top prize at Locarno Film Festival
This is the first Japanese movie to receive the award since 2007, when "Ai no Yokan" ("The Rebirth"), directed by Masahito Kobayashi, was given the prize.
Osaka Asian Film Festival, which will hold its 21st edition early to draw on Expo 2025 visitors, is set to open on Aug. 29 with a restoration of “Tracing to Expo ’70.” The Taiwanese film follows a Japan-raised Taiwanese woman whose search for her long-lost benefactor takes her to the 1970 Osaka Expo.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2025
Osaka Asian Film Festival gets an expo boost
In a rare double bill, the Osaka Asian Film Festival will stage a special summer edition to make the most out of interest in the ongoing world's fair.
Currently, operators of theaters and music halls can get a one-third reduction in the fixed property and city planning taxes if they carry out barrier-free renovations that meet government standards.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025
Japan eyes tax relief for barrier-free movie theaters
The initiative aims to help people enjoy cultural and artistic activities regardless of their disability.
Filmmakers interview the general manager of a Bald Men's club for an upcoming Flix Oven documentary that will be available via the streaming platform Samansa.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 14, 2025
Samansa bets on commuter cinema
As attention spans get shorter, a Japanese startup is banking on short films as easily digestible entertainment.
Modeled on a real-life World World II figure, Yutaka Takenouchi plays the captain of a “lucky” Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer in “Yukikaze.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 14, 2025
‘Yukikaze’ turns fabled warship into floating snoozefest
The story of a “lucky” Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer that survived World War II is given a lightly fictionalized treatment in Toshihisa Yamada's first feature.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’