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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 28, 2021
‘She is Alone’: Traumas of relationships past come a-haunting
Natsuki Nakagawa's first feature focuses on two mirroring student-teacher love affairs and edges on the melodramatic while being anchored by strong performances from its leads.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2021
TIFF ambassador Ai Hashimoto wants a cinema comeback
The in-demand veteran actress will serve as ambassador at Tokyo International Film Festival's 34th iteration.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2021
‘Skeleton Flowers’: A quiet drama of honesty and growth
In Rikiya Imaizumi's latest film, newcomer Sara Shida gives a centered performance as an artsy teen coming to terms with her father's new relationship and her mother's reappearance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 15, 2021
Sion Sono brings his brand of dystopia to Hollywood in ‘Prisoners of the Ghostland’
A director known for flouting convention, Sion Sono makes his Hollywood debut with “Prisoners of the Ghostland,” starring Nicolas Cage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 7, 2021
French director Arthur Harari delves into the paranoid mind in 'Onoda'
French director Arthur Harari's biopic delves deep into the inner life of the Japanese soldier who refused to surrender for decades after the war.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 7, 2021
‘Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle’: An engrossing biopic on a wartime holdout
Arthur Harari's war film about Hiroo Onoda, who resisted surrender for decades after the end of World War II, focuses on key moments from the soldier's time in the Philippines.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 30, 2021
Bilal Kawazoe’s film ‘Whole’ tackles the experience of being mixed race in Japan
Bilal Kawazoe set out to make a film with a nuanced portrayal of biracial individuals and their struggle to understand their place within Japanese society.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 30, 2021
‘Yellow Dragon's Village’: Scrappy indie delivers a weekend to die for
Yugo Sakamoto's latest feature is an action-packed horror flick about a trip to the mountains gone horribly wrong thanks to some creepy locals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 23, 2021
‘Intolerance’: How grief turns man into monster
Arata Furuta delivers a deftly layered performance as a father reeling from the death of his daughter in Keisuke Yoshida's nuanced and compassionate drama.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 16, 2021
‘A Balance’: The real-life dangers of telling the truth
Yujiro Harumoto's drama about a documentary filmmaker who struggles with a moral dilemma as she looks into the cover-up of a bullied schoolgirl's death is a rare achievement.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 9, 2021
‘Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me?’: A piercing look at marriage through manga
Takahiro Horie's slickly plotted drama about two married manga artists offers a fresh take on marital strife and what makes a relationship survive.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 2, 2021
‘Cinematic Liars of Asahi-za’: Little untruths go a long way
Yuki Tanada's feel-good drama about a film buff who spins a story to save a local theater is not as complex as the director's past work, but is still a crowd-pleaser.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 27, 2021
Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba changed Japanese action films
A prolific actor with a staggering number of credits to his name, Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba delighted audiences for six decades with his riveting screen presence and athletic prowess.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 26, 2021
‘One Summer Story’: Moka Kamishiraishi lights up the screen
Shuichi Okita injects his style of observational humor to this film adaptation of Retto Tajima's manga series.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 19, 2021
‘Last of the Wolves’: A sequel with just as much bite as the first
The follow-up to Kazuya Shiraishi's “The Blood of Wolves” features emotionally raw and poignant moments in the middle of violent gang power struggles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 12, 2021
‘It's a Summer Film’: Movie worship with a time travel twist
Soushi Matsumoto dips into various genres with his feature debut about a teenage aspiring director who unknowingly casts a time-traveling fan of her work as the lead in her first film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 12, 2021
A director tackles the story of Japan's own nuclear experiment
Hiroshi Kurosaki put years of research into his film, 'Gift of Fire,' which portrays Japan's project to create an atomic bomb during World War II.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 22, 2021
‘Inubu: The Dog Club’: Puppy love with a heavy dose of advocacy
Drawing from a novel based on true events, “Inubu” shows the barriers activists fighting for the humane treatment of animals face, their own physical and financial limits among them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 15, 2021
‘Restart’: There’s no place like home for second chances
Director Hiroshi Shinagawa, who endured his own struggles as a young comic, shows the darker side of showbiz, as well as the welcoming beauty of Shimokawa, Hokkaido Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 8, 2021
Over 100 years of the Olympic spirit captured on screen
Film coverage of the modern Olympics, starting from 1912, shows that national pride and stunning athleticism have always been an integral part of the games.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’