Quote:
A young and almost autistic-acting man arrives in Tokyo and wanders the streets, running afoul of some Yakuza and proving to be more than he appears to be. The young man speaks very little and his favorite phrase seems to be “not needed” and that’s generally in reference to Yakuza. He is taken into this gang and proves that he’s not well balanced by shooting a couple of drug dealers and then makes a pin cushion out of a rival gang leader, so he’s revered by those that he seems to hate, although they’re quite wary of him with good reason. The young man also hooks up with one of the Yakuza babes, maybe she’s a hooker, maybe she’s just a hanger-on, I couldn’t really tell, but somehow they get their mitts on some acid that was taken from the drug dealers that they young man shot and are going to flee to Fiji, but not before they get into skate-boarding some and wander the streets. This has lots of seemingly disparate parts that all come together in the end, and for a film that’s fairly low key it’s also quite bloody and violent. I guess it’s maybe some kind of commentary on disaffected youth in Japan but it also kicks butt and is well worth seeing for fans of crazed Japanese movies.Read More »
Japan
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Toshiaki Toyoda – Poruno sutâ AKA Pornostar (1998)
1991-2000CrimeCultJapanToshiaki Toyoda -
Yoshimitsu Morita – Zûmu appu: Maruhon uwasa no sutorippa AKA Top Stripper (1982)
1981-1990DramaEroticaJapanYoshimitsu MoritaQuote:
A frank coming-of-age story, in which young Yoichi falls for Gloria at the local strip joint. Yoichi’s innocent nature has him attending her shows every day, filling his mind with her beauty. The standard bittersweet disappointments of the coming-of-age story are offset by irreverent moments of levity; a quirk of director Yoshimitsu Morita’s which he became known for.Read More » -
Kana Matsumoto & Kayo Nakamura – Tôkyô Oashisu aka Tokyo Oasis (2011)
2011-2020DramaJapanJapanese Female DirectorsKana Matsumoto and Kayo NakamuraQuote:
The floating clouds between the high buildings, the lines of the taillights under the moonlight, the swirling human waves… Every view in Tokyo looks as if it is alive. Before even she realizes, TOUKO starts to run away from somewhere in the city. As an actress in a fantasy world, Touko seems to have lost her grip on reality. Along her journey, she makes acquaintance with people who carry similar issues. A midnight truck driver NAGANO, who happens to give Touko a ride, is grappling with the discovery of his soul, and his soul is unable to move forward. His escape from reality is to continually move from place to place. Read More » -
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi – Kaette kita onna hissatsu ken AKA The Return of Sister Street Fighter (1975)
1971-1980ActionJapanKazuhiko YamaguchiMartial Arts

Synopsis:
Back in Hong Kong, an old friend of Koryu’s, Detective Cho (Jiro Chiba, Shinichi’s brother), shortly before being stabbed right through the tie, asks Koryu to accompany his niece Rika to Yokohama and look for the little girl’s mother, Shurei, who has become the mistress of Oh Ryu Mei (Rinichi Yamamoto), “shadow ruler of Yokohama’s Chinatown,” and whose “certain large Japanese corporation” is hoarding stolen gold.Read More » -
Hiroyuki Nasu – Bishôjo puroresu: Shisshin 10-byo mae AKA Beautiful Wrestler: Down for the Count (1984)
1981-1990ComedyEroticaHiroyuki NasuJapanQuote:
Megu (Natsuko Yamamoto) enrolls in an extracurricular girls’ wrestling club, but things aren’t quite what she expected. She soon learns the club’s training program includes humiliating sexual submission to the senior female wrestlers and that the club’s finances are secured with the prostitution of the girls to the members of a nearby all-male wrestling club. Megu’s life is further strained when a rival wrestler Shinobu (Kaoru Ada) shows interest in her new boyfriend. This tension erupts at a no-holds-barred wrestling match. Megu’s strength is pushed to the limit but she has a secret weapon—superhuman strength whenever she removes her tampon.Read More » -
Yasuki Chiba – Tôkyô no koibito AKA Tokyo Sweetheart (1952)
1951-1960ComedyDramaJapanYasuki Chiba

Following the Second World War, the lives of various people in a poverty-stricken area of Tokyo are entertwined. Pachinko parlor girls, shoeshine boys, a maker of replica jewelry, and a streetcorner artist all struggle to make their livings and to find happiness in difficult surroundings.Read More »
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Yuri Muraoka – Tomeina watashi AKA Transparent, I am (2021)
2021-2030ExperimentalJapanShort FilmYuri Muraoka

In the year 2020, when the world was forced to ‘change’, I wanted to confirm what changed and what did not change in me. The white mask I wore became the screen projecting my past. My family is sometimes hurt, but support me as I suffer from schizophrenia. We live today while looking for the answer to ‘Who are we?’Read More »
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Rokuro Mochizuki – Tûka to Kinpatsu AKA Currency and Blonde (2000)
1991-2000ComedyEroticaJapanRokuro MochizukiQuote:
A bored assistant professor lecturing in economy spends his spare time in hectic onanist exertions aroused by voyeuristic videos.Read More » -
Hiromasa Nomura – Kinuyo no hatsukoi AKA Kinuyo’s First Love (1940)
1931-1940AsianClassicsHiromasa NomuraJapanKinuyo is a daughter of rice cracker shop in downtown. She fell in love with her sister’s boyfriend. It is a story whose theme is warm human relationships in a town of customs and manners.Read More »





