Film / Reviews Mar 17, 2022
‘Straying’: The realities of a love quadrangle
by Mark Schilling
Rikiya Imaizumi’s comedy earns its R15 classification with sex scenes that reveal the honest and even humorous moments in intimate relationships.
Film / Reviews Oct 21, 2021
‘Skeleton Flowers’: A quiet drama of honesty and growth
by Mark Schilling
In Rikiya Imaizumi’s latest film, newcomer Sara Shida gives a centered performance as an artsy teen coming to terms with her father’s new relationship and her mother’s reappearance.
Film / Reviews Apr 21, 2021
‘Over the Town’: Offbeat locals give slacker’s life color
by Mark Schilling
Rikiya Imaizumi’s film about modern love may center on a scruffy man-child and his series of failures, but it’s the four women who become involved with him that give the story heart.
Film / Reviews Feb 10, 2021
‘In Those Days’: Say hello to the fanboy life of days gone by
by James Hadfield
Rikiya Imaizumi’s bittersweet comedy-drama delves into the fan culture that flourished during the heyday of idol collective Hello! Project in the early 2000s.
Film Jan 23, 2020
Actor Hio Miyazawa gives a voice to Japan's LGBTQ community in the new film 'his'
by Yukari Tanaka
Actor Hio Miyazawa gives a voice to sexual minorities in his latest role in Rikiya Imaizumi's latest film, "his."
Film / Reviews Apr 17, 2019
'Just Only Love': Looking for romance in all the wrong places
by James Hadfield
If you believe everything you read in the news, Japanese romance movies should really belong in the science fiction category. Just last week, a new study estimated that a quarter of people aged 18 to 39 in Japan had never had heterosexual intercourse, feeding ...
Film / Reviews Dec 30, 2015
'Their Distance' explores the pain of being young and in love
by Mark Schilling
'Honesty," Billy Joel famously lamented in song, "is hardly ever heard." The characters of Rikiya Imaizumi's ensemble drama "Their Distance" ("Shiranai, Futari") seem to have been listening: They are honest to a fault with each other about their feelings, even ones that hurt their ...
Film Oct 28, 2015
Killing time at the Tokyo International Film Festival
by James Hadfield
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 ...