Lily Franky

Film / Reviews Jan 31, 2018

'Blank 13': Dark dysfunctional-family drama offers no easy answers

by Mark Schilling

A father steps back into his family's lives, after a gap of 13 years, to tell them he is dying of cancer.

Film / Reviews Oct 5, 2016

My Dad and Mr. Ito: No one can be daddy's girl forever

by Mark Schilling

The opening of Yuki Tanada's new film "My Dad and Mr. Ito" promises a comedy of the quirky family variety. The 34-year-old Aya (Juri Ueno) and her 54-year-old lover (Lily Franky), whom she calls "Ito-san" (Mr. Ito), are living in age-inappropriate, tight-budgeted bliss when Aya's ...

Film / Reviews Sep 21, 2016

'Scoop!': Read all about it here

by Mark Schilling

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 ...

Film Sep 17, 2016

Yuki Tanada's new film sees the humor in societal changes

by Mark Schilling

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 ...

Film / Reviews Feb 17, 2016

'The Shell Collector' wields a healing kind of poison

by Mark Schilling

In English, you usually don't want to be compared to marine life. "Cold fish," "shark" and "whale" are not often intended as compliments, and "come out of your shell" is commonly addressed to the anti-social. Japanese have a somewhat different take on the undersea ...

Film / Reviews Oct 7, 2015

'Bakuman' depicts a life-or-death quest for manga success

by Mark Schilling

High school kids dream big dreams, and in Japan one of the biggest is to be a successful manga artist. The financial rewards for a hit manga published in a national magazine and sold in paperback editions are substantial. And the accompanying recognition and ...

Film / Reviews Jul 22, 2015

A second look at bloody WWII novel 'Fires on the Plain'

by Mark Schilling

Japanese war films typically frame themselves as anti-war, even when they glorify the sacrifices made by brave Japanese boys in defense of the homeland, as in the 2013 hit "Eien no Zero" ("The Eternal Zero"). Kon Ichikawa's 1959 war film "Nobi" ("Fires on the Plain") ...

Film Dec 26, 2013

Mark Schilling's 2013 Top 10: Farewell to Ghibli's anime masters

by Mark Schilling

Japanese films did quite well both commercially and critically in 2013, with Hayao Miyazaki's final feature animation, "Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises)," thumping the Hollywood competition at the local box office. But the industry's over-reliance on sure-thing manga, TV shows and novels for source ...