Japan

Kinema Junpo Annual Top Ten of 1990

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Kaoru, a highschool boy, falls in love with a girl, Sonoko, a leading member of his high-school’s swimming club. Though he cannot swim at all, he joins the swimming club to win her heart.Read More »

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Yuki is mistreated by her husband after they lose everything in the war. She tries to find comfort in another man’s arms, but the inhibitions of her class conditioning leave her with no way out.Read More »

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This film by Toyoda depicts the hard life of an unmarried mother in Tokyo. Umeko (Machiko Kyo), at 36, is working in a bar, struggling valiantly to keep her family together. Her 17-year-old daughter Takeko becomes increasingly upset by her mother’s constant drinking and yakuza boyfriend, and runs away from ho…Read More »

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“Yoyochu” is the nick name for Tadashi Yoyogi. He is the father of Japanese adult video. Before becoming a pornographer, he was a flower arranger and a member of the mob. Here, we follow Tadashi Yoyogi as he seeks the truth behind love-making.Read More »

Synopsis:
Nonaka Lock, who undertakes work for a huge fee, travels to Mexico to fulfill a promise he made to Pedro, who died in an accident in Mexico after his land was stolen and he was framed as a murderer. There, he is rescued by Miyako when he is being pickpocketed by a woman. Miyako says she has just arrived from Yokohama in search of her missing brother.Read More »

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This film by Toyoda depicts the hard life of an unmarried mother in Tokyo. Umeko (Machiko Kyo), at 36, is working in a bar, struggling valiantly to keep her family together. Her 17-year-old daughter Takeko becomes increasingly upset by her mother’s constant drinking and yakuza boyfriend, and runs away from ho…Read More »

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In this musical Cinderella story, Chiemi Eri plays Midori, a sales girl for Camelia oil from the island of Oshima, with a talent for singing. Her talent is discovered and her career takes off, finally giving her the chance to perform at a venue in the prestigious Marunouchi area of Tokyo. The film’s climactic show is a gorgeously impressive spectacle.Read More »

The short film’s main character is a water spider who seems to have fallen in love with a water strider. Though she is scared of him at first, the water strider soon gets used to the presence of the spider.Read More »

A complete documentary about the secret of the birth of Ponyo. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea was a cultural phenomenon that swept Japan in the summer of 2008. The film asks, ‘How did Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of the character, come up with the character Ponyo?’

For about two and a half years from the preparation period of the work to the completion of the storyboard, a single camera remained in close contact with Hayao Miyazaki. The films follows Miyazaki’s travels and extended periods of isolation in order to find inspiration. No moments is left undocumented, particularly as Miyazaki expresses frustration, cynicism and anger at the creative process. In the end, nearly 200 hours of video footage had been recorded. This documentary distills the entire process in roughly 12 hours and 30 minutes.Read More »