The Sadness In Japanese Films
Because Your Life Is Not Real Enough Japanese Films To Drive You To Depths Of Sadness Like No Other.
Caution: Stay Away If You Are Fond Of Films From Disney, Think Marvel's Monthly Release Schedule Features Cool Acting, Look Forward To The Next Fifteen Star Wars 'Franchise' Flicks Or Count Adam Sandler, Scarlet Johansson, Jeff Goldblum Et Al As Having Merit.
Caution: Stay Away If You Are Fond Of Films From Disney, Think Marvel's Monthly Release Schedule Features Cool Acting, Look Forward To The Next Fifteen Star Wars 'Franchise' Flicks Or Count Adam Sandler, Scarlet Johansson, Jeff Goldblum Et Al As Having Merit.
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- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûChieko HigashiyamaSô YamamuraAn old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiBanafsheh ModaressiStarsRin TakanashiTadashi OkunoRyô KaseIn Tokyo, a young sex worker develops an unexpected connection with a widower over a period of two days.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsMiho KannoHidetoshi NishijimaTatsuya MihashiThree stories of never-ending love.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaTsukie MatsuuraIchirô SugaiFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
- DirectorKei KumaiStarsMisa ShimizuNagiko TônoMasatoshi NagaseO-Shin is a young brothel worker who, one night, helps a young samurai escape from his pursuers. Against the warnings of her fellow workers, particularly Kikuno and the brothel's owner, O-Shin falls in love with the samurai.
- DirectorJun IchikawaStarsIssei OgataRie MiyazawaShinohara TakahumiWhen technical illustrator Tony Takitani asks his wife to resist her all-consuming obsession for designer clothes, the consequences are tragic.
- StarsKyôko KoizumiHazuki KimuraManatsu KimuraThe murder of a young girl is never solved. Her mother who is torn by grief puts a curse on the four of the girl's classmates. These four girls are forced into adulthood which eventually triggers a tragic chain of events.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaYoshiaki HanayagiKyôko KagawaIn medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.
- DirectorKôji FukadaStarsTadanobu AsanoMariko TsutsuiTaiga NakanoToshio hires Yasaka in his workshop. This old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsAoi MiyazakiTakao OsawaHaru KurokiAfter her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaChikage AwashimaA Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaKokinji KatsuraAs a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaTamao NakamuraHis ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraIneko ArimaChishû RyûTwo sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
- DirectorYôichi SaiStarsKaoru KobayashiKippei ShînaTeruyuki KagawaAs a Labrador puppy, Quill is sent to live with a couple, Isamu and Mitsuko Nii, who work as volunteers, training guide dogs (seeing eye dogs). When he grows to an adult dog, he is taken to a guide dog school, by a friendly, yet firm trainer Satoru Tawada. Although Quill is a little slower than the other dogs at the school, he seems to have an unusual 'empathy' and remarkable patience with his trainers. Tawade decides that Quill would be the ideal guide dog for Mitsuru Watanabe, but Wanatabe, a lonely and ill-tempered middle aged man, isn't as enthusiastic - he would "would rather sleep than be dragged around by a dog.". From here, the story is narrated by Wanatabe's daughter, Mitsuko, and slowly, Wantanbe is rehabilitated, venturing into the outside world, and learning, not only to trust other humans, but the animal at his side who guides him.
- DirectorSeijirô KôyamaStarsTatsuya NakadaiKaoru YachigusaToshinori OmiThe true story about a dog's loyalty to its master, even after his death.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsHiroyuki SanadaRie MiyazawaNenji KobayashiAs the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsTadanobu AsanoMayumi TanakaChieko BaishôBased on childhood days of Teruyo Nogami.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsSayuri YoshinagaTsurube ShôfukuteiYû AoiGinko seems to be living the good life: She's the respectable owner of a neighborhood drug store in Tokyo, and her daughter Koharu is about to get married to a doctor. However, Koharu's wedding day also brings homes Ginko's younger brother Tetsuro, a failed actor and a hard drinker who shows up causing trouble. Having covered for him all her life, Ginko is ready to disown her burdensome younger brother, but some things are easier said than done...
- DirectorAkira NagaiStarsMauro CaiazzaGaku HamadaMieko HaradaYoung mailman finds out he has no time left due to a terminal disease. Suddenly he is approached by a devil that offers him to live more time if he eliminates something from the world. Young mailman then thinks about his relationship with friends, ex-partners, family.
- DirectorYuki TanadaStarsYû AoiMirai MoriyamaPierre TakiA 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsKatsuo NakamuraMariko KagaYumiko NogawaAfter Atsushi commits murder, he is blackmailed into keeping a suitcase full of embezzled money. What follows is a descent into lustful, reckless actions and regret.
- DirectorKen YoshidaStarsKazunari NinomiyaRosa KatôIkkei WatanabeReal story about about a man who was told for many years that he was not employable, but threw all of his effort into working as a door-to-door salesman. Despite the pain attributed to his cerebral palsy, he walked eight to ten miles a day to meet his customers and achieved the highest sales for his company.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsKirin KikiMasatoshi NagaseKyara UchidaBurdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?
- DirectorKeisuke YoshidaStarsMaki HorikitaRyûhei MatsudaKimiko YoSince her father died, Mugiko lives with her older brother, Norio. Her mother Ayako left home when she was little and never come back. But one day,she suddenly appears. What will happen to this estranged family?
- DirectorTakahisa ZezeStarsMasaki OkadaNana EikuraTakuro AtsukiTwo young lonely people form a bond as they go through the homes of the recently departed people.
- DirectorAtsushi FunahashiStarsAsami UsudaTakahiro MiuraYô TakahashiA young woman Shiori faces an accidental death of her beloved husband at a local industrial town, recovering from the 3.11 Tsunami disaster. Once detesting, Shiori is hesitant to admit her attraction for Takumi, the reason for the death of her husband. This is a story of a young woman, who forgives a man whom she once hated, and overcomes the past.
- DirectorKazuyuki MorosawaStarsKentaro AraiAvery FaneMasaya KikawadaRina is the it girl. She is thin, has long hair, is flaunting and dresses attractively. Every man wants to be with her and every woman wants to be like her. She also happens to be self-absorbed, mean and nasty. Then calamity hits and she is diagnosed with an illness. The meaning of friendship and true friends and love soon become apparent.
- DirectorShigeyoshi SuzukiYoneo OtaStarsKeiko TakatsuRintarô FujimaYôyô KojimaA girl sets out on a lonely journey when a father decides it is best for his young daughter to go live with his brother and her uncle. The trek begins on a train, but has to continue on foot and by cart when a stranger gives her a lift. Alas, there is not any joy, compassion or kindness to be found; least of all at the uncle's home where she is both a surprise arrival and unwanted. She is sold to servitude and employment soon. Her world and life spirals downward as the girl finds how she is not able to rely on family, humanity or god for an iota of grace or assistance.
- DirectorRyôta NakanoStarsRie MiyazawaHana SugisakiAoi ItôA strict, but caring mother has an awakening when she is told she has cancer and it is terminal. She has a few months. She needs to complete her tasks in that short time frame.
- DirectorYasutaka OhtsugiStarsChieko MatsubaraTakashi SasanoKenta SasanoA schoolboy has a crush on his pretty class-mate Keiko on the inland island of Awaji. He figures her routine of taking baths at the public one is a good way to get to know her, but he first has to overcome his sensitivity to hot water, the presence of other school-mates and of course his shyness. He has never mustered the courage to speak to her in class after all.
- DirectorYukihiko TsutsumiStarsRyôko ShinoharaHidetoshi NishijimaKentarô SakaguchiSeparated mother Kaoruko awaits the graduation of their daughter for the divorce proceedings to begin and subsequently be finalized. Tragedy strikes when the daughter will never graduate. She is comatose and brain dead due to an accident.
- DirectorNobuhiro SuwaStarsShoko IkezuShinsuke KatoTomokazu MiuraInspired by an actual occurrence in Japan Haru who has relocated to Hiroshima in southern Japan comes across a rogue telephone booth in the middle of nowhere when she returns to Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. The unconnected telephone in a white booth is driven by superstition that it is a direct line to the dead. She and several locals converse and they share their stories and the different states of belief regarding the booth that is prevalent.
- StarsTsuyoshi KusanagiJun KunimuraYoh YoshidaIt has been ten years since the earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of coastal eastern Japan. Many died. Many of the survivors do not wish to remember. A couple send out special invitations and ask a select number of acquaintances over on this anniversary. The setting is their restaurant.
- StarsSakurako KonishiOshiro MaedaTasuku NagaokaShe has only a short time left. She is scared and alone and yet has to push through every day and soldier on despite not knowing if tomorrow comes. A chance meeting thanks to a cat brings her together with a drop-out. Then we get to know their stories.
- DirectorNatsuki ImaiStarsYui AragakiHaruma MiuraYûko AsanoMika is a fresh high school student who starts texting a mysterious boy. She is shocked when he reveals who he is - Hiro, a delinquent attending her school. What she doesn't know is that Hiro isn't as bad as he seems.