From Rekuru:

I’m really grateful to have had the chance to see Kurosawa’s last film, Dreams (1990), at the New York Film Forum. Not only is it an incredible film–certainly one of his best–but it provides, if in a problematic form, a sort of answer to the two questions Kurosawa claims to have struggled with all his life: Why can’t people be happier? and Why can’t they be happier together? More »

From Rekuru:

Of course, no discussion of Akira Kurosawa would be complete without a mention of Kurosawa’s (arguably) best and (certainly) best-known film: The Seven Samurai. More »

From Rekuru: Rekuru’s Japanese Cinema Royale Special is still going strong and today, we look at the Playstation 2 title Onimusha 3: Demon Siege which not only stars japanese heart-throb Takeshi Kaneshiro but hit-man with a heart Jean Reno as well. As always, a trailer will follow the review for your viewing pleasure. More »

From Rekuru: Prepare yourself Japanese film enthusiasts and mark your calendars because on March 30th, distributor Well Go USA is unleashing some chainsaw swinging, wire-fu, CGI goodness. More »

From Rekuru: Japan has seen a surge of shock horror films in the past decade with such movies as Ichi the Killer, Audition, and now, The Machine Girl joins these ranks. More »

From Rekuru: If you don’t know who Takeshi Kaneshiro is (shame on you), this post should prove quite enlightening. Known mostly for his roles in Chungking Express, House of Flying Daggers, Fallen Angels, as well as a host of other films, Kaneshiro is one of Japan’s finest actors and this post is going to show you just why… More »

From Rekuru:

Perhaps motivated by white guilt (having only a trace of Asian heritage myself), I’ve always opposed characterizations of Japanese art as subtle, inscrutable, feminine or “Zen” (whatever that means)…and then I encounter an artist who actually is all those things: filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Ozu is perhaps Kurosawa’s most serious competition for the title of “greatest twentieth century Japanese director,” and his name routinely appears on lists of the greatest directors of all time. More »

From Rekuru: Forget Sherlock Holmes, there’s a new detective in town. The popular manga Konchu Tantei Yoshida Yoshimi (Insect Detective Yoshimi Yoshida) is getting the silver screen treatment this April. More »

From Rekuru:

I rave so much about Japanese art that it may seem like as far as I’m concerned, everything is the “best” or “most important” or “life-changing” or oh-so-much better than its Western counterpart. But getting down to it. Across all genres–what is the best, that is the one most important story told in recent years: the narrative of modern Japan? As an example of what I mean by this, in America for a long time it was Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby. Like it or not (I personally don’t), that’s basically the story of America. As far as post-War Japan goes, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a strong candidate. So is Barefoot Gen. But I have to put my money on the pop-culture phenomenon of Battle Royale. More »

From Rekuru:

So up until now, I’ve been writing about Akira Kurosawa films I had already seen; only now have I taken advantage of the riches of the Film Forum going on now in New York and seen for the first time Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963). I do encourage everyone living in striking distance of New York to get out and attend this thing; it’s a great opportunity. As for High and Low itself, I strongly recommend it–perhaps not on a level with Rashomon and Ran, but at the same time, it presents a side of Kurosawa you don’t get from his best known films. More »

From Rekuru: “Freedom is something you have to fight for.” - Professor Yagihara

This is a line from Akira Kurosawa’s 1946 film No Regrets for Our Youth which, coincidentally, sums up the entire theme of the film. Set in Kyoto after the Manchurian Incident, No Regrets tells the story of three classmates attending Kyoto University and their life-long struggle for freedom amidst militaristic, fascist opposition. While the film has long gone unnoticed (most likely due to it not being available on DVD until just recently), No Regrets is a powerful and fantastic film that’s definitely worth a watch. More »

From Rekuru:

Homer Simpson: Aw Marge, why do we hafta go to Japan? Marge Simpson: You liked Rashomon. Homer: That’s not how I remember it. More »

From Rekuru:

Fresh to the Tokyo police force Murakami (longtime Kurosawa regular Toshiro Mifune) is not having a good day. Besides having his gun stolen on a crowded bus, his police-issued firearm is now being used by a criminal for robberies and worse. What’s a guy to do? Well, take to the hot summer streets and do some detective work for one. More »

From Rekuru: Cinephiles rejoice! One of cinema’s greatest directors of all time is getting the Rekuru special treatment this month. More »

Today’s the big day — opening nite for the New York Asian Film Festival! Kicking off 2009 will be WRITTEN BY from writer/director Wai Ka-fai, who will be live in and in person all the way from Hong Kong tonight. The rumors are true that Lau Ching-wan has canceled his appearances in New York City due to fear of swine flu. (Yes. Really.) Tonight’s screening is sold out at the IFC Center, so please stop messaging for help buying tickets. I can’t help you. No one can now. But Wai Ka-fai will be attendance at all three screening of WRITTEN BY. Speaking of which, we have our NYAFF ticket winners! More »

19 Comments

Considering Tokyo Sonata’s focus is on a seemingly typical and mundane nuclear family, it would be an understatement to say that Kiyoshi’s Kurosawa’s most recent film is a departure from his modus operandi. Being aware—more than anyone—of his repertoire of J-horror, Kurosawa openly acknowledges his shift in genre, storytelling, style and ambiance: I am hoping that Tokyo Sonata will be received by the audience as a film unlike any of my previous works. More »

22 Comments

In New York City this week, Japan Society will kick off a ten-day introspective film series entitled Shinjuku Ecstasy. From February 18 till March 1, the series will feature twelve classic independent films from the Art Theatre Guild of Japan.

Originally conceived in 1961 as a distributor of European art films in Japan, the Art Theater Guild (ATG) began co-producing Japanese independent films in 1967. For the next 30 years, the ATG became a major force in the art-house movement in Japan. ATG filmmakers tackled controversial subjects in Japan, such as homosexuality and capital punishment. More »

9 Comments

We had an incredible number of entries for the world premiere of YATTERMAN (ヤッターマン) with director Takashi Miike and actor and Arashi-singer Sho Sakurai! So what did we do about it? We got more tickets!

That’s right. Instead of five pairs of tickets, we’re giving out ten pairs of tickets. TEN. More »

24 Comments

Hollywood certainly likes to recycle/remake itself - almost to death. To be more specific, in the past few years, a wave of Asian horror movie remakes has reached U.S. and European shores, sometimes even drowning this specific but fast (ever?)-expanding market, to the point that the phenomenon was spoofed in the tagline for Hatchet, which proclaimed: “It’s not a sequel, it’s not a remake, and it’s not based on a Japanese one”. More »

15 Comments

Tora-san arrived on the screen when anything was possible if you worked hard enough, and people were forward-thinking and full of energy… A penniless, comic anti-hero, Tora-san lacked good looks and smarts and remained oblivious to the country’s modernization, living solely to bring happiness to those he loved. –Yoji Yamada, Director

It’s a busy month for Japan Society in New York City! They spent an entire weekend at the New York Anime Festival, then invited us in for a private advance look at the new gallery exhibition New Bamboo. Then we dropped by to sit it on Dan Pink’s Adventures in Manga lecture. Now Monthly Classics begins again with Best of Tora-san on Friday, October 17, at 7:30pm!

Last year the Japan Society Film Program launched the highly successful Monthly Classics film series. A classic Japanese film was screened once a month as part of a curated series that ran for over several months. Last year’s series was the classic Nikkatsu films that defined the modern yakuza genre. The term Nikatsu came from Nikkatsu studio, Japan’s oldest film studio that produced many of the most popular yakuza films of the 1960s and 70s.

This year Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp (Otoko wa tsuraiyo), the movie that introduced Tora-san to the world in 1969, kicks off the Best of Tora-san film series. More »

7 Comments