Directing
The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.
In 1975, a woman reached the summit of Mount Everest: Junko, the first woman in history to reach the world's highest peak. Junko's unforgettable feat stunned the world, bringing her into the spotlight but casting a huge shadow over her friends and family. Despite being diagnosed with a terminal illness in her final years, Junko continued to challenge the mountains. What was the last thing she saw beyond the summit?
An anthology film consisting of four segments based on literary works by Edogawa Ranpo.
Two rogue vagrants make their living as "manure men", turning the waste from the tenement toilets into fertiliser sold to local farmers. Enter Okiku, the only daughter of a fallen samurai, and amongst the overflowing piles of excrement, a well-nourished love story unfolds.
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The annual kabuki show is the main attraction in a rural Japanese mountain town. However, Yoshi's life is thrown into disarray days before the performance when his estranged wife and former best friend arrive back in town...
Whether it's someone mixing burnables and recyclables or noise from a neighbor's domestic spat, there's always something occupying the residents of a housing project in the suburbs of Osaka. However Hinako (Naomi Fujiyama) and Seiji (Ittoku Kishibe) couldn't care less. Having moved in just six months ago after the closure of their herbal medicine shop, the old couple is reluctantly putting their life back together. But when Seiji disappears, the apartment rumor mill churns: divorce, murder, dismemberment? As the story spins out of control, and a mysterious man with a parasol puts in a tall order of natural remedies, the truth turns out to be even more fantastic than gossip. Ranging from incisive comedy of errors to absurdist adventure to moving late life romance, "The Projects" is one of the biggest surprises of the year.
Jun Wataguchi lives a lazy, half-hearted life, not going to school, hanging out with half-witted delinquents, and begging money from his friends. His parents, who run a shipping business transporting earth and sand for reclamation by boat, manage to get by, despite the dwindling number of jobs and lack of successors over time. Jun showed no interest in his parents' business, and the father and son hardly ever spoke to each other. One day, one of Jun's friends is attacked by someone and an unexpected person emerges as the culprit.
Ko, a man in his late 30s, lives in the countryside with his wife and teenage son. Mitsuhiko, who runs a local car dealership, also stayed in his hometown. One day, their mutual friend Eisuke returns from a long military operation and their reunification brings back both pleasant and painful memories.
It is 1980. Sadatomo is at a secondary school in a small town. His parents barely take any notice of him. The strict teacher Kobayashi has hung up a 'humanity index' in the classroom, divided into the categories 'delinquents', 'scum' and 'people'. In each category he has hung name-cards of pupils. One day Kobayashi finds out that Sadatomo and his friends have stolen some things from a shop for fun. Their fathers are informed and as punishment, the children have to write a 'self-critical' essay of no less than thirty pages. For the first time, Sadatomo is beaten by his father. Shocked, he writes a piece entitled 'I am an onion', in which the teacher thinks he can detect a first sign of humanity. That is the start of a confusing situation in which it gets hard to distinguish lies, truth, justified self-criticism and opportunist wheeler dealing, even for the boys.
A Middle-aged Japanese ex-pat journalist investigates child organ trafficking in Thailand and he uncovers a sinister network. In the darkest corners of Thailand, child prostitution and organ sales flourish. In order to save a child's life, another life must be taken. An outraged Japanese journalist and a passionate young Japanese NGO member attempt to save "children of the dark" from being consumed by arrogance and greed. However, the harsh realities of life intervene... Adapting Yan Sogil's book, which unflinchingly portrays the tragic realities unfolding today, filmmaker Junji Sakamoto directs a talented multinational cast to bring these stark events to life.
A failed director is trying to get his next movie off the ground, while dealing with his cranky brother and his estranged wife.
A dragon fish is stolen by Tetsu Tobiyama and biologist Thomas Earwing seeks its return. Poo is led to Natsuro after she worms her way into a top secret file at Delta headquarters for information.
A collection of three short films by Japanese visual genius Sogo Ishii. Each short focuses on the protagonists running away from a threat.
A frustrated young woman returns from Tokyo to her hometown in Toyama where she meets an old woman who lives alone. There she slowly finds purpose in life by taking "photographs" that spin memories instead of ghosts.
In the Daoxiu Town located in Osaka, there lived such an independent woman. Her name is Harukin Akiya (played by Naoya Nagazawa). At the age of 9, she went blind due to illness and then began learning silk and bamboo. The skill of Chunqin is superb. Although it is taught in a school, it scared away many disciples due to its stubborn and stubborn temper. The only person who never gives up on Chunqin is her servant Sasuke (played by Saito Gong), who has been guiding her since childhood. Sasuke regards the sacred Harukin as if it were Guanyin. Occasionally, he follows Harukin to learn the Sanwei line and takes care of everything for his master with all his heart. At that time, the playboy Ritaro (played by Matsuda Goji) pursued Harukin but was rejected and humiliated. Chunqin's unconventional behavior has led to a tragedy in his life and tightly intertwined the fate of him and Sasuke
4th installment in the "Mameshiba" series, adapted from the TV show. Jiro, who had successfully overcome his shut-in lifestyle but sought a life free from his mother's watchful eye, runs away from home with his beloved Mameshiba dog, Ichiro, and experiences various events in a seaside town.
Junk Food consists of four intertwining stories. The first and fourth sections show the morning routine of an blind, old Japanese woman, waking up, buying bread and milk, praying at the family altar; however, it is the second segment where the true story begins.
Chief Iizuka, who works at the Cultural Center, misunderstands two chorus groups with similar names and double-books the concert hall on New Year's Eve. Although they talk to each other, neither of them gives up a step and develops into a big problem. Iizuka, who has lived his life with a "no-nonsense" attitude, finds himself in the middle of two groups and at a loss for words.
Due to the high suicide rate among youths in Japan, the government implements experiments to uncover the causes behind the high suicide rate. Children are selected and placed in a YSC facility under constant surveillance. At the age of 10, the children are then give a detonator with a red switch. They are told if they press the switch they will die immediately. Most of the children under the experiment, eventually presses the switch and dies. After the completion of the experiment 6 kids remain who did not press the switch. The 6 kids are; strong-minded Masami, weak Naoto, hot-tempered Hiro, impulsive Ryota, wheelchair bound Kimiaki and Aiko who is always thinking of her parents. These 6 kids survived even though they were pressured by project manager Tsukuda to press the switch.
