Nippon Akademi sho 2000-2009
Movies to watch awarded or nominated in the Japan Academy Prize in the '00s
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- DirectorTakashi KoizumiStarsAkira TeraoYoshiko MiyazakiShirô MifuneDuring a downpour, a generous ronin and his supporting wife are stranded at a country inn. The ronin comes to the attention of a lord who wants to hire him as an instructor for his men, who treat the ronin with disrespect.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
- 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.
- DirectorYôjirô TakitaStarsKiichi NakaiKôichi SatôYui NatsukawaA samurai goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family.
- DirectorKiyoshi SasabeStarsAkira TeraoMieko HaradaHidetaka YoshiokaSoichiro Kaji killed his wife who suffers from Parkinson's disease, he surrenders to police two days later. Tops of the police wish an early settlement of the affair by fair means or foul because he is a former detective and an instructor at police academy now. Detective Shiki questions Kaji closely about what he did two days after the murder, however Kaji keeps silent about it. What was he doing for two days? Why doesn't he confess it?
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsMaki HorikitaHidetaka YoshiokaShin'ichi TsutsumiLeaving her provincial home, teenage Mutsuko arrives in Tokyo by train to take a job in a major automotive company but finds that she is employed by a small auto repair shop owned by Norifumi Suzuki. Suzuki's hair-trigger temper is held somewhat in check by the motherly instincts of his wife, Tomoe, and his young son Ippei immediately bonds with Mutsuko as if she were his older sister. The Suzuki shop lies almost in the shadow of the Tokyo Tower as it rises steadily above the skyline during construction in 1958. Others in the neighborhood also are striving to better themselves as Japan continues to emerge from the shadow of war. Hiromi has just abandoned her shady life as a dancer to start a sake bar. Abandoned by his single mother, young Junnosuke is first handed off to Hiromi but she passes him off to Ryunosuke Chagawa, a struggling writer who runs a candy shop and only manages to sell adventure stories for boys as his serious novels continue to be rejected. Junnosuke is an avid reader of Chagawa's stories and begins to idolize him upon learning about his authorship. Junnosuke also writes stories, and makes friends with Ippei and others when they discover his tales that show Japan in the hi-tech future of the 21st century.
- DirectorSang-il LeeStarsYasuko MatsuyukiEtsushi ToyokawaYû AoiYoung women in a small Japanese town look to revive their home's declining fortunes by building a Hawaiian village tourist attraction.
- DirectorJoji MatsuokaStarsJoe OdagiriKirin KikiYayako UchidaMasaya is going through a period of intensely rebellious behavior. He then learned that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.
- DirectorYôjirô TakitaStarsMasahiro MotokiRyôko HirosueTsutomu YamazakiSoon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
- DirectorSetsurô WakamatsuStarsKen WatanabeShun SugataTae KimuraA drama based on the 1985 plane crash that caused 520 deaths, the worst aviation event in Japanese history.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsYûta KanaiHidekazu AkaiRei AsamiBored with school, 15-year-old Daisuke Kawashima embarks on a pilgrimage to visit the 7,000-year-old cedar tree on distant Yakushima Island. Through his journey, Daisuke meets a number of interesting people, including friendly truck driver Sumire and a mysterious mountaineer girl.
- DirectorYukio FukamachiStarsSayuri YoshinagaTetsuya WatariReiko TakashimaThough she was sold to a geisha house at a young age, Aihara (Yoshinaga) has since become a master samisen player and woman of great elegance. Though not especially rich, she doles out money to street kids, in particular, a pretty young flower vendor named Oyuki, who becomes Aihara's godchild of sorts. Yet when a geisha (Reiko Takashima) from a rival red-light district insults Aihara and her brethren, she fights back. Soon an all-out geisha war looms. Dapper businessman and amateur scholar Tojiro Koga (Tetsuya Watari) appears on the scene and defuses tempers -- suggesting that difference be settled through a competition of artistic abilities. Smitten with her talent and mature beauty, Koga invites Aihara to record Nagasaki folk songs before they disappear forever.
- DirectorHiroyuki NasuStarsYûko NakazawaKaori IidaNatsumi AbeMembers of a high-school girls track team train to compete in a long-distance relay race.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsNaoto TakenakaKeiko OginomeHideko YoshidaFilm inspired by the life of Japanese actor Taiji Tonoyama, with whom Kaneto Shindo had worked on many occasions, with the help of archive images and fragments of the most famous films of the director. The actress Nobuko Otowa adds dialogues facing the camera, as if she was talking to Tonoyama and remembering together old episodes of the interpreter, a past marked by alcoholism and a hectic sex life.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKoji YakushoYûko AsanoTsurutarô KataokaNew magistrate cleans up a corrupt town in his own comic Samurai way.
- DirectorTetsuo ShinoharaStarsRena TanakaMieko HaradaMitsuru HirataSatoka Aida, a 17-year high school student, comes to know that her mothers hospitalization for cancer is disturbing the harmony of her home life. Satoka rarely communicates with her father like in many Japanese families, and without her mother, her relationship with her father deteriorates. Satoka one day finds an unsent love letter written by her mother long ago to her first love. Satoka on reading the letter sets out to fulfill her mothers long lost wish to meet her first love under the Cherry Tree of Wishes in her mothers hometown. But her mothers first love, Shinchio Fujiki is no longer the dashingly handsome young man mentioned in her mothers letter.
- DirectorKang Je-kyuStarsHan Suk-kyuChoi Min-sikYunjin KimSouth Korean agents Ryu and Lee are tracking a female assassin from North Korea who has mysteriously disappeared. With new killings and the theft of a deadly bomb, time is running out to catch her.
- DirectorTetsuo ShinoharaStarsThane CamusKyôko FukadaShuntaro HaniSome students decide to set up a play written by one of their classmates, who has commited suicide. The play is based on a tragic and mysterious legend about a love affair between two teachers at the school long ago. Some girls then accidentally stumble over some information about the legend, and the girl who commited suicide. Shortly after, the girls start turning up dead in seeming accidents.
- DirectorShinobu YaguchiStarsSatoshi TsumabukiHiroshi TamakiAkifumi MiuraIn a Japanese high school, a class of adolescent geeks joins the new synchronized swimming teacher and takes up the challenge to take part in the competition, in spite of the mockeries of the "real sportsmen".
- DirectorTonkô HorikawaStarsSayuri YoshinagaYûki AmamiTôru KazamaBased on the ancient Japanese Tale of Genji. This film is set in 900AD and tells the story of a famous female writer of the time, Murasaki Shikibu. Her story begins from the death of her husband, a Japanese noble, then moves on to her recruitment to train the Prince's young 'wives in waiting'. It is dotted throughout and actually composed mainly of one of the fictional stories she wrote, the tale of Genji. Genji is a rich playboy who falls in love and has a son to his stepmother. He falls in love often and has many wives whom are all completely subservient to him. Genji is played by a woman actress from the all-female Takarazuka theatre. The two interrelating stories are also interrupted occasionally by fantasimical musical clips from a past Japanese teen-idol, Seiko Matsuda.
- DirectorKôki MitaniStarsToshiaki KarasawaKunie TanakaNaoki TanakaIt is old against new and modern against tradition when a couple builds their dream house. The wife's father is in the construction business so he would be the natural choice to take the lead, but his daughter is bent on having a modern house and retains a younger man to complete the job. The father's help being still required things devolve into a clash of styles, wills and old Japan with the new. This is the film to make you enjoy or detest the choice of tiles.
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsKen TakakuraYûko TanakaIsao NatsuyagiA Japanese love story that takes place during World War 2. It follows a young Japanese man who goes to war and tries to stay connected to his true love.
- DirectorIsamu NakaeStarsYutaka TakenouchiKelly ChenMichael WongA man is studying abroad in Italy, and while he does well, he yearns for his true love. After promising to meet her in Florence, they reconnect after not seeing one another for 10 years.
- DirectorMasako MatsuuraStarsSaki KagamiJoe OdagiriMaho NonamiOn her seventeenth birthday Aoi is raped by her friends. Her family rejects her and she runs away from home. Because money and materialistic wealth is now all she cares for, she ends up working in the sex industry.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKeiko KishiRyûji HaradaShôichi OzawaOkatsu is a widow raising five children - adults but still mama-dependent - in mid-eighteenth century Edo, Japan. Her frugality attracts unflattering comment even amid national tough times (the region is in famine) What Okatsu tells no one is that she saves so that a friend can start his own business once he's released from prison.
- DirectorJianqi HuoStarsRujun TengYe LiuHao ChenA father, a retiring mailman, walks his son over his job in the mountainous regions of Hunan province.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsMiho KannoHidetoshi NishijimaTatsuya MihashiThree stories of never-ending love.
- DirectorHideyuki HirayamaStarsMieko HaradaMitsuko BaishôShigeru MuroiFour down on their luck housewives murder their husbands and find whacky ways to hide the bodies!
- DirectorTetsuo ShinoharaStarsMakiko EsumiEtsushi ToyokawaToshio KakeiYu Miri is a writer who's just become pregnant by her married lover. When she decides to keep the baby without his help, her ex-boyfriend Yutaka, decides to help raise him.
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsTakeshi KaneshiroAnne SuzukiGorô KishitaniA young woman from the future forces a local gunman to help her stop an impending alien invasion which will wipe out the human race.
- DirectorTakashi KoizumiStarsAkira TeraoKanako HiguchiShoji AranoAn urban Japanese couple decide to move to the country.
- DirectorMasato HaradaStarsKoji YakushoRyûdô UzakiYûki AmamiWhen radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.
- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsAya UetoKenji KohashiHiroki NarimiyaRaised to deal in cold blooded death, the teenage assassin girl Azumi must defeat three evil warlords while also battling her own heart.
- DirectorAkihiko ShiotaStarsTsuyoshi KusanagiYûko TakeuchiYuriko IshidaWhen the dead come back to life, an inspector is sent to the town of Aso.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsIain GlenMasahiro MotokiKippei ShînaA foreign spy using the Sorge alias is assigned to Tokyo the capital of Japan just prior to the outbreak of World War II and in the midst of the Japanese imperial ambitions in Eastern Asia. The spy becomes acquainted with a sympathetic communist who like he is attached to the ideals of freedom and rule of the masses. Sorge is able to feed the Soviet Union useful information regarding the Axis allies and their movements in Asia and beyond.
- DirectorKatsuyuki MotohiroStarsYûji OdaToshirô YanagibaEri FukatsuA special investigative team takes on a strange murder case. As they trace the killer, another murder happens and a witness shows up, making things even more confusing.
- DirectorSatoshi IsakaStarsNaohito FujikiYukie NakamaRyûdô UzakiKidnapping and deceit abound in this thriller. From romance to mild-action, this movie has it all.
- DirectorJunji SakamotoStarsAlisa MizukiYûma YamotoYuki TanakaA young Japanese boy's life is changed when his sister returns to the small island, full of eccentric characters, where he lives.
- DirectorJae-young KwakStarsCha Tae-hyunJun Ji-hyunIn-mun KimA young man sees a drunk, cute woman standing too close to the tracks at a metro station in Seoul and pulls her back. She ends up getting him into trouble repeatedly after that, starting on the train.
- DirectorKenta FukasakuKinji FukasakuStarsTatsuya FujiwaraAi MaedaShûgo OshinariThree years after the failure of the last BR program, a second act is forged and a class of students is sent to an island with one objective: kill international terrorist Shuya Nanahara.
- DirectorTomoyuki FurumayaStarsMasami NagasawaShun OguriAtsushi ItôSatomi is not putting much effort into her school work. She is told by her instructor that she is short of the minimum number of credits to advance. One option is for her to participate in the Robot Club, which is participating in a robot contest that is a single-elimination challenge. Satomi and the club begin working to rise to the top.
- DirectorShinobu YaguchiStarsJuri UenoYûta HiraokaShihori KanjiyaA tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up vitiating and replacing the schools brass band.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsMasatoshi NagaseTakako MatsuHidetaka YoshiokaA 19th Century samurai, held in low esteem due to an action by his late father, must resolve his history with a maid and with his close friend.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaKyôka SuzukiAtsuro WatabeA down-and-out school teacher receives the calling to become the real life personification of an old television superhero, Zebraman.
- DirectorNobuhiro DoiStarsYûko TakeuchiShidô NakamuraAkashi TakeiA young woman returns from the dead to her guilt-ridden husband and son, but she cannot remember them.
- DirectorMamoru HoshiStarsKoji YakushoGorô InagakiMasaya TakahashiIn wartime Japan, a government censor tries to make the writer for a theater troupe alter his comedic script. As they work with and against each other, the script ends up developing in unexpected ways.
- DirectorHsiao-Hsien HouStarsYo HitotoTadanobu AsanoMasato HagiwaraThe story revolves around Yoko Inoue, a pregnant woman in search of a cafe that was frequented by a Taiwanese composer whose life she is researching.
- DirectorMitsuo KurotsuchiStarsSomegorô IchikawaYoshino KimuraKôji ImadaA young swordsman is forced into a tough situation. He must resolve a potential power struggle that involves his adolescent crush Fuku.
- DirectorKentarô OhtaniStarsMika NakashimaAoi MiyazakiHiroki NarimiyaA chance encounter between two girls of the same name, "Nana," triggers a series of events and relationships.
- DirectorIsao YukisadaStarsSatoshi TsumabukiYûko TakeuchiSôsuke TakaokaEarly 20th century Japan. Kiyoaki Matsugae, a young aristocrat falls in love with a girl he grew up with; Satoko Ayakura, who is to be married to a prince of the royal family.
- DirectorTakashi MinamotoStarsHitomi KurokiJun'ichi OkadaJun MatsumotoToru Kojima and his friend Koji are young student boys with one thing in common - they both love to date older women. Koji is a playboy with several women, young and older, whereas Toru is a romantic with his heart set on on certain lady.
- DirectorIsao YukisadaStarsSayuri YoshinagaKen WatanabeEtsushi ToyokawaIn 1868, after the fall of the Shogun-dominated Japan, the new government orders people from Awaji, near Kobe, to re-locate to the northern part of Hokkaido. These people once supported the now displaced Samurais of the older days. After two years, over 500 of them settled in their new land under the leadership of Hideaki, husband of Shino. However, as crops fail he is to go to Sapporo to learn new techniques of farming, leaving his wife and daughter for 5 years. All this time, the new community is constantly watched by the government which choose to again uproot them from their new homes.
- DirectorJunji SakamotoStarsHiroyuki SanadaAkira TeraoKôichi SatôA biological weapon is smuggled aboard a high tech battleship named Aegis. Militants are determined to unleash it on Japan. But a brave Chief Petty Officer has other ideas. He and an undercover agent attempt to stop them.
- DirectorKôki MitaniStarsKoji YakushoTakako MatsuKôichi SatôNew Year's Eve at a posh hotel and all should be shipshape. It is not. There is the traditional party, an official ceremony, entertainment and a special dinner planned and yet there is trouble everywhere. An Animal is on the loose, a politician to protect, a prostitute to handle, a bellhop to focus and a few things more.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRiisa NakaTakuya IshidaMitsutaka ItakuraA high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.
- DirectorGisaburô SugiiStarsEiji BandôKaba ChanShôzô HayashiyaAfter meeting on a stormy night, a goat Mei and a wolf Gabu become sworn friends. However, trouble sets afoot among the two unlikely friends after their secret gets out, putting them in a perilous yet amazing adventure.
- DirectorGorô MiyazakiStarsTimothy DaltonWillem DafoeMariska HargitayIn a mythical land, a man and a young boy investigate a series of unusual occurrences.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsMiki NakataniEita NagayamaYûsuke IseyaWhen Matsuko is murdered, her nephew, Sho, gets to progressively unveil the many details of her mysterious past, discovering she wasn't just a forgotten outcast and had led an intriguing yet bizarre life.
- DirectorMakoto BesshoKôichi ChigiraMahiro MaedaStarsTakako MatsuEiji WentzJoe CappellettiWhen eleven-year-old Wataru is told he can change his destiny by entering a magic gateway into another world, he jumps at the chance. But on his quest to find the Tower of Fortune and be granted any wish, he must conjure up all his bravery to battle a world of demons, his own friends and ultimately himself.
- DirectorNobuhiro DoiStarsSatoshi TsumabukiMasami NagasawaKumiko Asô8-year old Yotaro gains a 3-year old step-sister, Kaoru, when his mother marries a jazz musician who plays in a club in Naha, Okinawa where they live. Before long Kaoru's father deserts them, and not long afterward Yota's mother becomes terminally ill. Her dying wish is for him to watch out for Kaoru at his grandmother's place on a small island off the coast of Okinawa. He fulfills her wish and becomes very protective of his younger sister who calls him "nee-nee." Thirteen years later Kaoru returns to Naha and comes to live with him as she starts high school. Yota works hard making deliveries of vegetables from an open-air market by day, and in a restaurant (he is a licensed chef) by night to save money to fulfill his dream of having his own restaurant. He also assumes the role of pushing for Kaoru's entrance to a university. This allows less time for his beautiful girlfriend Keiko, the daughter of a doctor and a medical student at Ryukyu University. It seems that Yota's dreams start to come together when Mr. Kameoka sells him a place for a restaurant. Yota works hard constructing the place, but just as he is to open, the real owner appears. Being swindled, Yota is left with a large outstanding loan. Keiko's father's plans do not include a working class son-in-law as he explains when he offers to pay Yota's debt. Although he refuses, Yota concludes he is not best for Keiko's future. Years later he continues to overwork even after the debt is paid and Kaoru starts university study. With her feelings of love for Yota growing deeper, they mutually decide to live apart.
- DirectorShûsuke KanekoStarsTatsuya FujiwaraKen'ichi MatsuyamaAsaka SetoA battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.
- DirectorNaoko OgigamiStarsSatomi KobayashiHairi KatagiriMasako MotaiWhere are we welcome? On a quiet street in Helsinki, Sachie has opened a diner featuring rice balls. For a month she has no customers. Then, in short order, she has her first customer, meets Midori, a gangly Japanese tourist, and invites her to stay with her, and meets Masako, a formal and ethereal middle-aged woman whose luggage has gone missing. The three women work in the diner, interact, and serve customers. A somewhat brusque man teaches Sachie to make delicious coffee, then he returns under other circumstances. Three neighborhood women inspect the empty diner every day; will anything bring them inside? We learn why Sachie serves rice balls; but why Finland?
- DirectorNorihiro KoizumiStarsYuiTakashi TsukamotoKuniko AsagiKaoru has a sickness that hindered her to go out when the sun is up. Despite this sickness, she fell in love with a boy named Koji. If she decides to pursue her love, it will mean risking her life.
- DirectorEiichirô HasumiStarsHideaki ItôAi KatôRyûta SatôA small team of Coast Guard divers, including Daisuke, rappels onto the ship from a helicopter and begins to evacuate the panicked passengers. Then Daisuke finds a familiar face - Kanna. They had a tiff the night before about their wedding plans - Kanna had already made her dress, while Daisuke was still reluctant to propose - and she left for Tokyo, feeling like a fool. Now she see Daisuke in a different, more heroic light - but before they can properly reconcile, she has to evacuate, while Daisuke searches for stray passengers. He finds two - a pregnant woman (Ohtsuka Nene) and an excitable man (Fukikoshi Mitsuru) who reluctant to leave his expensive foreign car. Through a series of mishaps, Daisuke, his pal and fellow diver Tetsuya (Sato Ryuta), and the two passengers end up trapped on the ship, as the water seeps in from below and the flames roar above. The Coast Guard swings into action to save this quartet, but despite the presence of dozens of Guardsmen, the rescue operation does not go smoothly. Who can save them? (Source: Asian Wiki)
- DirectorTakashi KoizumiStarsAkira TeraoEri FukatsuTakanari SaitoThe story of a single mother housekeeper and a mathematics professor, who has a brain damage.
- DirectorKentarô OhtaniStarsMasami NagasawaMokomichi HayamiTsuyoshi AbeA diver on the university team must decide which of her two childhood friends she loves, and they're both on the swim team.
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsShin'ichi HatoriMaki HorikitaFumiyo KohinataChagawa finds it increasing difficult to support his young ward Junnosuke in his store across the street from the Suzuki garage on Third Street. Unless he can provide a better life, Junnosuke's rich father, Kawabata will take him away. Chagawa focuses once again on winning the "Akutagawa-sho" literary award and the prize money coming with it. Mika, a 7-year old relative of the Suzukis is left to stay with them when her father has business reverses. She is accustomed to a richer life style and at first her behavior is very spoiled but is humbled when sees the menial chores that her same-aged cousin Ippei performs. Mutsuko continues to work in the family as a mechanic but has an aspiring boyfriend Takeo, who is studying cooking. Chagawa seeks to find Hiromi, who has become successful once more as the exotic dancer "Betty."
- DirectorNobuo MizutaStarsSadao AbeShin'ichi TsutsumiKô ShibasakiKimihiko Onizuka is a salaryman infatuated with maiko (apprentice geisha) and whose greatest goal in life is to play a party game called "yakyuken" with one.
- DirectorKeiichi HaraStarsKazato TomizawaTakahiro YokokawaNaoki TanakaA boy befriends an orphaned water spirit, or Kappa, he found dried up and buried in a riverbank. He and his family help the creature adjust to life in the modern world.
- DirectorHiroshi HaraguchiMasayukiKazuya TsurumakiStarsMegumi OgataMegumi HayashibaraKotono MitsuishiThe fate of the world is threatened by seemingly monstrous entities known as Angels. NERV is an organization set up to counter this threat and it is up to young pilots to protect Earth but exactly what are the real motives behind NERV?
- DirectorMasayuki KojimaStarsAya UetoRyunosuke KamikiHiroyuki AmanoThe son of a prostitute and the son of a professional musician develop a bond of friendship through their love of playing the piano.
- DirectorMichael AriasHiroaki AndôStarsKazunari NinomiyaYû AoiYûsuke IseyaTwo boys defend Treasure Town and Yakuza try to take over and clear it for new development.
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsKahoMasaki OkadaElisa YanagiWhen eighth grade cool guy Hiromi transfers from Tokyo to a small elementary/middle school with only six kids enrolled, wholesome and honest Soyo becomes enthralled with his sophisticated world.
- DirectorKatsuhide MotokiStarsEiji WentzMao InoueRena TanakaKitaro is half-human and half-yokai (a general term for creatures and supernatural beings), orphaned as a child and dedicated to keeping the peace between the human and yokai worlds. Kitaro tries to save a high school girl named Yumeko and stop a stone with the power to control both worlds from falling into the wrong hands.
- DirectorTôru HayashiStarsYukie NakamaHidetoshi NishijimaYûko AsanoNothings more tragically mesmerizing than scandal behind castle walls amongst power-hungry, back-stabbing, sex-starved wives and concubines. Ooku also known as Oh-Oku: The Women of the Inner Palace is set during the short reign of the popular historical Japanese child-shogun, Tokugawa Ietsugu (1709-1716), in 1713 once his Shogun father passes away. In this story, he comes to power at a terribly young age and assumes rule at four years of age. The transition of monarchical power went fairly well, but the shuffling of administrative and related powers within Edo Castles inner court proved less so. The keep of the Edo Castle is divided into the outer, central, and inner palace. The inner chambers protects the maidens of the castle, guarding all their secrets.The business of government is carried out daily in it's central chambers, later to be led by a favorite of the previous shogun in the film. A pivotal figure in this 'new administration', he is Manabe Akifusa: Lord Protector of Echizen. That also makes him lord protector, left hand man, and shot-caller for shogun Jr. He is a 'handsome' former Noh actor whose influence becomes discreetly extended beyond gov & into the inner palace as well. Along w/ this suspected discretion he guards w/ his life, his new position doesn't sit well w/ senior shogunal councilors.The deceased-Shogun's wife, Lady Tenei-in (Reiko Takashima), who proved barren, and the current baby-Shogun who so happens to be the progeny of his father's concubine, Gekkou-in (Haruka Igawa), fit into this picture quite well. Understandably, the former Shogun's widow didnt take too kindly to the younger concubine's newly acquired political power due to her 4 yr. old son's rise in status. The rivalry evolves into an all out potential ousting, with the wicked Lady Tenei-in seeking a way to remove the good hearted, fragile Lady Gekkou-in from power. A mind blowing plot involving deceit, political intrigue, back-stabbing, death, illicit relationships, and a whole lot of women is hatched & this roller coaster-of-a-story kicks into high gear! The film depicts one of the most popular Japanese scandals of the inner courts in the Edo period.Their graves can be seen at Rysen-ji in Echizen. Redone and completed by Ms.BronzeKeilani -aka-bluepeas
- DirectorMika NinagawaStarsAnna TsuchiyaKippei ShînaYoshino KimuraA young girl is sold into a red-light district brothel and tries to adapt to life as an oiran (courtesan).
- DirectorIsshin InudôStarsNanako MatsushimaTakao OsawaNobuko MiyamotoAfter her mother is suddenly hospitalized because she has terminal cancer Sakiko returns to her home town Tokushima at the foot of Mt. Bizan. The relationship between mother and daughter isn't good but still she nurses her mother at her sickbed. She always thought her mother was a cold person until her mother gives her a box full of love letters from her father who she never knew and she starts to understand her mother better. Her mothers last wish is to see the Awa Odori festival for the last time before she dies.
- DirectorAyumu WatanabeKôzô KusubaStarsWasabi MizutaMegumi ÔharaYumi KakazuNobita finds a small plant still in a container at an abandoned area and decides to take it home. His mother asks him not to put it on their garden because it won't have space to properly grow. Therefore he asks Doraemon for help. The robot cat then uses a special plant converter from the future that will allow the plant to move freely without the need to form roots attached to the ground. Named "Kibou" (Hope), the small green creature gleefully plays with Nobita and his friends. The group is taken by surprise when they are suddenly transported to another planet governed by a society of plant beings. Doraemon and his friends then discover that due to mankind's mistreatment of nature, the green population is planning to remove all plants from Earth. They must now return home and find a way to save the world.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsTadanobu AsanoMayumi TanakaChieko BaishôBased on childhood days of Teruyo Nogami.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsCate BlanchettMatt DamonLiam NeesonA five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
- DirectorHiroshi NishitaniStarsMasaharu FukuyamaKô ShibasakiKazuki KitamuraIt's another battle of the wits for the brilliant but eccentric physicist, Yukawa, and detective, Kaoru.
- DirectorMamoru OshiiStarsRinko KikuchiRyô KaseShôsuke TaniharaThe Kildren, a group of eternally young fighter pilots, experience the sudden loss of innocence as they battle the enemy in astonishing dogfights above the clouds.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsKoji YakushoAyaka WilsonSatoshi TsumabukiAn old grumpy man called Onuki visits an heir in search of a book. The girl reads the book everyday as if it is all new and,in fact, to her it is. As she has already forgotten it the day repeats again for her with the story as if anew. There is something about the man that she remembers however. Thanks to her the old man's compassion and kindness multiplies.
- DirectorToshio LeeStarsKen'ichi MatsuyamaYoshihiko HosodaRyûji AkiyamaA nerd who dreams of becoming a sappy pop star ends up leading a death metal group.
- DirectorAkiyoshi KimataStarsYasufumi TerawakiYutaka MizutaniSawa SuzukiSomewhere a television presenter is murdered. Somewhere else, a member of the Japanese Diet (parliament) is saved from almost-certain death by two policemen assigned to her detail. The police soon identify a connection between the cases and also find it part of a larger picture. The cases soon hit close to home.
- DirectorTomoyuki FurumayaStarsTeppei KoikeAkihiro NishinoChizuru IkewakiBased on autobiographical novel "The Homeless Junior High School Student" by Hiroshi Tamura. He was homeless during his high school days after the breakup of his parents.
- 20081h 53mTV-PG6.9 (1.7K)DirectorJunji ShimizuStarsTakeshi AonoHiroaki HirataNorio MinorikawaAn alternate retelling of the winter island with no name.
- DirectorKôki MitaniStarsKôichi SatôSatoshi TsumabukiEri FukatsuA hustler who gets in trouble with a gang boss in the port town of Sukago agrees to make good with the don by putting him in contact with a mysterious hitman -- an assassin the hustler has no idea how to contact. Instead, he hires an actor to play the role, though the thespian has no idea what he's getting into.
- DirectorTomoyuki TakimotoStarsShôta MatsudaTakashi TsukamotoRiko NarumiIkigami takes place in a dystopian society where the government has implemented the "Prosperity Law". This law dictates 1 in 1000 random citizens ages 18~24 will die for the state in a mandatory lottery. Death occurs at a preset date and time, which is when an injected nano-capsule, received at an early age, explodes. The law is meant to create appreciation for life by instilling fear in order to make people live the best possible lives.
- DirectorShun NakaharaStarsHiroko NakajimaMiho TsumikiYasuyo ShirashimaAt an all-girls school, a group of girls prepare for a stage performance of Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard".
- DirectorShinsuke SatoStarsChristine Marie CabanosPatrick SeitzJulie MaddalenaA teenage girl discovers a magical world, which forces her to come to terms with her grief for her deceased mother, and her tenuous relationship with her father.
- DirectorKichitarô NegishiStarsTakako MatsuTadanobu AsanoShigeru MuroiThis enticing period melodrama depicts a long-suffering woman's relationship with her brilliant but self-destructive writer husband in postwar Tokyo. Based on a semi-autobiographical 1947 novel by Osamu Dazai, the story centers less on the womanizing, heavy-drinking, suicidal hero than on the wife who loves him.
- DirectorIsshin InudôStarsHidetoshi NishijimaRyôko HirosueTakeshi KagaSpurred by the disappearance of a newly-wed husband, three women in post-war Japan are drawn into a murder mystery.
- DirectorTakehiko ShinjôStarsMao InoueMasaki OkadaNatsuki HaradaTakuma knows that his life is shorter than the others and he feels that his demise is getting near. He chose to stay away from the girl that he loves so that she can easily move on. What he didn't know is that he is under-estimating her.
- DirectorMasayukiKazuya TsurumakiHideaki AnnoStarsKotono MitsuishiMegumi OgataMegumi HayashibaraIn the face of increasingly bizarre and powerful Angel attacks, Shinji Ikari and his partner Rei Ayanami are assisted by two new pilots: the fiery Asuka Langley Shikinami and the mysterious Mari Illustrious Makinami.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsBae DoonaArata IuraItsuji ItaoA life-size blow-up doll develops a soul and falls in love with a video store clerk.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRyunosuke KamikiNanami SakurabaMitsuki TanimuraA student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday.