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May 03, 2024
 

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JAPANESE FILM

CULTURE / Film
Sep 27, 2016
French director Jean-Jacques Beineix to head jury for 29th Tokyo International Film Festival
More than 200 films will be screened, with 16 taking part in the competition section, at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) running from Oct. 25 to Nov. 3.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 7, 2016
The Yufuin Film Festival: a movie paradise on Earth
Before attending my first Yufuin Film Festival, which was held Aug. 24-28 this year, I wondered what attracted Japanese film folk — from nationally known actors to directors of zero-budget documentaries — to this town in northern Kyushu.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 18, 2016
Frankfurt's Nippon Connection brings together an extensive collection of Japanese films
What's the best place on the planet for catching up on the entire range of contemporary Japanese cinema, from experimental shorts to commercial hits? My candidate is Nippon Connection, a festival in Frankfurt, Germany, whose 16th edition unspools May 24-29. Headed by festival director Miram Klomfass and organized by an all-volunteer team, the festival is presenting nearly 100 films over six days, and will also host other Japanese cultural events.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 12, 2016
'Sion Sono: The Whispering Star'
April 3-July 10
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 4, 2015
Tokyo International Film Festival awards Brazilian film 'Nise' best film and actress prizes
Brazilian Roberto Berliner was so elated when his film "Nise — The Heart of Madness" won the top prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival over the weekend that he wished he could freely express his joy in his native Portuguese when giving his acceptance remarks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 28, 2015
Killing time at the Tokyo International Film Festival
Covering a film festival can turn anyone into a stickler for scheduling. Key screenings and Q&A sessions always seem to overlap and priorities collide. Do you stick with the stodgy Japanese biopic that you're supposed to be writing about, or sneak out halfway through to go watch something more entertaining? Is it wrong to skip that new Frederick Wiseman documentary simply because it's three hours long?
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 23, 2015
Rolling out the red carpet for the 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival
Overseas and domestic stars did the red carpet stroll near Roppongi Hills on Thursday ahead of the opening ceremony of the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs until Oct. 31.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2015
Tokyo film festival ups its domestic fare
The 28th edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which began yesterday, is the biggest event on the Japanese film calendar. And like any such event, TIFF has had its share of critics over the years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2015
Spotlight on Harada films is well-deserved
Following last year's embrace of anime and "content," 2015 sees the Tokyo International Film Festival reassert its credentials as an event, first and foremost, for cineastes. One particularly welcome addition is the new Japan Now section, a roundup of recent and upcoming movies from the likes of Hirokazu Koreeda, Shinya Tsukamoto and Yoji Yamada.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2015
Female fears at the dead center of J-horror
Japan is a scary place. It has inspired masters of horror over three centuries, from Akinari Ueda in the 1700s ("Ugetsu Monogatari") to Lafcadio Hearn ("Kwaidan") in the late 1800s, all the way to the 1990s, when Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Cure" and Hideo Nakata's "Ringu" were released, spawning a new homgreown genre that came to be known as "J-horror."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2015
Androids and the avant-garde: The best Japanese films screening at TIFF
The Tokyo International Film Festival offers a once-a-year chance to see Japanese movies, both new and classic, with English subtitles. Getting tickets, however, especially for the films in the Competition and Special Screenings sections, may not be easy. With that caveat, here are my personal picks among the Japanese films this year:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2015
Women are in trouble at the Tokyo International Film Festival
Bad things can happen to good women, especially in the movies. For me, the most intriguing films at TIFF this year feature women in trouble. Yes, men may be a lot harder to take down on-screen than women — requiring explosives, monsters and extremely fit assassins — but, in reality, girls are more resilient than guys. They often have more ideas and gumption, and can make do with less. Here are four films showing at TIFF that demonstrate how women reveal their powers when pushed into a corner.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2015
Rare orchids and misfit sex workers at the Tokyo International Film Festival
Some of the hottest tickets at TIFF each year are for films that have already secured a commercial release date in Japan. For all the high-minded talk about artistry and creativity, most viewers just want to see the big movies before everyone else. But spare a thought for the less commercial offerings on the lineup. These rare orchids and oddities are unlikely ever to see the inside of a multiplex and are worth catching on what might be their only cinematic outing in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 14, 2015
Restored and rediscovered Kon Ichikawa films to screen at TIFF
With the centennial of his birth this year, Promethean director Kon Ichikawa (1915-2008) is due for a revival. The upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival is accordingly screening three of his films in its new Japanese Cinema Classics section.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 30, 2015
Tokyo International Film Festival showcases classic anime, J-horror and yakuza films
The Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan's biggest film fest and a showcase for foreign movies that otherwise might never see the light of day here, will run from Oct. 22 to 31 this year. Opening the festival is Robert Zemekis' "The Walk," and the closer is local tearjerker "Kishuten Eki Taminaru" ("Terminal"), which features megastar Koichi Sato.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 29, 2015
'Obon no Ototo' is one director's attempt to portray his real life through a fictional self
'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 only a tenuous relationship with the filmmaker's actual biography.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 29, 2015
Tokyo International Film Festival promises a more diverse selection this year
Second-guessing the programming of the annual Tokyo International Film Festival is a favorite sport of movie types in Japan — I've been doing it myself for years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 22, 2015
Surviving the night of the long tentacular knives in 'Parasyte: Part 2'
When we left Shinichi (Shota Sometani) and his inseparable parasite companion Migi at the end of Takashi Yamazaki's 2014 sci-fi/horror hit "Kiseiju" ("Parasyte: Part 1"), the space-alien organisms who had found human hosts in the city of Higashi Fukuyama were not only slaughtering humans for food — with tentacles that snapped like whips and cut like knives — but organizing for what looked to be a takeover of the planet, with City Hall as a base and the newly elected mayor (Kazuki Kitamura) as a creepily smooth frontman.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 2, 2015
'April Fools' gets the wrong end of the practical-joke schtick
The Japanese film industry has themed many movies around that imported holiday, Christmas, or, more specifically, Christmas Eve, which has become Japan's date night of date nights. Even those outside the local film industry now celebrate special days that originated elsewhere, including Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and, as Junichi Ishikawa's new feel-good film makes clear from its title, April Fool's Day.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2015
Is Asian cinema caught in a festival feeding frenzy?
On March 5, tickets went on sale for Joe Hisaishi's concert at a 1,200-seat theater in Udine, Italy — and they were sold out in less than a week. In Japan, where Hisaishi is well known as a composer for his soundtracks to films by Hayao Miyazaki, Takeshi Kitano and many others, this rush for tickets would be expected. But for a town in Italy's northeast with a population of 100,000 it's completely out of the ordinary.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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