author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Giovanni Fazio

Meta

Giovanni Fazio
Giovanni Fazio has been The Japan Times' resident film crank since 1993. When not at the movies, he is busy recording and playing live with his band Makyo and running the independent electronica label Dakini Records.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2001
On the gay and narrow
Get Real Rating: * * 1/2 Japanese title: Dokyusei Director: Simon Shore Running time: 110 minutes Language: English Showing at Cinema Qualite in Shinjuku
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2001
We shall, we shall rock thou
A Knight's Tale Rating: * * * Director: Brian Helgeland Running time: 132 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Film
Sep 26, 2001
Woodstock: three days of . . . whatever
My Generation Rating: * * * * Director: Barbara Kopple Running time: 104 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Sep 26, 2001
India Express
While it was Ravi Shankar who brought Indian music to the world, it's been left to others to help it sink roots. In Japan, that task has been taken up by Nagoya-based sitarist Amit Roy, who has been imparting the Hindustani tradition to his Japanese students for the past decade.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2001
Poetry and the pursuit of freedom
Before Night Falls Rating: * * * Director: Julian Schnabel Running time: 133 minutes Language: Spanish, English Now showing
CULTURE / Film
Sep 12, 2001
The life and death of the party
Blow Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Ted Demme Running time: 123 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Film
Sep 12, 2001
How Madden sees things
Director John Madden came late to the "Corelli" project, but that didn't mean he wasn't prepared, as evidenced by the careful, considered comments he made at a Tokyo press conference last week. While Madden may be working with Hollywood's top stars these days -- and few are hotter than Penelope Cruz,...
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2001
What's age got to do with it?
27 Missing Kisses Rating: * * * 1/2 Japanese title: Sybill no Itazura Director: Nana Djordjadze Running time: 96 minutes Language: Georgian Now showing
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2001
I've got to have you under my skin
The Isle Rating: * * * Japanese title: Sakana to Neru Onna Director: Kim Ki Deok Running time: 90 minutes Language: Korean Now showing Looking at the alluring and mysterious poster for "The Isle," it's hard not to think David Lynch. A nude young woman stands gazing straight ahead with an intensity...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2001
Better listening through circuitry
Theremin Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Steven M. Martin Running time: 83 minutes Language: English Now showing Just about everyone's listening to some sort of electronic music these days, but most people would be hard-pressed to name any of the medium's pioneers. Perhaps most would recognize Kraftwerk...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2001
The life sucked out of a film classic
Shadow of the Vampire Rating: * * * Director: E. Elias Merhige Running time: 93 minutes Language: English Now showing High-concept filmmaking goes indie? That certainly seems to be the case with "Shadow of the Vampire." An indie flick with a high-profile cast -- John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001
'Victor . . . pendant qu'il est trop tard'
Rating: * * * *Japanese title: Victor -- Chiisana Koibito Director: Sandrine Veysset Running time: 88 minutes Language: FrenchNow showing Realist cinema, even at its best, tends to have a very flat view of reality, one that involves merely capturing the world around us as we perceive it. But there's...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001
Director Veysset knows her characters by heart
Sandrine Veysset has only made three films so far, but it would be no exaggeration to call her one of France's most talented directors. Her debut, "Will It Snow for Christmas?" took a Cesar (French Academy Award), her follow-up "Victor . . . pendant qu'il est trop tard," grabbed a Critics' Award at Rotterdam,...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 8, 2001
The Asakusa Samba Festival
The Asakusa Samba Festival (Aug. 25) is no doubt the best-known manifestation of Brazilian culture in Tokyo, but if you're looking for a more intimate glimpse of Brazilian dance, music and martial arts, then check out the Capoeira Zoador party this Sunday. Held at Sabbath Tokyo in Harajuku, this mini-carnival...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 1, 2001
. . . And then there's angst
Ghost World Rating: * * * * 1/4 Director: Terry Zwigoff Running time: 111 minutes Language: EnglishNow showing If you're lucky, you made it all the way through high school as one of the in-group, one of the "normal" kids. The next least-bad fate was to not fit in, but remain convinced that somehow...
CULTURE / Music
Aug 1, 2001
Lords of the underground
Asian Underground -- as spurious a genre as there's ever been -- has been hot for a while now, but most people would be hard-pressed to name any pioneers of this sound other than Talvin Singh. For those looking to dig deeper, though, August provides a good opportunity to catch two of the more interesting...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 25, 2001
Stranded on Planet Hollywood
Planet of the Apes Rating: * * Director: Tim Burton Running time: 120 minutes Language: EnglishNow showing Michael Clarke Duncan in Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" -- (C)2001 Twentieth Century Fox Director Tim Burton is quite clear on this matter: His version of "Planet of the Apes" is no mere "remake"...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 25, 2001
Pick a question, any question
Good news: We members of the Japanese masu-komi were privileged to attend the premiere press conference for Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes."
CULTURE / Film
Jul 18, 2001
A love affair with languor
a la verticale de l'ete Japanese title: Geshi Rating: * * * * Director: Tran Anh Hung Running time: 112 minutes Language: VietnameseNow showing Tran Anh Hung is a director who effortlessly defies categorization. While his films -- "The Scent of Green Papaya" and "Cyclo" -- are invariably described...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 11, 2001
Remember Pearl Harbor?
There's been a lot of talk about historical revisionism in Japan lately, given the history textbook controversy and other attempts by rightists to gloss over past aggression in favor of a Reaganesque, feel-good imagining of history.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER