Film / Reviews Apr 14, 2022
‘Tombi: Father and Son’: Showa nostalgia misses the mark
by James Hadfield
Takahisa Zeze’s decades-spanning family drama is sentimental and unintentionally silly.
Film / Reviews Oct 7, 2021
‘In the Wake’: The trauma of 3/11 lingers, 10 years on
by James Hadfield
Takahisa Zeze’s murder drama focuses on the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the survivors who have been neglected by the social welfare system.
Film / Reviews May 26, 2021
'Tomorrow's Dinner Table': Three women are served an overwhelming helping of struggle
by James Hadfield
Mitsuki Takahata is a standout in Takahisa Zeze’s uneven multinarrative drama about the struggles of modern mothers.
Film / Reviews Oct 16, 2019
'The Promised Land': Zeze's latest is far from heaven-sent
by Mark Schilling
Takahisa Zeze unveils his latest feature, an ambitious film based on two short stories by best-selling author Shuichi Yoshida
Film / Reviews Jul 10, 2018
'The Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine': A sumo subplot stands out in a crowded film
by Mark Schilling
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. I'm not sure if Takahisa Zeze knows this phrase but it applies to the heroes of his new film, "The Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine," an overly long, high-energy passion project that languished in development hell for ...
Film / Reviews Nov 22, 2017
'The Lowlife': A complicated look at the motivations of AV actresses
by Mark Schilling
Poverty and debt are two traditional reasons for becoming a porn actress. But as Takahisa Zeze's new film "The Lowlife" nonjudgmentally shows, the women who work in Japan's giant AV (adult video) industry today may also have other, more personal motivations, though they ...